SLASH album preview

[hartman]

two positive reviews by two french fans: http://www.gunnertemple.net/thepit/index.php?topic=11311.0

one of them wrote that the album is very diverse in style and will have more appeal to the chinese democracy fans than to the snakepit fans

 


PREVIEW (30 seconds of each song): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=io3dBfq7v_Q

[Slash2baz]

I'm one of these guys.
We have the opportunity to be invited by the record company as "trainee journalists" to listen to the album. Thanks for that !

Sorry the review is in french, but in general, the word to resume the album is surprising and disconcerting. It's far from Snakepit and there are a lot of "pop rock" songs on the record. But there are pop songs from trash metal songs...
We heared only one time but 3 songs kicked ass directly: Ghost, Beautiful Dangerous, Starlight (what an awesome voice of Myles Kennedy)
I need to listen it again...

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[Naupis]

Starlight (what an awesome voice of Myles Kennedy)

I am not surprised people are impressed with Myles. He has never been in a hugely popular band (Alter Bridge has had moderate success) but he is on the super short list of top rock voices out there today. He has insane vocal range, and is a super talented musician. Jimmy Page was impressed enough with him he had him standing in to do Zepplin vocals when Page/Jones/Bonham were contemplating touring without Plant a few years ago. Needless to say I think the Slash live shows this year with him are going to be amazing.

[hartman]

Google translation:

Review after only one listen: (both reviewers said the album needs several listens)


(First review. I'll translate the other one in a couple of minutes)

1. Ghost (with Ian Astbury & Izzy Stradlin) 3'34
We enter directly into the heart of the matter with a guitar gimmick totally unstoppable which will remain throughout the piece. The rhythm is powerful and ruthlessly efficient. The song comes along and, without exception, the rest sticks perfectly. So, after less than a minute, you know you are dealing with the great Slash. It's very rock'n'roll, and it sounds incredibly good. Although construction is quite simple, the title is full of depth. The solo is quite common, but it will still delight the fans. The album starts really strong.

2. Crucify The Dead (with Ozzy Osbourne) 4'04
Intro arpeggio quite effective. Instrumentally, and despite a slow tempo, this track holds the road well. But Ozzy's voice, which clearly lacks punch, does not take everything up. Suddenly, an atmosphere almost flaccid emerges. And even if the chorus gives a bit of momentum to the whole, we wait for the next track. Ultimately, one wonders if "Crucify The Dead" would not have been better with another vocal arrangements and more sharp.

3. Beautiful Dangerous (with Fergie) 4:35
Whoa, another nugget. The intro trend hip-hop beats quickly disappear and then begins an awesome riff, full of finesse, which sounds like Tom Morello mixed with Industrial sounds. Fergie is fantastic in her role and her voice quickly becomes the engine of the machine. Certainly, after a good rise, the chorus is a little too poppy but it was totally coherent and is ideal for vocal lines of the Black Eyed Peas singer. The bass is very strong and then there is an awesome drum-break which reinforces the depth of the track.

4. Promise (with Chris Cornell) 4'41
It begins with a melodic arpeggio well saturated. It's beautiful, and it sounds rich but not really in the style known of Slash. Chris Cornell is so true to himself that you can't help wondering if this track could not be included on a Soundgarden album. The solo is very good and has really rich textures. Despite all these factors, the song is not a complete achievement.

5. By The Sword (with Andrew Stockdale) 4'50
That one is already known.

6. Gotten (with Adam Levine) 5'05
First ballad that starts with an arpeggio with no real consistency but quite catchy. Even if the voice is impressive, it falls rapidly in the radio friendly ballad.  The violins are subtle but there are there. The song is kind of boring but we are awaken by the nice solo.

7. Doctor Alibi (with Lemmy) 3'07
No surprise: it's simple, it's raw, it's ultra classic and it's direct as a kick between the legs. When Lemmy opens his mouth, it smells like Jack Daniels. The track is cut out for him. The few hints on the pop tunes are not enough to break the chemistry that emerges. To this is added a guitar solo devilishly effective. But ultimately, we regret almost the predictable aspect of this collaboration.

8. Watch This (with Dave Grohl & Duff McKagan) 3'46
Big riffs, big sound, big prod: the introduction is absolutely unstoppable. One understands immediately that Slash, Duff and Dave in the same studio absolutely rock ! Very quickly, the instrumental solos alternate exotic and classic solos. The experimental side is so confusing that you almost forget that the rhythm section is very strong. A transition plan with a solo and an incredible feeling totally dissonant break give depth but ultimately it all seems rather disjointed.

