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- Mikkamakka
- Rep: 217
Re: Apocalyptic Love Press Reviews
Review: Apocalyptic Love - Slash
http://www.vintagevinylnews.com/2012/05 … slash.html
by Dan MacIntosh
Slash’s second solo album, Apocalyptic Love, just pours more salt into the wounds because it’s not a Guns N’ Roses or Velvet Revolver release. Slash is one of our greatest living guitarists, but he’ll never be one of our finest solo artists.
Apocalyptic Love is basically Slash’s regular road band in the studio. Myles Kennedy is the lead singer throughout just as he’s the primary vocalist whenever Slash tours. Slash’s previous self-titled solo release received the star treatment. Guys like Chris Cornell, Kid Rock, M. Shadows and Ozzy Osbourne all took turns playing lead singer. This collective at least made things interesting because these are all assertive, individualistic vocalists. Kennedy’s a passable singer; just not a distinctive one. In concert, Kennedy sings all those great Guns N’ Roses songs because, well, somebody’s got to sing the words, right?
Nothing particularly noteworthy happens on this new disc. Sure, Slash plays like a monster all over it, as he always does. However, it’s a lot like a Jeff Beck solo outing because these are only as interesting as the folks that surround Mr. Beck. If Rod Stewart is in the house, for instance, we perk up and pay attention. If it’s just another rock singer, though, we don’t really care.
About the only relatively memorable moment on this new work is Anastasia, which was inspired by Johann Sebastian Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor. It’s the sort of inclusion that makes one wish Slash would have recorded Slash Plays the Classics, instead. Then, at least, we’d have a lot of quality, familiar tunes to dig on.
Slash does his best marking time between major bands with this album, which is okay for now. It’s a time killer, however, rather than a meaningful statement. Apocalyptic Love may not be the end of the world, but it sort of feels like it when you consider what might have been, instead.
3/5
- Mikkamakka
- Rep: 217
Re: Apocalyptic Love Press Reviews
Slash finds new singer, new swagger on 'Apocalyptic' album
By Sean Daly, Times Pop Music Critic
http://www.tampabay.com/features/music/ … um/1232442
When guitar god Saul "Slash" Hudson released his self-titled solo debut in 2010, critics and fans alike bemoaned the lack of a charismatic vocalist to back up those slithery licks.
After all, the infamously top-hatted hairball, 46, had previously been paired with two of the most flamboyant, and confounding, lead wailers in rock: Guns N' Roses' Axl Rose and Velvet Revolver's Scott Weiland.
But now it appears Slash has finally found the right musical mate. Current mouthpiece Myles Kennedy, of Orlando's Alter Bridge, is a hot commodity after the operatic howler gamely filled in for an absent Axl last month when the Gunners were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
As a result, Slash's new album, Apocalyptic Love, featuring Kennedy's elastic overwrought vocals, is being greeted with an extra dose of grunty excitement. Apocalyptic Love is definitely GNR-esque, from the Paradise City echoes of the title track to the prickly, exploding You're a Lie. Slash's solos are ubiquitous and warmly familiar, and Kennedy now sounds more like Axl than Axl does.
Diehard fans should seek out the bonus cut Carolina on iTunes; Slash puts a tremendous wah-wah effect on his ax, like Peter Frampton busting out of prison.
Re-creating the dangerous, sexy allure of GNR or even Velvet Revolver is probably impossible at this point, but for a leathery boot-kick of West Hollywood rock, Slash's new one gets the dirty job done.
GRADE: B
- Mikkamakka
- Rep: 217
Re: Apocalyptic Love Press Reviews
Review: Slash – ‘Apocalyptic Love’
By Live4ever
http://www.live4ever.uk.com/2012/06/rev … yptic-love
Love them or loathe them, and the jury’s very much still out on that one, Guns N Roses were a once in a lifetime band that typified yet simultaneously reconstructed an entire generation’s attitude to rock music.
Those five Sunset Strip degenerates sat atop the very apex of their genre for some five years before Kurt Cobain’s grunge juggernaut rolled into town and delivered the mother of all onslaughts.
