Released By: Dik Hayd International
Genre : Rock
Link : http://slashonline.com
Lineup:
Slash – Guitars
Miles Kennedy – Vocals
Todd Kerns – Drums
Brent Fitz – Bass
Tracklist:
01. Apocalyptic Love
02. One Last Thrill
03. Standing In The Sun
04. You’re A Lie
05. No More Heroes
06. Halo
07. We Will Roam
08. Anastasia
09. Not For Me
10. Bad Rain
11. Hard And Fast
12. Far And Away
13. Shots Fired
Ever since the unfortunate and ridiculous conclusion of the real GUNS N ROSES as a band (yes, yes AXL is still busy dragging the name through the ringer, but c’mon…), SLASH has long searched for an outlet that would match what he wanted to do musically. The SLASH’S SNAKEPIT albums were cult classics that featured some great tracks but it didn’t help him get back into the scene as deeply as he wanted to. VELVET REVOLVER showed some promise, but with somebody like Scott Weiland at the helm the early demise of that outfit was easily predicted from the beginning. Finally deciding to have a proper crack at a solo career, SLASH called upon some friends to guest star on a record that some people liked, but is widely considered as a pure disaster (a sentiment this reviewer agrees with whole-heartedly). The highlight track from that recording was BACK FROM CALI, which features ALTER BRIDGE frontman MILES KENNEDY on lead vocals. This led to a subsequent tour with Kennedy up front full-time and from that success Kennedy was chosen as the single frontman for the new SLASH band.
APOCALYPTIC LOVE is the first proper album featuring the two of these guys together and while it’s certainly a mile better than the previous album, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s a success. Stylistically the trademark SLASH sound is all over this thing, whether this is good thing or not is up to you. The riff work and the solos have a distinctive sound that recalls the APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION era and mixes it with the more modern sleaze rock sounds of bands like BUCKCHERRY. Of course this is more of a band effort and MILES KENNEDY throws his voice (which sounds like an odd combination of Axl Rose and Chris Cornell) around here in a way that shows that he is not intimidated by his situation.
The main issue though, is that between the two of these guys they just can’t write an entire album of great songs and on offer here are way too many filler type tracks. There’s a few rippers in tracks like HALO, YOU’RE A LIE and ANASTASIA, but with a running time of thirteen tracks there’s just too much of the same, and the lack of variation makes it feel a bit longer than it really is. Other current day rock acts have shown the benefit of a shorter running time and this album really would have been better as a ten track, no frills joyride.
SLASH may not have many tricks up his sleeve, showing time and time again that he is happy sitting in his familiar groove, but for rock fans to get really excited about his efforts there needs to be a little more urgency in his songwriting. Die-hard SLASH-aholics will inevitably buy this and convince themselves that it’s one of the best albums of all time, and it’s sure to sell enough copies to run up highly on record sales charts across the globe, but approaching this album without fanboy blinkers on will expose it for what it is.. A good, sleazy hard rock record that doesn’t do anything special but is serviceable just the same.
Written By ZeeZee
Rating : 7/10
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