Everything in that last paragraph should be forgotten
whenever someone is talking about Slash.
Having been making some of the best rock songs for over 25 years now, he still
is among the top most recognizable figures in music. Now a Rock and Roll Hall
of Fame inductee, he still maintains his reputation as the hardest working rock
star. Last year, in May of 2012, he released his second solo album Apocalyptic Love featuring Myles Kennedy and “The Conspirators”.
This is the 11th album in total that Slash has released over a span
of four bands.
Myles
Kennedy was an obvious choice to sing on this album. He was the only
singer on Slash’s first self titled album to sing on more than one song (the
album featured different singers and for the most part different musicians on
every track) and toured with Slash on the tour supporting the first album. For
those who don’t know Myles, I’m surprised, because Led Zeppelin have not only heard of him, but temporarily had him as
their singer when they were considering doing some shows without Robert Plant. He is the front man for
alternative rock band Alter Bridge,
which with juggling them and Slash
makes him the second busiest guy in the music business.
The album starts off with the title track. It has heavy use of a wah pedal and has a nice intense
classic rock feel with Myles singing with a good deal of soul. It isn’t until
the second track that the album really takes off though. One Last Thrill comes at you like a punch in the face. A fast,
almost punk song that never loses its place, it’s sure to wake its listener up
for the rest of the album. The only other song on the album with the pace and
drive of this song is the appropriately titled Hard & Fast, though this track is more “hard and fast” than it
is musical.
The album’s first single is You’re a Lie. This was a well chosen track to be a single. It has a
nice heavy guitar riff, and a catchy aggressive chorus. The song is glued
together perfectly with its subtle low sung verses that keep the heavy chorus
an unexpected surprise. The albums second single is Standing in the Sun, which is your typical mid-tempo hard rocker, with
a hell of a chorus and anti-depressing lyrics. The album’s third single, Bad Rain, is not one of the better
songs on the album. It has a dirty and sleazy feeling to it which sounds pretty
good, but the chorus of the song is a tad annoying, and there really isn’t a
hook anywhere in the song. The last single (so far) from the album is probably
the best written of songs on the album. Anastasia
has an almost Spanish-like influence to its sound. It starts off with an
acoustic guitar intro that turns in to a signature Slash electric guitar riff,
and one of his best.
No More
Heroes has a very nice groove to it. The best part of the track is
its guitar riff, but the singing of Myles Kennedy and his very accessible voice
make the song a must listen to. The chorus of the song could be a tad better,
but the lyrics deliver a good message. Halo
is a faster paced hard beating song with nice, clean vocals from Myles, which
see him hitting pitches that he doesn’t hit at very many points of this album. We Will Roam starts off with another
great riff, which gives the song the feeling of a train chugging down the tracks.
The song has a slower pace, but that just adds to its effectiveness.
The album has two slower and more tamed sounding songs. Both
songs are two of the better tracks on the album. The first of the two is Not For Me. This track starts off with
a simple drum clicking in the background with Slash playing his guitar ever so
softly with Myles practically whispering the opening lyrics. After the first
chorus it picks up a bit, keeping its slow pace, but the instruments become
more than noticeably louder. The second of the slow tracks on the album is Far and Away. This song closer
resembles a ballad, with the sound of an early 70’s southern rock song. The
song remains softly delivered throughout, the guitars don’t hit a high distortion
level and the drums maintain a mellow beat...that is until the last chorus,
when, with all the feeling that the band could possible give, they turn up the
volume and play their hearts out.
The last song on the album is Shots Fired. This song ends the album off on a heavy note, similar
to that of One Last Thrill, only
this track sounds darker. It is not easy to verify, but this track is probably
the heaviest track on the album.
Two bonus tracks come with the albums deluxe edition. These
songs are Carolina and Crazy Life, the former being a display
of Slash’s love for his voice box
effect. The song isn’t much more than just a slightly sleazy song, it’s only
true highlight is its chorus, which is pretty catchy. The same could be said
for Crazy Life. It isn’t much more
than just a less than significant rock song with a very well played chorus. For
the huge Slash fans I’d recommend
the deluxe edition, it also comes with a bonus DVD, but for the less than
familiar listener, just get the regular edition.
Slash continues
to make excellent music. It’s hard to pinpoint anything he has done that isn’t
great. Apocalyptic Love is certainly
a highlight of his career; I dare say it is up there with Appetite for Destruction and Contraband.
It is a truly inspiring classic hard rock sounding album that puts both Slash and Myles Kennedy in to an obvious level of comfort.
ALBUM HIGHLIGHT
“Anastasia” –
Absolutely no other song comes at you the way this one does. It is still as much of a hard rock song as any other song off of this album, but with its Spanish influence
and neo-classical guitar riff, it stands out on an album filled with blues-based
hard rock songs. It wins any listener over immediately when the riff starts after the acoustic
intro. The chorus is very easy to sing along with and Myles Kennedy sings the song as though he is living it.
FINAL RATING
8.5 (Out of 10)
Track List:
1.
|
"Apocalyptic Love"
|
3:28
|
2.
|
"One Last Thrill"
|
3:09
|
3.
|
"Standing in the Sun"
|
4:03
|
4.
|
"You're a Lie"
|
3:50
|
5.
|
"No More Heroes"
|
4:23
|
6.
|
"Halo"
|
3:22
|
7.
|
"We Will Roam"
|
4:49
|
8.
|
"Anastasia"
|
6:07
|
9.
|
"Not for Me"
|
5:21
|
10.
|
"Bad Rain"
|
3:46
|
11.
|
"Hard & Fast"
|
3:02
|
12.
|
"Far and Away"
|
5:14
|
13.
|
"Shots Fired"
|
3:48
|
14.
|
"Carolina"
|
3:17
|
15.
|
"Crazy Life"
|
3:40
|
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