But Guns’ legacy was never forgotten.
That is why, 25 years after ‘Appetite For Destruction’ first ruptured eardrums the world over, any whiff of output, creative or otherwise, the former Gunners emit is met with a lingering interest on both a critical and public level. Duff McKagan is off exploring his punk heritage with Loaded, Steven Adler has become something of a morbid curiosity as years of drug and alcohol abuse have taken their toll, and we all know what Axl has been up to.
And then there’s Slash.
Top hat. Mane of unkempt black curly hair cascading over a face adorned with sunglasses even on the darkest of stages. Cigarette dangling recklessly from the lips. Solo hollering effortlessly from the vertically upright Les Paul. The iconic figurehead of the band.
More so than the others, the very image of the legendary guitarist instantly evokes a sense of what his band stood for, and above all stands as a timeless reminder of just how monumentally wondrous they could be when at the top of their game. So it is perhaps no surprise that it is he that has arguably amassed more success in his post GNR career than his former bandmates.
Well, maybe not in terms of ticket sales. Suffice to say Axl and his admittedly impressive travelling band claim that accolade. In terms of acclaim, however, Slash wins hand down. You couldn’t help but feel sorry for him when the highly lauded Velvet Revolver crashed and burned four years ago, the second time in his life the frontman’s ego has culminated in the painful death of something that could have been wonderful.
And in 2010’s eponymous debut solo album he rose like a phoenix from the wreckage in some style, sticking a middle finger up to anyone who thought he couldn’t go it alone. But whilst this does ring true for the most part, one glance at the supporting cast on that record will show that maybe Mr Hudson did rely on a little help from his (A list rock star) friends.
Two years and a shit load of tour dates later, Slash has stopped playing the field and settled down once again. A one band man. For although ‘Apocalyptic Love’ is touted primarily as a solo album, you may notice that this time the names of Myles Kennedy and ‘the conspirators’ also make an appearance amongst the artwork, albeit in a slightly smaller font than our hero’s. This is the band that have toured relentlessly since the release of the first record, Kennedy in particular leaving global audiences begging for more with his breathtaking adaptability and uncanny knack for sounding more like Axl Rose than Axl Rose on certain GNR tracks.
All this considered, the decision to ditch the revolving door approach and recruit the Alter Bridge powerhouse as a permanent fixture surely seemed a prudent one, but in reality ‘Apocalyptic Love’ is ultimately a more formulaic affair than its predecessor. Variety is, as they say, the spice of life and if you remove that from the equation all that is left is another rock and roll outfit confronting the prospect of that difficult second album.
Unsurprisingly given the track record of their main driving force, they pull it off. The title track that kicks off proceedings leads with a markedly funk driven guitar tone that is still somehow unmistakeably Slash, and astutely allows Kennedy to exhibit the range of vocal styles that made him such a live smash.
‘One Last Thrill’ could be a frenetic outtake from ‘Appetite…’, while the sultry ‘Standing In The Sun’ is a menacing bass motivated anthem that features the first of Slash’s many trademark solos. Lead single ‘You’re A Lie’ seems an odd choice to showcase the finished article, far from the strongest number present but an undoubted future live staple nonetheless.
As was the case with ‘Back From Cali’ and ‘Starlight’ on the first album, the more divergent tracks truly stand out as an opportunity for Myles Kennedy to display the diversity of his voice, and with highlight ‘Anastasia’ he is afforded another vehicle to hit the heights. The mesmeric acoustic intro and enticing riff conclusively cement the song as the moment this collection of vagabonds came into being as a band in their own right, and that momentum ploughs straight through into melodic Aerosmith-esque ballad ‘Not For Me’.
Adrenaline fuelled stomper ‘Hard & Fast’ hits you, well, hard and fast, while in ‘Bad Rain’ you get the distinct impression the singer was the primary conspirator such is its Alter Bridge comparatives. ‘Far And Away’ administers a deliberately understated cut of mournful soul searching before the record bows out all guns blazing with the aptly titled rabble rouser ‘Shots Fired’.
