Boston-based writer Deb Rao spoke to former SKID ROW singer SEBASTIAN BACH about his new album, Angel Down, which will be released on November 20th via a joint-venture between Merovingian Music, Ltd. (MRV) and Bach's Get Off My Bach Productions, and distributed worldwide through Caroline/EMI Music Group. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

Q. How did you come about to choose AEROSMITH's Back In The Saddle for your new album?

Bach: "Thank you so much. I didn't choose it. It was actually chosen by Roy Z, the producer. I had 13 songs done originally. I didn't want to do a cover version. So there are actually 14 songs on "Angel Down", which is longer than most CD's. But I couldn't take one off of mine . I loved 'Back In The Saddle' so much. Roy explained to me your Sebastian Bach, your back your Bach. You are going to run onstage and yell 'I'm Back'. That would be very cool. I didn't commit to it. I go, 'I don't know? I don't know if I want to do a cover version on my record.' But my band played it, and I was blown away but how they dug into it. It just kicked my ass literally. While they were cutting it, I just ran in there and started screaming along with them. We captured real rock magic in that song. I think the rest of the record too. To have Mr. Axl Rose on that song come in and scream along side of me with such passion and velocity is just crazy. Rolling Stone Magazine, in this issue has picked it in the Number two favorite editor's pick of everything out there this month in the world."

Q: Angel Down has all the ingredients of a great album, including Anthems, ballads, and lots of heavy songs. Do you feel that you surpassed, Slave To The Grind on this album?

Bach: "Well, I wouldn't say surpassed. Because, I don't look at music as a competition. I think it is as good. Which is saying a lot, which is saying more than I can ever say. I just want to put something in your I pod that makes sense next to Slave To The Grind. Because how many years have we all been listening to 'Youth Gone Wild', '18 And Life', 'Monkey Business'? We have all been listening to it for almost 20 years now. It is like unbelievable. I've got a lot of energy. Everybody knows I am on TV every fuckin five seconds. I have been out in a position by EMI and MRV Records, my own label, where I can put my energy into making CD's instead of TV. Which is killer. The reason I am on TV so much, people ask me to do these shows and offer me insane amounts of money and nobody would turn down the things that I get offered to do. I am a human being, and it feels really good to have the music industry treat me, the way the television and theatre industry have treated me".

Q: Well, I think you really proved yourself on Broadway. That opened a lot of doors for you too.

Bach: "I think I proved it. Everybody's going wait a minute man; this Motherfucker's a Rocker. What the fuck?" (Laughter)

Q: Angel Down has an amazing cast of characters, including a guest appearance by Axl Rose. How did you get Axl to play on your album?

Bach: "Well, I just asked him. It really was that easy. He said here is a message for the rest of the world, Axl said, 'This is the coolest thing that somebody has asked me to do in a long time.' He may be unapproachable to some people, but he was saying to me, he would love it if other bands asked him to jam. He did it in a heartbeat. People can't believe it. I am just his friend and he is a human being. People forgot that a lot of the time. I don't forgot that. So I just asked him. It is really shocking but he sings three songs on the record, he is screaming like a demon. I mixed the record with Roy Z. We picked the coolest screams that he did. It is really something to listen to. I am a fan too. It is like I am making my own Guns N' Roses record here too. I am fuckin fan of Axl Rose. Not only am I making my own record, I am a fan of my own record. How fuckin cool is that?"

Q: That is awesome. You also worked with Desmond Child too on the ballad, 'Falling Into You'. Tell me about that song. I am glad that you did put a ballad on Angel Down.

