Apocalyptic Love FAN reviews

[metallex78]

I've had the album since Thursday, here in Australia, and I think I've listened through enough times to give a fairly honest review.
I'm finding the album gets better with each listen, but so far, these are my impressions:

Apocalyptic Love
Sounds like a track from the Snakepit 2 sessions, and I wasn't too into it after first listen. But after watching the bonus DVD-making-of (included in the deluxe edition pack), I have much greater appreciation of the guitar going on in the song.
That riff that kicks in at 16 seconds in is pretty cool, I'm gonna have to try and learn that one I think!
Vocals sound like a higher pitched Rod Jackson too, and I'm not a big fan of them overall. Still, not a bad track to kick off the album.

One Last Thrill
Myles channels Johnny Rotten here, with fast & snotty vocals, and the music sounds like Motorhead or Pistols, in attitude and speed. Myles' vocal delivery annoys me a bit here, but I really dig the music and the solo.

Standing In The Sun
I've said it before, and I still stand by it - that riff is Locomotive crossed with Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song. Really cool groove, it's just a really uplifting fun rock song. Can't fault Myles on this at all, and the solo is awesome too! 

You're A Lie
Really grew on me since the first time I heard it, and I now think it's up there with the better album tracks. Interesting to see this track being worked up on the DVD-making-of, as it started out with a quite funky sounding riff, as opposed to the more hard driving riff that ended up on the album.

No More Heroes
The main riff is like a hybrid of SCOM and Superhuman, and is the subject about Axl and alike...? How certain heroes are always letting us down...? Modern rock sounding, with a nice Slash solo.

Halo
I hear Back Off Bitch in the intro, which is then followed by a very fucking cool Mr Brownstone style riff. Not a big fan of the chorus, but it's catchy, and the more I listen to the lyrics, it also sounds like it's about Axl, and how he's been holding himself back due to his rift with Slash.
Slash's solo sounds like the one from Back Off Bitch too, with runs that sound similar, and lots of harmonic squeals too. Great track!

We Will Roam
Reminds me of an Audioslave tune, or like an upbeat version of Promise from the Slash album. Again, modern rock sounding, with a nice singalong chorus, and two cool solos, one in the middle, and an outro solo too.

Anastasia
What can I say that hasn't already been said? Clean spanish style acoustic guitar opens the track, before ripping into THAT monster riff, that then goes into another Locomotive style riff when the vocals kick in. And this has the most impressive soloing we've heard from Slash since his Guns days.

Not For Me
Opens like a big Aerosmith ballad, then goes into Foo Fighters kinda ballad mode. Myles sounds like he's channeling Dave Grohl a bit too. The solo sounds a bit like the one from Back To Cali.

Bad Rain
When it started, I thought it was Beautiful Dangerous was playing by mistake... then the heavy chugging riff kicks in, and continues throughout the song. Very cool groove, and I really like Myles'  vocal delivery. He sings mostly in lower key, and when he does go higher, it doesn't go all Mickey Mouse, like he can sometimes get. And the solo is a short, tasty wah-infused number!
 
Hard & Fast
Johnny B Good style riff opens this track, and then it goes into a Snakepit 2 style rocker. Reminds me of The Alien from Ain't Life Grand. Love the solo in this, as it sounds more structured than some of the more random noodling Slash plays on other songs, but not a big fan of the vocals.

Far And Away
Nice ballad, along the lines of Starlight, without the really high-pitched vocals in the latter track. Some nice melodic soloing from Slash in this, and nice outro soloing too.

Shots Fired
The little intro riff reminded me of something from Soundgarden Superunknown era, before it kicks into some really chugging guitar. Another nice solo in the middle and in the outro. Slash has really been let off the leash on this album thats for sure.

Carolina
Slash brings the talk-box back for the verses with a funky riff and for the solo. And it reminds me of Audioslave in the chorus, so much so, I can almost picture Chris Cornell singing it. Pretty cool.

Crazy Life
Another fun Johnny B Good riff, and is that some cowbell I hear too...? Probably the most singalong chorus and catchiest riff on the whole album. My head was bobbing along straight away, and the solo is more Slash noodling that is apparent throughout the whole album.



Overall, I think it's a hybrid of Snakepit 2 with some of the more adventurous riffing and lead playing that featured on UYI. Vocals are a bit hit & miss for me, but Slash has never sounded better, especially the solos.
The band is solid, and more serve as a backing for Slash to shine, rather than standing out on their own.

