New SKID ROW Singer ERIK GRÖNWALL 'Has Brought A New Energy' To The Band Which Had Been 'Missing For A Long Time'

SKID ROW bassist Rachel Bolan says that the band's new frontman Erik Grönwall "has brought a new energy" to the group which had been "missing for a long time."

Grönwall joined SKID ROW in January as the replacement for ZP Theart, who had been in the group for more than six years.

SKID ROW played its first show with Grönwall in late March at Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada as the support act on the rescheduled dates for SCORPIONS' "Sin City Nights" residency. SKID ROW's nine-song set included the single "The Gang's All Here", which was made available one day earlier. The song is the title track of the band's latest album, which arrived on October 14 via earMUSIC.

SKID ROW recorded "The Gang's All Here" in Nashville, Tennessee with producer Nick Raskulinecz, who has previously worked with FOO FIGHTERS, STONE SOUR, HALESTORM, EVANESCENCE, RUSH and ALICE IN CHAINS, among many others.

Rachel discussed Grönwall's addition to SKID ROW in a new interview with the "Play It Forward" podcast. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Ever since Erik joined the band, he has brought a new energy that was missing for a long time. And having someone with the same work ethic, the same ridiculous sense of humor, the same musical influences, and the fact that he's just a lover of music in general, like we are, it really was a seamless change. And we get out on stage, and his energy has elevated us, the four of us. Just like when [drummer] Rob Hammersmith [drums] joined the band, it brought Scotti [Hill, guitar], Snake [Dave Sabo, guitar] and myself — it raised the bar for playing, for musicianship. And then in walks Erik, and he just lights everybody on fire.

"It's been great," Rachel continued. "Touring has been great. The crowds have been great. No one has looked at Erik sideways, because they can't. He's done such a fantastic job and continues to… He's a little bit younger. I jokingly say that we waited for Erik to graduate high school so he can get in the band. He just has an energy about him, man, that's so undeniable, and it's infectious. And it lights all of us up."

Grönwall was a member of the Swedish hard rock band H.E.A.T. with whom he recorded four studio albums — "Address The Nation" (2012),"Tearing Down The Walls" (2014),"Into The Great Unknown" (2017) and "H.E.A.T II" (2020) — before exiting the group in October 2020.

In September 2021, Grönwall announced that he was cancer free after receiving a bone marrow transplant. "Some anonymous wonderful human being somewhere in the world donated his/her blood cells so that I could get a second chance at life," he told Headbangers Lifestyle in January. "Sometimes I can just get tears in my eyes when I think about it. It's so beautiful that one person who is not connected to me in any way wanted to do that for me. He/she doesn't know that the blood cells were for me. It's completely anonymous."

In September 2021, Grönwall released his cover version of SKID ROW's "18 And Life" via all streaming platforms.

In 2018, Grönwall debuted in the U.S. for 10 million viewers in NBC's live broadcast of Andrew Lloyd Webber's and Tim Rice's musical "Jesus Christ Superstar". Along with John Legend, Alice Cooper, Sara Bareilles and others, Erik played the key role of Simon Zealotes.