Skid Row

Brash New Jersey-based rockers Skid Row were one of the very last metal outfits to hit the mainstream before grunge took over in the early '90s. While the band's self-titled debut employed standard pop-metal riffs and lyrics (albeit to great commercial success with the hits "18 and Life," "I Remember You," and "Youth Gone Wild"), 1991's Slave to the Grind and 1995's Subhuman Race broke the mold with uncharacteristically hard, thrashy guitars and unique songwriting techniques. Fronted by charismatic vocalist Sebastian Bach, personal differences and changing trends eventually to...