Favourite tracks - Standing In The Sun, Halo, Anastasia, Not For Me

[IzzyDutch]

Can you tell a bit more about the bonus DVD-making-of? Is there talk about every song or do you see snippets of recording / writing?

[metallex78]

Can you tell a bit more about the bonus DVD-making-of? Is there talk about every song or do you see snippets of recording / writing?

I only watched it once, and it didn't cover all the album tracks, probably around 6 songs I think.
It runs for about 30 minutes and it's a mix of interviews and footage of them working on arrangements as well as the actual recording.

I wish it was longer and covered all the tracks, but for what it is, it's still pretty cool.

[Trist805]

I finally gave it a listen.  I agree with most of you that say there are some good moments, but I don't think there are too many strong songs on it.  I like the second half of the album a bit more.   Guitar playing kind of reminds me of his stuff on Libertad.   I like "We Will Roam". I like the last 2 minutes of "Anastasia", but think it would have been better as an instrumental. I also like "Hard and Fast" which kind of has a Zeppelin vibe, and I think "Far and Away" is a good ballad. "Shots Fired" has some good guitar playing on it.  Overall, some decent guitar riffs from Slash, but other parts just feel empty.  Overall I'd give it a 7. The album is saved by a few cool rifffs, but I don't know how often I will revisit the songs.  Don't think Myles added to much to this album, but I guess he is better as a live singer. 

[Smoking Guns]

I think the tone and playing smokes libertad.

[Top-Hatted One]

I finally gave it a listen.  I agree with most of you that say there are some good moments, but I don't think there are too many strong songs on it.  I like the second half of the album a bit more.   Guitar playing kind of reminds me of his stuff on Libertad.   I like "We Will Roam". I like the last 2 minutes of "Anastasia", but think it would have been better as an instrumental. I also like "Hard and Fast" which kind of has a Zeppelin vibe, and I think "Far and Away" is a good ballad. "Shots Fired" has some good guitar playing on it.  Overall, some decent guitar riffs from Slash, but other parts just feel empty.  Overall I'd give it a 7. The album is saved by a few cool rifffs, but I don't know how often I will revisit the songs.  Don't think Myles added to much to this album, but I guess he is better as a live singer. 

its strange because myles sounds great on every alter bridge record. So good he was going to get the Zeppelin gig! For some reason he feels the need to sing in his mickey mouse voice in 90% of the songs with Slash. I remember being surprised the first time I heard Starlight and Myles was singing the chorus so high. If you listen to AB you will see that he uses his "Far & away" voice a lot more which is more on par with chris cornell's style. My guess is he is trying to hard to please Slash by being the anti-weiland and cut through slash's loud and aggressive guitars. So you get the mickey mouse falsetto. As a singer I can tell you that singing in falsetto is a cop out. It doesnt help that Myles lyrics are weak. Not as weak as dover & jackson. There are some good lyrical moments but nothing standout.

I'm sure I will enjoy the record when I buy it tuesday for a few weeks but right now I only see myself going back to listening to anastasia a year from now. Just like the last Slash record. I still go back to VR more often. Better songwriting and musicianship. More timeless. Obviously Weiland is great but Dave's left speaker chemistry with Slash is very underrated as well. He's not Izzy but the beat since. Slash is playing as great as ever but it sounda little too straight foward and kinda aimless.

[metallex78]

I think the tone and playing smokes libertad.

Yeah, Libertad sounds like a pop album compared to this. Slash is riffing and soloing like crazy here, and I don't really hear that on Libertad.

[Top-Hatted One]

No question Slash is on fire on this record from start to finish. I just wonder if I will be listening to the entire record a year from now. Other thans Slash's awesomeness nothing really stands out. The rest of the band plays pretty straight forward. No moving basslines no dualing rhythm guitars, aimless lyrics. IDK I'm sure I will enjoy it tuesday. Skippin straight to Anastasia and blasting it on my drive. I'm just worried I will be playing anastasia over and over and not getting into the other songs except maybe Not For Me.

[D]

Just bought it, listened to about half before bed, will really listen at work tomorrow while driving

Kicks ass so far.

Anastasia is still so fucking amazing.

Standing In The Sun, No More Heroes, Halo... all kicking ass.

