Album Review "Apocalyptic Love" by Slash...

..Featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators.

About six months ago when I was ordering the debut Slash "solo" disc, I came to a conclusion.

I love Slash

I really had no idea that I did. I started thinking about things. I love Guns N' Roses. I kind of dig Velvet Revolver, though I'm still disappointed by it. I even bought Slash's Snakepit, though I didn't keep it very long. Well,  if I'm spending my cash on every project Slash undertakes, how can I be anything other than a fan of the man? So, here I now shout it from the mountain tops: I'M A FAN OF SLASH!

This is really funny to me considering back in eighth grade how much I hated "Sweet Child o'Mine," and how I still do. I don't buy every album he puts out or has put out for him, but I at least check out something from all of his projects. What can I say? I'm a fan (apparently).

The record opens with the title track and from right there I was hooked! After a drum count off, Slash comes in full bore with an amazing wah wah guitar riff. For my money, there's nothing better in this world than a wah wah riff. I mean, anyone can can rock a lead with the Crybaby, but it takes a special kind of player to rock a rhythm riff that way. Lord knows I can't write one.

This album is heavy, rocking, and organic. It was recorded nearly live in the studio and I really felt the space there. I say that, because it's not a record dense with guitar tracks. I don't doubt there was some overdubbing done, but when Slash veers from the riff, you feel it, because his rhythm part drops out for the lead. I love that feeling. So many times when a solo or noodle comes in, it feels, like an alien showing up and then leaving instead of it being a natural part of the song.

Unlike the last album, Myles Kennedy handles the vocals on every track on this disc. The multiple singers thing is cute and all, but it really feels disjointed to me, although that track with Fergie was pretty damned happening. The Lemmy song though, not so much. I suppose though, in this day and age with all of us shuffling far more often than we should, a disjointed album isn't a terrible thing, but I'm off track again, as usual.

This is the album I have been waiting for since, honestly, "Appetite For Destruction!" From the moment it starts till the moment it ends, it just rocks. There's a ballad on there for a little bit of a change, but for the most part this really feels like the successor to Slash's best, in my humble opinion, work, Appetite. This is Slash at his best, ever. I love dirty Les Paul rock and this album has that in spades. Every album Slash has done since his debut has been a little lacking in the, shall we say, balls department. And yes, this album is full of Slashtone! This is just a balls to walls rock'n'roll thrill ride that I never want to end.

As stated, there are some issues. Myles Kennedy handles all of the vocals. If there's a venn diagram of what makes up Myles Kennedy's vocals, I think it would be three circles touching in a triangular formation and his vocals would be a mish mash of Axl Rose, Robert Plant, and Dennis DeYoung. Aside from a track or two, he's just really belting it out in this very singular catterwalling. I suppose it works well enough though.

The riffs of this album tend to blend together. There's a lot of fist pumping while driving and general rock'n'roll mayhem. What's lacking is definition between the songs. This certainly isn't at the level of say AC/DC, but someone with Slash's ability I'd expect a little bit better.

All in all, if you liked "Appetite For Destruction," buy this album. It's the sequel. Slash has finally made not just a follow up to that landmark album, but he's made the perfect solo record. He did what he does best, and let Myles handle what Slash can't. This reminds me a great deal of the Ace Frehley solo record. In the fact that both guitarists made solo records that featured their strongest attributes.

Buy this record.

Genre: Rock
Year: 2012
Run time: 54:20
Playlists: Rock, Arena Rock

Track listing:

1) Apocalyptic Love
2) One Last Thrill
3) Standing In The Sun
4) You're A Lie
5) No More Heroes
6) Halo
7) We Will Roam
8) Anastasia
9) Not For Me
10) Bad Rain
11) Hard & Fast
12) Far And Away
13) Shots Fired