Rachel Bolan's 'Gargoyle of the Garden State' - Album Review

Over the last couple of years there really has been something of a Skid Row-shaped hole on the touring circuit. Ever since I have been paying attention, Skid Row have been regular visitors to the UK - and I managed to catch them live four times at various points during the 2010s. Following the departure of frontman Erik Grönwall in 2024, though, two years after dropping The Gang's All Here (which I reviewed here), the band's first album since 2006, Skid Row have essentially been dormant. A few remaining booked shows were completed with Lzzy Hale filling in, which seemed to be something of a dream come true for her, but she was never going to be a permanent solution given her profile far eclipses Skid Row's these days - and Skid Row have essentially been dormant since. In truth, I found the Grönwall era a little odd - as he seemed rushed in to replace his relatively long-standing predecessor ZP Theart out of nowhere, only to leave for health reasons a couple of years later. There almost certainly exists, or at least existed, a version of The Gang's All Here with Theart's vocals, and he was credited with co-writing some of the songs, and I was a big fan of him in the band. I never got to see Skid Row live with Grönwall, who I do really like, but it did seem as if they ditched Theart for what was, in their eyes, a fancy newer model only for it to backfire shortly after. I do not know all of the ins and outs of course, but perhaps what goes around comes around, and maybe Skid Row are now paying the price for making a bit of a rash choice. Given how active the band generally were as a live act, the last couple of years must have come as quite a shock for the remaining band members - but the band's bassist and one of their main songwriters Rachel Bolan has seemingly used his time off the road creatively, as in June he released his debut solo album Gargoyle of the Garden State. Whilst this is not the first album to feature Bolan as a lead singer, as he fronted the band Prunella Scales during the late 1990s following Skid Row's initial break up with whom he released Dressing Up the Idiot in 1997, but Gargoyle of the Garden State is arguably the first album which Bolan has essentially put together on his own from a songwriting and creative perspective. He generally shares songwriting duties in Skid Row with guitarist Dave 'Snake' Sabo, with others occasionally chipping in, and Prunella Scales was a band effort, but this first solo album is pure Bolan - where he handles most of the lead vocals alongside the rhythm guitar and bass guitar duties. Bolan always brought a punk edge to Skid Row, helping to forge the band's dirty hair metal sound, and that influence certainly shines here. There are punk efforts on this 11 track album, but it is also just a great hard rock effort. Some songs have shades of Skid Row, but the overall sound is rawer - with short songs that fly by. All of the remaining members of Skid Row contribute. Rob Hammersmith (The Halls of Jupiter; Rockets to Ruin; Skid Row) plays all of the drums here, whilst Sabo and fellow guitarist Scotti Hill (Skid Row; Chrome Daddy) contribute a guitar solo each. Some of the songs feature lead guitar work from Damon Johnson (Brother Cane; Slave to the System; Alice Cooper; Thin Lizzy; Black Star Riders; Lynyrd Skynyrd), whom has co-written a handful of Skid Row songs in the past, whilst others contribute backing vocals throughout. There are a few guest lead singers, too, but Bolan handles most of the vocals here - with his punky, snarling voice perfect for the material here.

There really is nothing all that complicated on show here, and Gargoyles of the Garden State is pretty much exactly the album I expected it to be when Bolan announced it earlier this year. Some of the songs may have been destined for a future Skid Row album given the unplanned hiatus, and some could certainly work in that context, but there is a difference in overall approach here given the aforementioned rawness. Anything but You kicks things off, and it is pretty typical of the album's overall approach. A distant riff opens the song, but soon it fades in proper - with the snappy guitar pattern essentially becoming the driving force of the whole piece, whilst Hammersmith's punchy drumming adds a spiky rhythm. The immediately noticeable difference between this album and a Skid Row album is the more simplistic approach to guitar riffing. The high-octane, bluesy approach that Skid Row often utilise is replaced here by a hard-driving rhythmic approach common with punk - but these snarling power chords and choppy patterns work well, especially whilst Bolan's simple vocals cover them in attitude. Bolan may not have the biggest vocal range, but his voice suits the material here - and there is a power to his delivery, even if he does sound a little nasally. A hooky chorus draws the listener in, with some surprisingly poppy vocal harmonies, whilst a later guitar break showcases that Bolan is capable of more than just slashing away at a few chords. The barrelling punk effort gets the album underway nicely - and it is pretty typical of the core approach going forward. Lead single At War with Myself ups the pace somewhat, and the overall arrangement feels a little more involved. Bolan shares vocal duties here with Danko Jones, who sings the second verse, but the chugging guitar patterns here are a little more Skid Row coded - whilst it is the first song to feature Johnson, who throws in some melodic guitar leads at times. A shout-along chorus sees Bolan and Jones singing together in a hooky, chanting manner, which certainly sticks in the brain after a couple of listens, whilst Johnson's later guitar solo is also a melodic moment - despite its overall pace. There is something pleasingly anthemic about the song due do its overall simplicity, wordless vocal hooks, and driving guitars. This one likely would work well as a Skid Row song - but the punkier vocal approach from Bolan and the more modern metallic edge of Jones gives it a different vibe. Memory retains the pace from the previous song, but there is a bit of a stronger punk edge which harks back to the opening song. There is no guest singer this time, either, so Bolan's snarl drives everything - even if some subtle harmonies are added to a chorus that has a slight power pop edge. Bolan's day job as a bassist also gets a light shone on it here. The bass is high in the mix throughout the song, and it is the bass playing that essentially drives everything. The guitars just follow the bass for the most part, save for Johnson's short solo, and there are some classic punk inflections such as a few of the bass and drum patterns. The song is very typical of the album's core sound, but it is full of energy with hooks that soon start to sink in.

