Slash 4

On his fourth album with Alter Bridge vocalist Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators, Slash delivers what he describes as their most spontaneous collaboration yet. The perpetually top-hatted guitarist brings some of his inimitable Guns N’ Roses grit to lead single “The River Is Rising” while unleashing hooky, soaring hard rock on “Call Off the Dogs.” Elsewhere, the sentimental “Fill My World” might seem like it’s about a romantic relationship between humans, but Kennedy actually wrote the lyrics from the perspective of his beloved Shih Tzu, Mozart.

If you were wondering why Slash, one of the greatest guitarists of his generation, chose to throw in his lot with Myles Kennedy, one of the greatly undistinguished hard rock vocalists of his generation, consider this: if you spent your life battling temperaments like Axl Rose and Scott Weiland, you'd choose somebody who's easy to get along with too. Touring and playing with Kennedy clearly is easier on Slash's soul, and the music on Apocalyptic Love, his second solo album and first to feature Myles on vocals throughout, reflects this ease. It may be hard and heavy but it sounds relaxed, Slash and company doing the music they do best: namely, L.A. sleaze rock basics, thickly layered with guitars. There are absolutely no surprises here – it opens with a cascade of wah-wahs and quickly settles into grinding boogie derived from Aerosmith – but unlike either Slash's Snakepit or the 2010 Slash, Apocalyptic Love never tries too hard, so it winds up satisfying on its own limited scale.

Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators - Living the Dream Tour captures the band's incendiary performance on their sold-out 2019 tour, in front of a rabid crowd at London's legendary Hammersmith Apollo…

Slash featuring Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators is quite a mouthful for a band and World on Fire is quite a handful for an album. World on Fire stretches on and on, weighing in at 17 tracks, which is just one song longer than Use Your Illusion I, but where that record gained momentum (not to mention identity) through its mess, Slash featuring Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators gives the impression that they continue recording because they simply don't know when they're done…

If you were wondering why Slash, one of the greatest guitarists of his generation, chose to throw in his lot with Myles Kennedy, one of the greatly undistinguished hard rock vocalists of his generation, consider this: if you spent your life battling temperaments like Axl Rose and Scott Weiland, you'd choose somebody who's easy to get along with too. Touring and playing with Kennedy clearly is easier on Slash's soul, and the music on Apocalyptic Love, his second solo album and first to feature Myles on vocals throughout, reflects this ease.