Heavy Song of the Week is a feature on Heavy Consequence breaking down the top metal and hard rock tracks you need to hear every Friday. This week, the top song goes to Sebastian Bach’s “(Hold On) To The Dream.”
Murmurs of Sebastian Bach reuniting with Skid Row have been percolating as of late, mainly due to the departure of the band’s singer Erik Grönwall and comments made by Baz himself.
Nevertheless, Bach is knee-deep in his most active album cycle in years, with the release of his new solo LP Child Within the Man around the corner. The latest single from the album, “(Hold On) To the Dream,” is intriguing on multiple fronts.
First, the song title and lyrics could apply to Sebastian’s desire to rejoin his old band, which hit its commercial peak with Bach at the helm. Secondly, the track could serve a defacto tryout for Skid Row. His voice sounds amazing here, especially during the track’s power-ballad intro, which has shades of “18 and Life.”
“For those of you keeping score, I can tell you that my voice hits some of the highest notes of my career in ‘(Hold On) To The Dream!’” he enthused in the press release for the track.
Lastly, and as a counterpoint, the song is so strong — a perfect melding of powerful heavy metal and graceful AOR melodies — it begs the question whether Sebastian would be making a lateral move by changing his current musical accomplices. This might just be his best solo song to date.
Honorable Mentions:
Darkthrone – “The Bird People of Nordland”
In their latter era, Darkthrone have become masters of connecting riffs and letting repetition carry the arrangement. It’s pure heavy metal at its core, and “The Bird People of Nordland” is another masterclass of riff selection and restraint. The track also contains Fenriz’s personal favorite part of Darkthrone’s new album: Nocturno Culto’s minor post-refrain riff, which “sounds like Queensrÿche 1984 style,” in Fenriz’s own words.
“And you can also hear how much we enjoy to play it!,” he added. “EXACTLY where I want to be! Could have played that riff for 8 minutes straight, haha!”
Knocked Loose feat. Poppy – “Suffocate”
“Suffocate” is Knocked Loose at their most experimental, with the band’s typical blasty harshness clashing against more dance-y rhythms and an addictive reggaeton bounce that works wonderfully in the context of hardcore. Meanwhile, Poppy’s musical fingerprints are all over this one, making her contributions feel more collaborative rather than a mere guest vocal.
Pallbearer – “Endless Place”
The acoustic intro to “Endless Place” immediately evokes the first Pallbearer song many of us heard — “Foreigner” from their debut Sorrow and Extinction. Like that epic LP opener, “Endless Place” also breaks into crushing doom with a satiating payoff. As we heard on the previous Pallbearer single, “Where the Light Fades,” Brett Campbell’s epic vocals remain forward and emphasized; however, those who were turned off by that song’s subdued sound will be relieved to hear Pallbearer delivering the heavy doom on the follow-up single.