Erik Grönwall is stepping out on his own terms. The former Skid Row and H.E.A.T. vocalist has announced Bad Bones, his first fully original solo album, set for release on 05/22. The title track is already out on streaming platforms, and you can watch the music video below.
The record was made in collaboration with Jona Tee, Grönwall‘s longtime producer and former H.E.A.T. bandmate. Built entirely on original material, the album represents a return to songwriting at its core — honest, powerful, and deeply personal.
Erik comments: “I’ve had the honor of fronting some great bands, but now it’s time to tell my own story. Bad Bones is about owning who you are and not apologizing for it. I’ve always walked my own path, no matter what people thought. I’ve never followed the norm — and I’m not about to start now.”
In an interview with Stefan Nilsson of Roppongi Rocks (translated by Blabbermouth), Erik was direct about what this album means compared to his previous solo output: “I’ve had the honor of fronting some great bands, but now it’s time to tell my own story. ‘Bad Bones’ is about owning who you are and not apologizing for it. I’ve always walked my own path, no matter what people thought. I’ve never followed the norm — and I’m not about to start now.”
He also drew a clear line between Bad Bones and the solo album he put out after appearing on the Swedish competition show Idol: “I did a solo album after [appearing on] ‘[Swedish] Idol’, but I have to say that was more Sony Music‘s album. We put it out just to get it out for people to shop for Christmas. So, yeah, it wasn’t from the heart. But now it is. And I’ve never been prouder of an album than I am right now.”
The process, he says, involved a lot of digging. He and Jona spent time experimenting and soul searching — testing ideas, discarding what didn’t feel right, and eventually landing on something that felt true: “I realized that who I am as an artist is everything I’ve done so far, combined — H.E.A.T., Skid Row, Michael Schenker. It’s not that hard. It’s rock and roll. If you can count to four, you can do rock and roll. 1, 2, 3, 4 — it’s done. That’s all you need.”
Grönwall joined Skid Row in early 2022, just five months after a bone marrow transplant following his leukemia diagnosis in March 2021. He was candid about the timing: “I got the question five months after my bone marrow transplant against leukemia. [I had a] new immune system, new blood type — [I went through] a total reset of the immune system. I weighed 55 kilos [around 121 pounds] after all the chemo. And I got the question. If the question came a month earlier than that, I wouldn’t have been able to do it. So it was perfect timing, but still the worst timing.”
His departure from the band two years later was harder to process. He proposed a schedule of three weeks on the road with one month off in between — enough to manage his ongoing recovery and hospital checkups — but the band found it unworkable.
“I asked for… I wasn’t saying ‘no’ to touring completely. I was just saying I need a month off at home in between tours. Just ’cause I was still doing checkups at the hospital, and I still do it. I kind of felt like I was everywhere, and I didn’t really take care of myself. And that became stressful because knowing what I’ve been through, and I don’t know what can happen if… It’s very unpredictable. Cancer is very unpredictable.”
He was clear that there were no hard feelings toward the band: “They are a touring band, and that didn’t work for them. And that’s completely fine. No hard feelings. That was just something I needed.”