9. I Hold On (with Kid Rock) 4'10
It sounds like great Southern rock that you will enjoy listening in your car. Basic rock riff alternates with parts easy-listening and gospel choirs. Unfortunately, Kid Rock is too soft, not angry enough... The solo just raise the level of this track which is, after all, quite bland.

10. Nothing To Say (with M Shadows) 5'27
What a surprise! We waited for a heavy track but it is in fact an homage to Megadeth, Metallica or even Slayer that we have here. The riffs by Slash make him totally unrecognizable. Even the solo gives the impression of having been recorded by Marty Friedman. The whole thing is sometimes tinged with a neo-metal side. Whether one is a fan or not one must admit that the song is quite cool.

11. Starlight (with Myles Kennedy) 5'35
At first, one wonders if the Keith Richards of the good days has been invited on this track. But the real discovery is the voice of Myles Kennedy, incredibly powerful, warm and pure. The solo, quite similar to the one from "Back And Forth Again" is simple and effective. It's a punchy ballad simply beautiful and one can not help but want to listen to it again immediately.

12. Saint Is A Sinner Too (with Rocco DeLuca) 3'28
Stop looking for aliens ... they are here. "Saint is a Sinner too" is in fact a real UFO which sounds like nothing known. Despite a few mandolin solo and one Flamenco guitar, one is totally confused, so lost almost all logic seems to have disappeared. Without the vocals, it might have been a good film music track or a hidden track.

13. We're All Gonna Die (with Iggy Pop) 4'30
Back to a more familiar territory with a song that is both well written and subtle. It's far from a revolution, but the rich arrangements and catchy chorus contribute to the effectiveness of the track.

[hartman]

Second review:

1. Ghost (Ian Astbury / Izzy Stradlin)
Wow! It starts strong! An intro "mutated in arpeggio saturated", the riff of the song that runs in a loop! A big sound, a chorus pretty basic, there is the superb voice of Ian Astbury, very classic rock 80's in mind, a solo with a good feeling, makes you think of Snakepit '95.
Only flaw in my opinion, we do not hear much Izzy but I think it will better with headphones ....
One of the best tracks on the album in my opinion.

2. Crucify The Dead (Ozzy Osbourne)
What could we expect from a duo Slash / Ozzy? Well it starts with an intro arpeggios on guitars tuned to D, a small solo intro that gives a glaucous tone to the song, Ozzy sings well, you get a chorus with guitars saturated enough typed heavy '80s, a nice little solo is interposed between the chorus and the verse pre chorus raises the pressure, a bridge with a gloom atmosphere which leads to a solo which sounds quite like Zakk Wylde.
Not really convincing, a bit like if Ozzy had been playing guitar parts from Zakk Wylde to Slash .... moderately satisfied after the 1st listen, despite the superb voice of Ozzy!

3. Beautiful Dangerous (Fergie)
We had already heard snippets of this piece in short youtube videos or in interviews but then .... this song is a bomb!
The track begins with an intro with hip hop industrial beats and sensual moans by Fergie (she's so slutty!).
The verse is very heavy, heavy guitars almost nu-metal plated agreement, a big bass purrs, a super pre chorus, a song limit grated at times, a chorus that recalls the famous "take my breath away" but much more glaucous, a nice solo with a lot of feeling that goes fast and everything ends with a fade out.
Major work on the rhythm and Fergie's voice is ultra sensual .... probably one of the best tracks on the album.

4. Promise (Chris Cornell)
A quiet intro, a solo harmonized guitars, pop rock atmosphere, the voice is simply sublime, we are in the world of Chris Cornell.... a great job on vocals, always cool little riffs of Slash who will take delight in imitating a harp at times, a bluesy solo, bridge "poppy" for a song that strongly sounds like a solo song by Chris Cornell. A perfect title for U.S. radios.
Small disappointment because it is too quiet!

5. By The Sword (Andrew Stockdale of Wolfmother)
Everybody knows that one, but it's really great to listen to it on a proper audio system!
Awesome intro riff and killer work on the solo.
Really Led Zep style.

6. Gotten (Adam Levine)
Slowly, the arpeggios of 12 strings guitar (probably!). We just tickle the ears by introducing a jazzy-bluesy mood FM, lulled by the sweet clean voice of Adam Levine of Maroon 5 and the group takes us soar in the spheres of violin wrapped love .... a stratocaster solo (certainly!), a nice instrumental break, very progressive... ideal for radio stations and to seduce girls.... but it's too soft!