Bach: "Yes, that was the first song written for the record. I have always been a fan of Desmond and I have a lot of respect for Desmond's song-writing. One of my favorite songs is, 'I Was Made For Lovin You', which he wrote with Paul Stanley on Dynasty. I think he wrote some other songs on Dynasty as well. Which is one of my favorite albums. You don't need me to tell you how good Desmond Child is as a songwriter. Everybody knows it. Jason Flom, who signed me in Skid Row back in 1988 or 87, he is the guy who got me on Broadway, he is the guy who signed me for Angel Down and he is also the guy who sent me to Desmond's house in the year 2000. Right when I was done with Jeckyl And Hyde, Jason sent me to Nashville and I wrote the song, 'Falling Into You' in Desmond's living room with him playing piano and me recording it just on a cassette. Then I took Desmond's piano vocal song over to Paul Crook's house, who was my guitar player for a while. He worked on it with me. It used to be in a higher key. Roy Z was the one, that said, 'Dude try it in this key.' It is a very weird key for me and it is the very first piano ballad that I ever sang on a record, so it is a new kind of sound for me."

Q: Sebastian, you also have a new modern day anthem, 'American Metalhead'. Would you say this is kind of like the war anthem for the world today? Like you said before, it has been 20 years since 'Youth Gone Wild'. Would you say, American Metal captures the intensity of the state of the world today? The world has changed so much since the Youth Gone Wild release.

Bach: "Yes, absolutely. It is also goes back to 'Balls To The Walls' vibe; it has got that kind of feel to it. I am known for 'Youth Gone Wild'. When you hear a rock anthem, you better do it. That song was written by Metal Mike. When I first met him, he came over to my house and goes what do you think of this song? I go, 'You fuckin' wrote this? Are you kidding me?' I am the dude that is going to bring this to the world. Because, I am an 'American Metalhead'. I have been singing 'Youth Gone Wild' for twenty years, I have been waiting for this fuckin song right here, because it is such an anthem. Every time we do it, it doesn’t matter if the crowd has never heard it. They always put their fists in the air. They always jump and up and down. Bobby Jarzombek on the drums on that song is so cool, the way he plays is so fluent and just cool is the word. You can't teach somebody how to be cool. That is why, if you listen to Bobby on the drums on this record, he is such a star on the record and every record he does. Man I am the luckiest guy to play with my band. They are all so good".

Q: Yes, I heard your band when you opened for GUNS N' ROSES at the DCU Center. The energy of the band was amazing. It was so great to hear all the classic songs again.

Bach: "That show was slammin'. If you look at VAN HALEN on the road now, THE POLICE and LED ZEPPELIN, I am like new compared to those bands."

Q: What was it like to share the stage with Axl, when you performed the duet on 'My Michelle'?

Bach: "Well, we did it every single night of the tour. We did it probably a hundred times. Which is a lot. It was just really funny. I went to rehearsal at S.I.R. back when they were getting ready to play Hammerstein Ballroom, a long time ago. Axl goes, 'Baz, you want to jam with us?' I go, 'Fuckin right.' Axl goes, 'Pick your favorite Guns N' Roses song.' Right away I go, 'My Michelle.' That is such a rude song. We did it in rehearsal. Everybody was laughing because I was screaming my guts out. Axl goes, 'Let’s do it again.' I go, 'Fuckin OK.' So we did like three times, right there. He goes, 'OK we are doing four nights at Hammerstein. What night do you want to do it?' I go, 'Every night.' Axl goes, 'OK fine, do it every night.' One night KID ROCK came up and did, 'Night Train'. We were all onstage together. LENNY KRAVITZ was there. Axl has done more for me that anybody in rock. That's the truth".

Q: Actually, you sing on Chinese Democracy - on the song 'Sorry'?

Bach: "Yes, I sing the song 'Sorry'. I don't know when it is coming out, I am sorry". (Laughter)

Q: Let's talk about the artwork for Angel Down. I know your Dad, David Bierk was a brilliant artist. Why did you choose his painting, David Watching for your album cover? I know your Dad, also did the artwork for Slave To The Grind.