Cant wait to blast it in my car tomorrow. i know my shit laptop speakers aren't doing it justice.

Anyone who compares this to Libertad needs to rush an get a quick hearing test done pronto.

[Trist805]

Could have sworn I heard part of the "For A Brother" solo about 5 times during this album. 

[rebelhipi]

Don't think Myles added to much to this album, but I guess he is better as a live singer. 

im prepared for the worst.

[Genesis]

So far I really like "Apocalyptic Love" (Esp. intro), "You're A Lie", "Anastasia" and "We Will Roam", been listening to these four a lot. The rest sound a bit generic (esp. Halo), will give them all a few more listens... I must say that I liked 'Slash' better, right off the first listen, I liked almost all the songs.

[Naupis]

As a whole, it is probably Slash's most consistent, focused effort since he left Guns.

I love Contraband, but from start to finish this album seems to really flow well and doesn't wander too much. The first solo album ended up feeling like a mismatch of genres and styles and as a body of work had no consistency.

His riffs across the board are fantastic. There are times I would have liked some of the solos to have been longer, but it isn't all about him. Having him wank for the sake of filling time if it takes away from the song is counterproductive.

Anastasia is probably the single best piece of music he has done since the Illusions. Tremendous song, and certainly answered any doubts about whether he could make a guitar epic song or not.

My favorite song is actually probably Not for Me. Awesome Snakepit style Slash guitar with great intro and solo, and Myles really kills it. The lyrics tell a great and relatable story, and the song is just really bad ass.

Also love the outro on Far and Away. Slash wailing away on his guitar with Myles hitting that huge note going out was pretty awesome.

Thing I am most excited about is seeing where the band goes from here. They have only really even known eachother for about 2 years now, and have accomplished quite a bit in a condensed amount of time considering all the touring and Myles splitting time between bands.

The group has an undeniable chemistry as this was really a cohesive album, and it will be interesting to see what direction they go next. There will be some time off along the way for Myles to go back to AB, but all have made clear that they consider this band a long term project so I don't think this is a one off (at least I hope it isn't!).

[Top-Hatted One]

I dont know man I threw in vr sao paulo 2008 bootleg and scott gave me goosebumps. That will never happen with the conspirators. Dont get me wrong im lovin the new record especially anastasia and far & away but myles is not mesmerizing like scott

[D]

If i had to make a criticism, the one area this album struggles are "Bridges"

maybe that was Izzy or Duff's big forte.. in most songs, the bridge really elevates the song and breaks up the monotony of another verse but on this album.. most of the bridges are kinda meh so far.

[Genesis]

Myles sings great and Slash is great, but the drums and bass (even on the last album) are just basic. They get the job done, but don't stand out on any song. Maybe he should have gotten Duff and Matt... Oops, that would be a new VR now wouldn't it?

[Top-Hatted One]

If i had to make a criticism, the one area this album struggles are "Bridges"

maybe that was Izzy or Duff's big forte.. in most songs, the bridge really elevates the song and breaks up the monotony of another verse but on this album.. most of the bridges are kinda meh so far.

Exactly I agree and Adler too! But I gotta say after seeing them in NYC last night I got to say the new songs come across great live and Myles is even better in person. One of the most energetic shows I've ever been to. Right up there with VR-Starland Ballroom & VR-Roseland Ballroom

[D]

Loving the album. myles has some outstanding lyrics.

on Far And Away, Myles is up super high in his vocal and Slash's guitar is screaming right with it. great moment.

i don't skip any songs

[Naupis]

Loving the album. myles has some outstanding lyrics.

on Far And Away, Myles is up super high in his vocal and Slash's guitar is screaming right with it. great moment.

i don't skip any songs

The AB fans were loving that song for that reason. The huge note at the end of "Summergirl" from the Mayfield 4 was one of his signature vocal performances, and many of the current AB fans thought those days of going for those kind of notes was behind him. They were thrilled to see him go "old school" like that with a soaring note over an awesome Slash outro.

On his lyrics I think that "Not for Me" is one of the best on the album. Sounds like something anyone with a bad hangover or rough patch in life has said to themselves at some point or another. Also one of my favorite Slash guitar performances on the album.

The second half of the album to me is really really good. I like the way the album kind of builds on itself as you go in that respect.

[rebelhipi]

id give this one 3 out of 5 its not great and its not bad just allright


i think its funny that this record remains me of sixx am