7. Doctor Alibi (Lemmy Kilmeister)
Wow! It's a raw transition with the previous track: a great punk rock style intro,  Lemmy sings like Lemmy, plays like Lemmy, the refrain "Doctor, doctor" is nice and the solo is rock n 'roll and goes at 100 miles per hour!
During the break, we really enjoy the raspy voice of Lemmy.
An interesting title but not transcendent, it's only rock n 'roll baby!

8. Watch This
This is the instrumental track with Duff and Dave Grohl ... what can I say? Wow this is really confusing at the 1st listen!
I was expecting a new "Jizz Da Pit" and although in reality it is the riff from the video of the Guitar Center contest, a little talk box on the intro, it sounds like a "Slither" in slower heavy and syncopated. After that intro, Slash starts a theme similar to James Bond both murky, noisy and grungy, it's pretty hard to describe ... because it's unheard from Slash.
I think I have heard changes tone, a break with the wah wah, hints of a grungy Pink Floyd.
There is a lot of work on rhythms. It really is a surprising track from Slash ...

9. I Hold On (Kid Rock)
Kid Rock is in the place and he feels good! The atmosphere is tinged pop rock rhythm & blues with a classic hard rock intro, a verse in acoustic arpeggio, a great chord progression on the chorus, some parts in slide, a solo long enough nice but nothing more. The song ends gently on the chorus.
There's the presence of a female choir and an organ (Teddy zig-zag?) which gives a harder edge to this old school song.
Good song!

10. Nothing To Say (M Shadows from Avenged Sevenfold)
Having learned that the track was to be originally played with Dave Mustaine (Megadeth), I understand better!
The intro starts in line with a good intro to Megadeth with guitars harmonized with rhythmic thrash metal chained to a verse in to madness! Never heard Slash doing something like that! Wow! The sound is great, the song gathers momentum but still lacks dynamism and aggressiveness in the final. But M Shadows does not scream like in Avenged Sevenfold and that's cool.
There are solos between verses and choruses and it goes at 200 mph! Besides the solo will surprise a lot of people: Slash shreds with the dexterity of a madman!
The song ends a bit like the intro on guitar that sounds like Megadeth.
This is the second track that really surprised me! Never heard from Slash, however, Dave Mustaine might have been better for the title as too linear to me despite all his greatness.

11. Starlight (Myles Kennedy)
Wow! A great intro into the pure spirit of the Rolling Stones, the use of picking with his warm, round and there ... Myles Kennedy sings ..... My God, he sings well! It is the perfect song that will turn into a spirit pop country, a little tradition that was Guns in the heyday of songs like "Used To Love Her", cowboy songs... Rod Jackson's ghost hovers over this song, it's crazy what this reminds me of some time Snakepit II. Although the song is also connected FM because it is a ballad, it's probably THE ballad of the album and one of the greatest track with a solo reminding the Snakepit. A complete success.

12. Saint Is A Sinner Too (Rocco De Luca)
This is a really strange track, surely one of the most strange of the album.
This is a song entirely acoustic guitar with an androgynous voice, arpeggios, hints of Spanish guitar solos including that takes us back to the outro of "Double Talkin 'Jive" or "Obsession Confession".
It's hard to describe, a sort of acoustic masterpiece with Spanish classical guitar and some Led Zep of the great days. Confusing!

13. We're All Gonna Die (Iggy Pop)
A great intro with a dirty Stooges riff, Iggy is Iggy! He's punk, so the song is punk-rock!
Good heavy presence of the bass and rhythm section in general a lot of Slash subtleties on the verses, it reminds me of the songs from the punk heyday of Guns, a nice solo based on a system of questions and answers. The end of the song is awesome! Faithful to what Iggy Pop is, very good voice!



Overall rating: 7/10

Quite surprisingly, this album will probably have more appeal to the Chinese Democracy fans than to the Snakepit's fans. The most positive thing is Myles Kennedy's range, absolutely awesome! I can't wait for the tour!

[Naupis]

Maybe Slash isn't so dumb (according to many who rolled their eyes when they heard she was going to be on it) after all to have had Fergie on the album. Both these guys seem to really like the song, and Eddie Trunk said it was his favorite of the ones he heard and that it had a monster hook. Maybe he was telling the truth the past year running around trying to tell everyone Fergie was really a rocker deep down.

[Slash2baz]

thanks for the translation but I don't know if Google translates properly our feeling !

