SEBASTIAN BACH: 'The Days Of My Figure-Eight Headbanging Are Past Me Now'

On the May 10 episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach addressed a physical injury that he sustained during his recently completed run of dates in Latin America. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We just did six or seven shows in South America. And I got good news and bad news about that. The good news was the shows were incredible. The bad news, and I'm saying this to myself as much as I'm saying it to you, the days of my figure-eight headbanging are past me now. I cannot do that anymore. Tom Araya [SLAYER] had to stop doing it. Phil Anselmo [PANTERA] had to stop doing it. I just did six shows when I was doing it the way I usually do it, and when I got home, I have spent the last five days fucking paralyzed, taking Swedish massage, doing yin yoga stretching because my neck and my back are telling me, 'Dude, that shit is fucking over now.' And it's freaking me out, because I feel like Gene Simmons [KISS] going on stage without the makeup. That's part of my show. But what can you do?"

In a 2013 interview with Blinded By Sound, Sebastian seemingly predicted that he would not be able to continue performing the same way into his late 50s. He said at the time: "Well, you know, Tom Araya from SLAYER is one the the greatest frontmen of all time and he injured his neck and back from headbanging in that figure-eight motion that I do all the time. He destroyed his back and had to get surgery and is not physically able to headbang anymore because of the damage he's done. I'm not at that point yet or anything, but when you're banging your head as hard as you can, I kind of wonder what's happening to my brain as it's bashing into the wall of my skull. I look at footage of myself and think, 'Maybe that's not so good for you.' [Laughs] I don't see most people banging their heads like trying to snap their craniums off their necks. Basically, the reason I'm telling you and the world is that it's more impressive to me, artistically, to be more accurate and good than be a cheeerleader."

Nearly a decade and a half ago, SLAYER was forced to cancel shows so that Araya could undergo emergency treatments for neck and back problems. He eventually had a titanium steel plate attached to his spine and held together by screws.

"It was all from the same thing — the posture that I took playing my bass onstage, leaning forward and putting a lot of pressure and weight to the front," Tom told the San Francisco Examiner. "All from 30 years of being in the same position, headbanging."

In recent years, Anselmo underwent a line of corrective procedures designed to helped him deal with the damage to his back, neck, and knees sustained over decades of touring.

Anselmo later said that while all the surgeries have certainly helped, he was never completely cured from the physical damage he had done to his body.

In a 2005 interview with Revolver magazine, Anselmo said that the back problem had plagued him since the late 1990s when the lowest lumbar disc in his back was "ruptured — shattered from being onstage since I was 14 years old, jumping off the stage, off [PANTERA drummer] Vinnie's [Paul Abbott] drum set, going as crazy as possible."

Bach kicked off his "What Do I Got To Lose?" spring 2024 North American tour on May 10 at Southport Music Hall in Jefferson, Louisiana.

Bach's 14-song set in Jefferson included two tracks from his new solo album, "Child Within The Man" — "What Do I Got to Lose?" and "Everybody Bleeds" — along with 12 SKID ROW classics.

"Child Within The Man" was released on May 10 via Reigning Phoenix Music. The LP was recorded in Orlando, Florida; produced and mixed by Michael "Elvis" Baskette; engineered by Jef Moll, assistant engineered by Josh Saldate and mastered by Robert Ludwig of Gateway Mastering. Bach wrote or co-wrote all the album's 11 tracks and sang all lead and backing vocals.

"Child Within The Man" features guest appearances from John 5 (MÖTLEY CRÜE, ROB ZOMBIE, MARILYN MANSON),Steve Stevens (BILLY IDOL) and Orianthi (ALICE COOPER, MICHAEL JACKSON) — who all co-wrote their respective tracks with Bach — and two tracks co-written with ALTER BRIDGE's Myles Kennedy ("What Do I Got to Lose?" and "To Live Again"). Devin Bronson (guitars),Todd Kerns (bass) and Jeremy Colson (drums) round out the players on the album. The album is available on jewelcase CD, cassette, and double LP in a variety of color options.

Bach's "What Do I Got To Lose?" tour is a mix of solo gigs and festival appearances. The stateside tour will wrap June 29 in San Diego, California.