Slave to the Grind is Skid Row's second album, released on June 11, 1991. Slave to the Grind is notable for being the first heavy metal album to enter the Billboard 200

Billboard 200

The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

 at #1 during the SoundScan era,.

Two different versions were released: the original version, and the "clean" (censored) version. The clean version replaced the song "Get the Fuck Out" with the less-offensive "Beggar's Day".

Slave to the Grind marked the band's move towards a heavier sound. The lyrics were more complex, criticizing modern ways of life, authority, politics, drugs, and organized religion, among other topics.

Sebastian Bach

Sebastian Bach

Sebastian Bach is a Canadian heavy metal singer who achieved mainstream success as frontman of Skid Row from 1987 to 1996. Since his departure from Skid Row, he has had many television roles, acted within Broadway plays, and leads a successful solo career.-Early life:Bach was born Sebastian...

's father painted the cover art, which is actually a long mural, continued inside the album's booklet. It is set in the medieval era (remake of Caravaggio

Caravaggio

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was an Italian artist active in Rome, Naples, Malta, and Sicily between 1593 and 1610. His paintings, which combine a realistic observation of the human state, both physical and emotional, with a dramatic use of lighting, had a formative influence on the Baroque...

's Burial of St. Lucy

Burial of St. Lucy (Caravaggio)

Burial of Saint Lucy is a painting by the Italian artist Caravaggio. It is located in the church of Santa Lucia alla Badia located on the Piazza Duomo in Syracuse, Sicily....

(1608)), yet has people using modern technological gadgets. John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....

 is in the crowd.

Reception

Allmusic gave Slave to the Grind a rating of four and a half out of five stars, and said the album was "one of the best—and heaviest—examples of mainstream hard rock/heavy metal".

Original version

Personnel

• Sebastian Bach
  Sebastian Bach
  Sebastian Bach is a Canadian heavy metal singer who achieved mainstream success as frontman of Skid Row from 1987 to 1996. Since his departure from Skid Row, he has had many television roles, acted within Broadway plays, and leads a successful solo career.-Early life:Bach was born Sebastian...
  
   – lead vocals
• Scotti Hill
  Scotti Hill
  Scotti Hill , is a guitarist of the band Skid Row. He is co-guitarist in Skid Row with guitarist Dave "The Snake" Sabo....
  
   – guitars
• Dave "The Snake" Sabo – guitars, backing vocals, production
  Record producer
  A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
  
  
• Rachel Bolan
  Rachel Bolan
  Rachel Bolan is the bass guitar player and main songwriter of the metal band, Skid Row. He was born in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, USA, where he founded the band in 1986 with the guitarist Dave "The Snake" Sabo. Bolan has appeared as a vocalist on two of the Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley's solo...
  
   – bass guitar
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  , backing vocals
• Rob Affuso
  Rob Affuso
  Rob Affuso is an American heavy metal drummer, best known as the original ex-drummer of Skid Row. He stayed with the band until their original break-up in 1996....
  
   – drums and percussion

Other credits

• Riley J. Connell – assistant engineer
• George Marino – mastering
• Michael Wagener – producer, mixing
• Bob Defrin – art direction
• Craig Doubet – assistant engineer

Certifications

Chart performance

Chart	Peak position
Australian Albums Chart	3
Austria Albums Chart	16
Canada Albums Chart	8
Japan Albums Chart	3
Norway Albums Chart	12
Swedish Albums Chart	9
Swiss Albums Chart	15
UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...	5
U.S. Billboard 200	1

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1991	"Monkey Business"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	13
		UK Singles Chart	19
	"Slave to the Grind"	UK Singles Chart	43
	"Wasted Time"	Billboard Hot 100	88
		Mainstream Rock Tracks	30
		UK Singles Chart	20
	"In a Darkened Room"	Switzerland	27

Outtakes

The following songs were written and demoed for the album, not included.

• "Fire in the Hole" (released on 40 Seasons: The Best of Skid Row
  40 Seasons: The Best of Skid Row
  40 Seasons: The Best of Skid Row is a compilation album released by Skid Row in 1998, which includes the chart topping singles: "18 and Life", "I Remember You" and "Youth Gone Wild". Lead singer Sebastian Bach left the band due to personality differences...
  
  )
• "Burned" ~ (better you than me)