Contrary to the rumours that surface at least once every year, Guns N Roses as we know and love them are gone and are never coming back, but as long as the likes of Slash is still around and on this level of form the JD soaked spirit of 1987 will never die.
To borrow the catchphrase of the man himself: Rock and fuckin’ roll.
(Graham Miller)
- Mikkamakka
- Rep: 217
Re: Apocalyptic Love Press Reviews
Album review: Apocalyptic Love - Slash (+video)
By Chris Schulz
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment … d=10809611
The frizzy hair, the top hat, those tight leather pants and his endless array of monstrous licks - there are many things in Slash's world that never seem to change.
Though the 46-year-old doesn't seem to be running out of riffs just yet, the one thing the iconic former Guns N' Roses guitarist has struggled with over his 20-year career is finding a stable singer to front his legendary guitar skills.
Here, on his second solo record, Slash has ditched the guest vocalists and is working exclusively with Alter Bridge vocalist Miles Kennedy and the Conspirators, his touring band from his 2010 solo debut.
Close your eyes and you can almost imagine Kennedy's fast-paced squeal - check out his indecipherable yapping on One Last Thrill - is actually coming from the mouth of Axl Rose, in an American Idol cover version kind of way.
On first single You're a Lie and the desert boogie of Shots Fired, Slash and his team even seem to be discovering their own brand of radio-friendly rock - a meeting point between the Gunners' whiney aggression and the relentless chug of Velvet Revolver.
But there's too much workmanlike filler on the likes of Bad Rain and We Will Roam, and Kennedy's generic lyrics ("Here comes the bad rain, don't know when it's gonna stop") don't help.
As the grunty riffs and searing solos that back album highlight Halo suggest, it's just better when Slash lets his guitar do the talking.
Stars: 3/5
Verdict: Former Gunners' axe man finds stable singer.
- Mikkamakka
- Rep: 217
Re: Apocalyptic Love Press Reviews
Review: Slash – Apocalyptic Love
Written by: Sion Smith
http://the-void.co.uk/music/album/revie … -love-343/
Man, I really don’t like that album title. It’s got a real early nineties feel to it and that’s too long ago to be hip and cool like it needed to be. Good thing that we can all see past a measly gripe like that then huh?
This is one stinking great rock n roll album. I’m having some problems separating Myles Kennedy from his own band but I’m trying very hard. I wonder why that is though. I was OK – positively over the moon – with the Velvet Revolver set-up, never thought twice about it. Maybe it’s because Scott has a huge identity and Myles still has his id pegged up with Alter Bridge. I don’t know… I’m walking away from this train of thought. It’s too inconsequential to be hammering to death…
Let’s move along. So what are you looking for in a Slash album? Hair bludgeoning riffs that sound like Slash is on fire and still hungry? Check. A shit-ton neutron bomb of great rock n roll songs because he’s just about the only guy left standing who can pull it off and have us all hanging on every move? Check.
If I were to say that every song on here is a viable single/radio release, no lies would be spilling from my mouth. What can I tell you. Slash is on top of his game, the album is damn near perfect and (bar the album title) I wouldn’t change a thing about it even if I was in charge of his career.
So why do I sound slightly less than enthusiastic. The album alone is as I said above. Put that to one side and what now?
Well, I don’t want to hear maybe VR will be back together in the future. Don’t need to hear GnR mentioned ever again in relation to him. I really dig his work with guest singers dropping by. I love Snakepit. I love this. Yep – I pretty much dig everything Slash has laid his hands on, but shadows keeps cropping up and throwing dark patches over his legacy. This album and line-up is quite capable of being bigger than that shadow and I think it needs to be a band effort/situation to get the full lemon in the eye out of it.
I’m obviously having some trouble accepting that a guitarist can lead a band into the arena and make it authentic. Still, all that is just me waxing lyrical in the absence of me telling you just how great a rock n roll album this album is yet again.
It’s Slash. What the hell did you expect?
- Smoking Guns
- Rep: 330
- Mikkamakka
- Rep: 217
Re: Apocalyptic Love Press Reviews
Decent reviews so far.
Most of them are really favourable. Not much complain about Myles, most of the critics have only good things to say about him.
