SkinInc. – Another Crack (Vinyl, LP, Album, Limited Edition, Red Splatter)

Australian rockers SkinInc. are ready to release their second full-length studio album in 2024, through Rue Morgue Records. Titled “Another Crack,” it comes 23 years after their debut album “Rose Coloured Glasses” and will be their first-ever release on vinyl.

This new album features ten solid and diverse singalong rock songs, leading with recent singles “Life’s a Bitch,” “It Saved My Soul,” and “Wicked Woman,” and ending with a ridiculously good cover of The Saints’ classic “(I’m) Stranded.”

From the darkest goth rock of “Blacker Than Black” to the uplifting ukulele encouragement of “Someone New,” “Another Crack” is chock full of catchy rock’n’roll songs.

SkinInc. is a heavy rock band that blends radio-friendly hooks and melodies with crunching twin-guitar riffs. After entertaining crowds with theatrical live shows during their first era, they took a twenty-year hiatus, but are now back to releasing new music once again.

Formed in the winter of 1999, SkinInc. quickly hit the Perth music scene with a bang! Their fourth gig was played from the Claremont Speedway infield in front of five-thousand people enjoying a World Series event (that included perhaps the heaviest rendition of Australia’s National Anthem ever!)

SkinInc.’s biggest performance was at the Big Day Out festival in the year 2000, which moved music TV personality Jabba to write, “SkinInc.’s set had to be seen to be believed… far out!” in his review of the sold-out festival – not bad for the band’s twelfth gig.

Their live shows featured triple fire-spits over the crowd by lead guitarist Stevie D., shenanigans from jocular rhythm guitarist Corey Hodgetts, and the “Drum Rod”: picture a drumming interlude on a kit setup with mag wheels, smoke billowing through silver exhaust pipes on both sides, topped with a crash helmet on their otherwise nude drummer Matt Franklin.

Like the shock rock heroes that came before them, SkinInc. also had quality, catchy songs, which fans loved (and rival bands didn’t), to match their bombastic show. They recorded their EP “Love Me Tomorrow” just a week after their debut gig and the Limited Collectors’ Edition of the CD even came with a piece of the bands’ own skin ink leftovers for a personalised touch – yes, their tattoo scabs, in other words.

They then released their album “Rose Coloured Glasses” in the middle of 2001. Included on the disc’s multimedia goodies was the video to opening track “Diatribe,” as seen on music television across Australia. However, the release became the band’s swan song.

SkinInc. went on hiatus when frontman Paul Miles relocated his baritone vocals from Perth to Melbourne, where he became an imminent rock DJ in the city’s clubs and bars (like Cherry’s halcyon days in AC/DC Lane for more than a decade.)  Furthermore, as a writer, he’s authored ten rock ‘n’ roll books and was asked to contribute to Mötley Crüe’s autobiography The Dirt that’s sold more than a million copies – you’ll see that he gets “the biggest thanks of all” in the book’s Acknowledgements page.

Throughout SkinInc.’s 1999-2001 first era, the band could unfortunately see the health of their bassist Geoff Lewis deteriorating. His disease was terminal, and he sadly passed away at the end of 2016. It added to the list of highs and lows the band members have all faced over the course of the last two decades, as life ran its course. Through it all though, each band member always fondly respected what they had initially created together.

It took a global pandemic to reignite the band in the middle of 2021. Long-time friend Shane Johnstone [Ultra Sound, Supernatural, Atmosfear] has joined them on bass, who is also an experienced singer and songwriter.

Celebrating the band’s return, SkinInc. released a retrospective compilation “The First Era” as a Japanese Limited Edition. SkinInc. has always meant business (as their abbreviated name of Skin Incorporated indicates) but they are also aware that humour is an important part of rock ‘n’ roll. When asked for further details on the release, Miles said, “It’s like we just woke from a coma after 20 years and we’re trying to figure out today’s music world. So this edition is not available as physical product; it’s limited to digital downloads and streaming only. Plus the Japanese cover is a tribute to my favourite country to visit and buy records.”  Hodgetts quipped, “Yes, we’ll be big in Japan… when we stand next to the locals.”

Although Miles is still based in Melbourne, technology has come a long way in the last twenty years, making the collaborative creation of music that much easier and a reality for the rockers. Brand new SkinInc. songs have been coming together with the same ease and sounding better than ever! A string of singles commencing with “Life’s a Bitch” in 2022 is being released, along with the promise of much more to come in the next stage of the SkinInc. rock ‘n’ roll journey.

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