See You on the Other Side reins in some of the pace from the past couple of numbers, instead going for something of a more expansive, mid-paced sound. Expansive is meant here in quite a liberal manner, as the song does not deviate from the album's core sound hugely - but the arrangement feels a little airier thanks to the mid-paced approach, whilst the guitars sometimes drop away or deviate from a simple chug to allow for a bit more of a dynamic approach. This is another song with quite a prominent bass presence, too, and the bass does quite a lot of heavy lifting throughout - especially during the melodic chorus, with some more subtle harmonies. Sabo adds the guitar solo this time, and his somewhat more lengthy solo spot feels bluesier than anything that has been heard here up to this point. Later additional hooks are thrown in thanks to some wordless melodies as the song comes to a close - expanding the chorus further and building on a subtle anthemic nature. Bridges is the first song here not to feature Bolan on vocals at all, with Steve Conte (Company of Wolves; Crown Jewels; New York Dolls; Michael Monroe) instead singing the power pop-coded piece. I know Conte as a guitarist, largely through his work with Michael Monroe, but I do not think that I had heard him singing lead vocals prior to hearing this song. His voice is pretty strong, and it suits the more laid back vibe of Bridges - with chiming clean guitar melodies and subtle acoustic guitar backing during the verses, before the chorus, which is filled with sing-song melodies, feels somewhat heavier. Given what I know about Bolan's voice from this album, his snarl may not have worked quite so well for this song - so Conte's somewhat more overtly melodic approach instead allows the poppy and summery song to shine. The song is one that shows how much of an influence bands like Cheap Trick had on the 1980s rock and metal scenes - and it is always nice to shake things up with something lighter. Jet Black Universe gets back to something much more typical of the album, although the mid-paced rocker has something of a powerful classic rock strut rather than a true punk edge. Bolan's vocal delivery is always going to add a punk feel, but the guitar riffing here feels a little more strident - whilst Hammersmith's drumming is more percussive and grounded here. Despite the simplicity of the song overall, it contains the album's longest and most intense guitar solo - courtesy of Nuno Bettencourt (Extreme; Mourning Widows; Population 1; DramaGods; Satellite Party). I have often said that Bettencourt is the best guitarist I have seen live - and his playing here certainly elevates the strident, punchy song further, adding some fluid playing alongside another shout-along chorus. Big Stick also features a guest singer - with Corey Taylor (Stone Sour; Slipknot) relegating Bolan to backing vocal duties. Taylor is a more diverse singer than most give him credit for really, and he sounds great here. In terms of a punk sound, this is the song here with the biggest punk feel. The riffs are pure punk - and the gang vocals of the chorus make the song impossible not to sing along to. Taylor adds plenty of snarl to the song whilst still sounding melodic, whilst Johnson adds a brief turnaround-type guitar solo to keep things moving. There are clear Ramones references during the song, too, and it is one of my favourite cuts here.

Pretty Hell retains a similar energy, but there is a little more to the overall arrangement - with a guitar riff that feels like one of the strongest musical moments on the album. The riffing feels more involved than the slab-like punk chord progressions found elsewhere - although this song is still packed full of those moments. As such, the song feels like the album's core sound but pushed one step further - with the later chorus benefitting from the slightly more expansive guitar approach. Despite this change, though, there is nothing significantly different going on here. Bolan sounds strong vocally as always, with a simple chorus laying down some memorable hooks, whilst Johnson adds another old-school rock and roll guitar solo. A cover of Oasis' Rock and Roll Star follows. Oasis are certainly not a band that gets much coverage here, but I do quite like their first two albums - and Rock and Roll Star was always one of Oasis' rockier pieces. Bolan does a good job of turning the song into a more high-octane rocker, though, bringing out the underlying punk edge that Oasis have always had in their back pocket. This version of the song is more intense and hard rocking - but the snarl of Liam Gallagher's vocal approach remains in Bolan's, whilst Hill adds a lengthy and memorable guitar solo. I was not expecting an Oasis cover on this album when it was first announced, but I can see why Bolan would like early Oasis - and the song has been altered enough to fit nicely on the album in my view. Devil in the White returns to something much faster paced overall, and it really is a pure punk track. The bass does all the hard work here. The guitars essentially just add chords and the odd shimmer here and there, but the bassline is what keeps the song moving - and parts of the verses see the guitars drop away completely to just let the bass do all the work. Hammersmith's drumming is punchy and powerful, working well with the bass, and there is a lot of energy whipped up by the song as a result. It is very easy to latch onto, but hooks-wise it is perhaps not as memorable as some of the other cuts here. The chorus feels a little less strong, but the energy does a lot of the work here - meaning that the song still sits nicely on the album. The album then comes to a close with Walk Away, another fairly punky number - although the energy from the previous song is reined in somewhat. The track is more of a strident mid-paced number, but the bass-heavy approach from the previous song is retained. Again, parts of the verses here see the bass dominate, with the guitars dropping away, but when the guitars do join in this time there is something a bit more interesting about the riffing - plus Johnson appears one last time to add some leads here and there, as well as another strong guitar solo. The album somewhat opens how it closes, then, with a strident and powerful combination of hard rock and punk - with a decent chorus and plenty more attitude from Bolan. Overall, then, Gargoyle from the Garden State is a very enjoyable album from Bolan that essentially does what I expected it to. His love of punk is showcased here, but overall the album is a strong rock record with punk and pop influences - with strong and honest performances throughout. A few guests add their spice here and there, but this album is Bolan through and through - and it is fun to finally hear something that is 100% him after all these years of hearing him plough a lot of effort into Skid Row.

The album was released on 12th June 2026 via earMusic. Below is Bolan's promotional video for Anything but You.