Bach: "It was done in 1990, it is called, David Watching. My Dad did it, the statue of David looking down at a painting of Jesus. There are many different meanings to me. The first thing that blew me away about it was that I did Jesus Christ Superstar, the month after my Dad died for my Dad that is the reason I did it. Of course, he never got to see that. The first thing that blew me away about that painting was my Dad's name was David, but he named the painting, David Watching, after the statue of David, and not after him. It looks so much like him in heaven looking down on something going on. He is there a rock, he is lifeless. It used to make me cry, that is my Dad in Heaven at the Jesus Christ Superstar play with his son, he can’t see it. That was the first thing that fucked me up about the image. Then I started writing the album, one of the songs is, Angel Down and looking at that cover with that title of the song, which had nothing to do with each other it is unbelievable, it is Angel Down. It just tied right in. Then I wrote all these lyrics about the war, having to do with my 19-year-old son perspective being 19 in 2006. Angel Down could definitely be a soldier. That is the lyric, Angel Down from a barrel of a gun. That painting can be related to that. There are many different meanings on the cover. I could keep going on and on. That is a good album cover, it makes you think. It is an image of one picture that tells a story, you couldn't ask for a better album cover. It just knocks you out and draws you in. It also feels like the, Slave To The Grind cover which my Dad also did which I said many times, I think I will go to my grave trying to beat that album. Angel Down is an example of me trying to beat Slave To The Grind.

Q: Thank you for that emotional insight. It is the perfect cover, as it reflects so many emotions and the state of the world today. Previously, you mentioned you have worked in Television. What was it like to appear on the reality show Supergroup? What was it like working with TED NUGENT and Scott Ian?

Bach: "I enjoyed filming the show more than watching the show. What you saw on TV was an edited version of reality. When the show starts out with me walking in a room and saying we jammed for six hours today. It showed none of the six hours of us playing music. The show starts with me cracking open a bottle of wine at 10 o'clock at night. To me the day is done. Usually, I am really savvy and astute, on how I am going to get fucked up the ass. This time I didn't perceive it, like when I was flying back in the airplane from doing Supergroup that was killer. I only cried once. When they asked me with a couple bottle of wines in me, and said, 'Hey Sebastian your Dad is dead how does it feel really?' Tell me really how does it feel, it was horrible how he went out, how does it feel?' I said how it really feels it sucks and I cried about it. That is life. When I was going back on the plane, I only cried once, what I didn't foresee is them making a commercial out of that part. I go, I didn't think of that. Hey live and learn man, I had enough of that shit."

Q. I can't believe that they would take such an emotional moment like that and put it in a commercial? I guess that is reality TV, where they cut out and make you see what they only want you to see. It is too bad they focused on the drama aspect of the series instead of the music.

Bach: "Yeah know what is weird though? I did Celebrity Rap Superstar, which to me ended up being a cooler show than Supergroup. Which is very, very unexpected. To me Celebrity Rap Superstar was more Rock and Roll than Supergroup to me than all the rock and rollers. Who would have thought that?"

Q: Yes, I agree. Do you any touring plans coming up with the release of your new album?

Bach: "Being that I spent the last year out with Guns. I got real spoiled as far as doing a tour of arenas; it is definitely my preference, as far as that against that of doing clubs. So ideally, I would like to team up with another big band and do some big shows. I like SIXX A.M., Nikki Sixx's new project. So in these interviews, if he is reading them, 'Hey Nikki I will play with you anytime. Let's go on the road.'

Q: Looking back what are you most proud of in your extensive career as a performer?

Bach: "Well obviously I have to say Angel Down because it is brand new. It is my latest thing that I have done. But if you had to put a gun to my head and said at the end of the day what was I the most proud of in my life that I did other than my children which is Number one, as far as my career goes, it would have to be Jeckyl And Hyde, the musical. Because it came at a time, where I wasn't expecting to do something that was as big as Skid Row. In New York City, Broadway is a thousand times bigger than rock and roll. I can't believe that happened in my life and the timing of it. Me being such a comic book fan, one of the first comic books that I ever bought was Marvel Classic Comics Number one with Jeckyl And Hyde on the front. I just really got into it. It was very creatively satisfying. But, I would say Angel Down is what I am most proud of."