Sixx:AM Mixing It Up

I have loved Sixx:AM for a long time and found them accidently via YouTube and stalking Nikki Sixx via Instagram. They only started because Nikki was creating a soundtrack to go with his autobiographical diary entries from the 80s at the height of his heroin addiction. That book became: “The Heroin Diaries”.

After the book claimed amazing success and the track “Life is Beautiful” topped the charts all over the world, Sixx:AM became a more permanent thing.

After a few years, tours and a jaunt here and there, the band went quiet with Nikki, DJ Ashba and James Michael going off to do their own things. Nikki was getting ready for round two of Motley Crue’s farewell tour, James was taking some time to himself and DJ was expanding ASHBA Industries and taking over the world.

A few weeks a go, the band dropped a photo on Instagram and teased fans, giving them a trickle of excitement of something yet to come, then this morning, this popped up on Spotify.

“Skin” is a delicate and impacting track of raw emotion and a silent fighter song for anyone who has felt different and unjustifiably judged. It comes off the album “This is Gonna Hurt” and made me cry the first time I heard it. Still does if I’m not in the best of moods. James’s vocals crate such a beautiful atmosphere, blended beautifully with the orchestra, and in my opinion, holds a silent tone. It takes you out of your space and makes you feel isolated and at one with the song.

The band have called it the Rock Mix and yeah they have, by adding a banging guitar solo courtesy of Ashba’s talents, more drums and rumble of bass. It’s a great remix but for me, it takes away the initial rawness of the meaning of the track and James’ pure emotion in the original track is a definite heart string puller. In this version James is kind of more relaxed and trying to make it more of an anthem rather than a sorrow and sob story. The piano and slow intro pulls you in for the emotional ride but it doesn’t quite have the same feel to me.

It is a nice change but the impact of the original song is miles better, it’s generous of them to remix the track but it takes away the rawness and realness of true issues that hide themselves amongst the lyrics.

Thanks for the change of pace guys but I love the original too much!

Go and have a listen for yourself and let me know what you think!