About the Fergie song, there was a great work on rythm with heavy guitars, heavy bass and Fergie is very "sensual" on that song 

A good surprise for me !

[Axlfanatic]

I actually read those reviews as "mixed", especially the first one which seemed to be the better written one. I"m looking forward to a few of these songs like Ian Astbury & Lemmy. I'll even give Fergie a chance to rock out,  but Maroon 5 lead singer? That's way too poppy for me.

[metallex78]

Looking forward to hearing the heavier tracks, especially the one that's compared to Megadeth!

[Slash2baz]

Looking forward to hearing the heavier tracks, especially the one that's compared to Megadeth!

yes it's very surprising and the solo is just killer !

[Muerto]

Thanks !!! I can?t wait to hear the album, especially the Ozzy & Duff/Grohl ones, 

[Smoking Guns]

I am so ready to hear this song with M. Shadows, looks like Slash is going neo-classical, cool!

[Jdog0830]

Yeah this album sounds like its gonna be great!
I cant wait to hear it!




Joe

[metallex78]

I don't know if anyone else picked up on this, but iTunes has the Slash album up for pre-order, with a 30 second sample of every single track.
Just listening now and I'm giving my review on the tracks from the 30 second samples... so take it with a grain of salt

The first track Ghost, has bits of the VR song Pleasin' (that Brad Cox demo'd with them before Scott joined) from what I could hear. Wasn't that impressed by the sample...

Crucify The Dead, sounds like a recent Ozzy track, with a cool breakdown part. Pretty cool Sabbath heavy riffing too.

Beautiful Dangerous, sounds much better here in clear audio, and the rhythm Slash is playing during the verses sounds great. Possibly the best/catchiest rocker on the CD!

Back From Cali, sounds like AC/DC just like Slash has described. It doesn't sound that heavy, well, just AC/DC heavy. Cool vocals, and a cool Acca Dacca style riff.

Promise, a more laidback tune and Chris sounds great, but it doesn't sound anything like a Slash song, more like Audioslave or something.

By The Sword, we've all heard this, still sounds good to me!

Gotten, is typical Maroon 5 balladry, with Slash gentle riffing. Don't like the singing, so I'll probably skip this track when I listen to the CD.

Doctor Alibi, alright, this is what I was hoping for more of, great Slash rocking riff, pounding drums. Sounds like a classic Motorhead tune!

Watch This, now I gotta hear more of this, Dave is going off on the drum kit, and Slash is playing some tasty riffs and solos!

I Hold On, sounds like a southern fried Kid Rock made-for-radio track. Sounds pretty cool though.

Nothing To Say, is Slash playing metal!!! It even has a chugging palm muted riffing! M. Shadows sounds like Axl when he sings in the lower register as well. I wanna hear more of this!

Starlight, classic Slash balladry style, and Myles sings great too.

Saint Is A Sinner Too, weird singing, and nice Spanish flavoured acoustic guitar in the background. Sounds strange at first, but I wanna hear more.

We're All Gonna Die, mid tempo rocker, and Iggy's vocals sound cool too.

Chains and Shackles, on this song Slash returns to the same palm-muted chugging metal riff style of Nothing To Say, and Nick Oliveri's screams/shouts the vocals. Even heard a bit of swearing in there. Has a bit of Queens Of the Stone Age trippyness to it, but is very heavy as well!

And last was the Paradise City cover, which I don't like, and all of you have probably heard, so I won't bother reviewing it.

[metallex78]

Certainly an interesting mix of songs that's for sure, and I haven't even heard the best part on all the tracks yet - the solos!

[jacdaniel]

Can i listen to these songs without downloading anything?   

Im in work so i cant download or install anything on this PC!  I really wanna listen so badly!

Sounds like such a variety of music for one CD.  Metal, Punk, pop, blues, spanish guitars 

[metallex78]

I'm previewing through iTunes, but someone posted this link on another board, not sure if it will work without iTunes.

http://itunes.apple.com/au/preorder/slash/id361277665

[jacdaniel]

No 

ill have to wait a few more hours i think. thanks for the miny review though!

[metallex78]

Thanks to Fat-Drunk over at the gnrevolution forum:

http://itunes.apple.com/au/preorder/slash/id361277665 (Australia)
http://itunes.apple.com/us/preorder/slash/id362046305 (US)

[metallex78]

No 

ill have to wait a few more hours i think. thanks for the miny review though!

No worries dude. As I said, take it with a grain of salt, I based my review off 30 second clips.
But there's definitely an interesting mix of tracks there.