In a recent interview with Metal Hammer magazine, Sebastian Bach was asked if he would consider a “sing-off” with FOZZY frontman and wrestling superstar Chris Jericho. He replied, “The better question would be, will he do a wrestle-off with Sebastian Bach? Because I’m as much of a wrestler as he is a singer.”
Bach’s remarks follow a nearly four-year-long feud that began when the former SKID ROW singer accused Jericho of using pre-recorded vocal tracks during live performances.
In July 2020, Bach first alleged that Jericho was “miming to a tape” at FOZZY concerts via social media. Jericho countered, asserting he had “never mimed anything ever” and challenged Bach to a “singoff” without any effects or tuning, stating, “Bas is a great singer…but I’m better.”
Over the ensuing months, Bach repeatedly brought up the lip-syncing accusations, including a January 2021 interview with The Aquarian Weekly. He recalled, “I checked out one video where the singer was 100% miming to a tape on stage at The Rockpile in Toronto. Then I watched another video of him opening for NICKELBACK in an arena, and again, he’s miming to a tape. You can see it for yourself. It’s obvious. This is not my opinion, it’s fact. I’ve never used tape. I don’t even know how to do that.”
Bach also addressed Jericho’s jab about his stage name after accusing Jericho of copying a SKID ROW tour name for FOZZY. “I switched a couple of letters of my legal last name [Bierk]. Who’s Mongoose McQueen?” Bach quipped, referring to Jericho’s original FOZZY stage name. “What kind of a stage name is that?”
Taking another swipe, Bach added, “Professional wrestling sucks. Everyone wishes they were a rock star. It’s hilarious. Evidently, all you have to do is [record] a tape, go on stage, and jump around. It doesn’t matter if you are miming to tape.”
Jericho responded publicly to Bach’s criticism in a January 2021 tweet: “I’ve been told that @sebastianbach continues to go out of his way to bury me. My response is this…be my guest! You are entitled to ur opinion & it doesn’t affect me either way. I still dig ur work on the first 3 @OfficialSkidRow albums & look forward to ur new record.”
When Bach first aired his accusations, FOZZY guitarist Rich Ward defended Jericho, calling Bach “universally disliked” and lamenting that Bach “publicly go[ing] after the only guy that I have ever witnessed utter a nice word about him is sad.”
