Slash feat. Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators - World On Fire (Roadrunner Records)
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| Slash feat. Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators - World On Fire |
Release Date: 15th September 2014
One cold autumn night in 2001 I
went to a rock club in Sheffield to interview the rock legend Slash for my
university magazine. I was terrified, he was a gentleman and the night goes a
bit hazy after a while but I do remember he asked to borrow my lighter and
never gave it back. I'm not one to hold a grudge though so I'll give a fair
hearing to the new vehicle for one of the most iconic musicians of all time.
This album opens with the title track, 'World On Fire', and we go from 0 to 60
faster than you can say rock'n'roll. Sleazy guitars and snarling vocals
courtesy of Myles Kennedy - sounding not unlike Axl Rose in his prime - are the
order of the day and what else did any of you expect? 'Shadow Life' is a
slower, more ballad-like number without losing that rock feel while 'Automatic'
has a slick feel about it that is somewhere between Buckcherry and Audioslave.
The difficult thing is listening
to Slash without just straight thinking of Guns'n'Roses but fortunately there
is a more polished and rounded sounded to this album which makes that an easier
task. On 'Wicked Stone', for example, the guitars chime out like warning bells
before that distinctive six string grunt kicks in and Kennedy's vocal snakes
around you like snake with bourbon for venom. '30 Years To Life' has some great
Louisiana slide guitar running through it that makes you want to find a convertible
and take a road strip before 'Bent To Fly' takes things to a mellower, Chris
Cornell inspired place which is alright by me. The guitars on 'Stone Blind' are
balanced precariously between having fun like Kid Rock and causing trouble like
Motley Crue. 'Too Far Gone' is more abrasive tune in the vein of Rage Against
The Machine but with smoother vocals while 'Beneath The Savage Sun' is a doom
laden, mildly industrial tune that should have a video featuring lots of molten
metal an heavy chains. As the album ramps up to a climax, 'Withered' gets the
crowd going with a groove so hard it's in danger of taking blood from vital
parts of the body and then 'Battleground' gets all serious on our asses with a
tune that needs lighters to be gently swayed along to the slow beat.
This is a beast of an album,
however, and there is more to come starting in the shape of 'Dirty Girl' which
is perhaps the most 80s hair metal tune written since the 80s disappeared up its
own ass like an oversized mobile phone being swallowed whole by a despairing
yuppie. 'Iris Of the Storm' swirls and churns relentlessly with that Audioslave
sound present again while 'Avalon' firmly plants its foot on the monitor before
rocking out with a steadily banging head. The last three tunes come thick and
fast with the Deep South inspired 'The Dissident' followed sharply by 'Safari
Inn', a groove heavy track if ever there was one, and finally 'The Unholy' - a
seven minute opus which grows gradually before climaxing like a sexually
charged volcanic eruption. There is a whole lot of rock'n'roll on this album
which for many will be too much and you might need a lie down. However, for
those of you with a more hardy spirit you will absolutely love this and, as an
album, it provides proof that Slash has still got it....whatever 'it' is. Oh, and there's one hell of a world tour coming up so you've got no excuse really, have you?
More information: http://slashonline.com/2014/05/27/slash-ft-myles-kennedy-and-the-conspirators-announce-new-album-world-on-fire/
Live Dates:
31st August - Boardwalk, Atlantic City w/Aerosmith
3rd September - Prudential Center, Newark w/Aerosmith
5th September - Grand Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino,
Mashantucket
6th September - Jiffy Lube Live, Bristow w/Aerosmith
9th September - DTE Energy Music Theatre, Clarkston
w/Aerosmith
12th September - Open Hearth Park, Sydney w/Aerosmith
23rd September - The Troubadour, West Hollywood
25th September - The Roxy, West Hollywood
26th September - The Whiskey, West Hollywood
10th November - O2 Arena, Dublin
12th November - Zenith, Paris
15th November - St Jakobsville, Basel
16th November - Pala Alpitour, Turin
17th November - Mandela Forum, Florence
19th November - Stadthalle, Vienna
20th November - Krakow Arena, Poland
22nd November - Zenith, Munich
23rd November - Palladium, Cologne
24th November - Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam
26th November - Forest Club, Brussels
28th November - Phones 4U Arena, Manchester
29th November - Leeds Arena, Leeds
1st December - LG Arena, Birmingham
2nd December - Wembley Arena, London
4th December - Hydro Arena, Glasgow
21st - 22nd February - Soundwave Festival,
Melbourne/Adelaide
28th February - 1st March - Soundwave Festival,
Brisbane/Sydney