Apocalyptic Love (Special Edition) [CD+DVD, NTSC, Special Edition]

When Slash released his debut solo album in 2010 it featured a wide and diverse selection of artists from the like of Ozzy to Fergie, Lemmy to Adam Levine as well as spots for Nicole Scherzinger, it was an album that worked well and featured a standout track in "By The Sword" sung by Andrew Stockdale of Wolfmother. The album also featured two songs by Alter Bridge frontman Myles Kennedy who would also go on to front Slash's group for his world tour during which he would sing songs from Slash's former bands as well as tracks from the album, so every night Kennedy would be filling the shoes of Axl Rose, Scott Weiland, Andrew Stockdale, Ian Astbury and Chris Cornell it was a job that he performed admiringly as his voice handled all the different ranges. So for Slash's second album Kennedy performs all the tracks, it seems like a natural progression and a working relationship has been built up by the two men.

The album itself "Apocalyptic Love" is a rock fuelled funk filled adrenaline rush of old school rock and roll and it's clear from the outset that the album has one intention and that's to rock, it's an album full of great riffs such as the opening song the title track "Apocalyptic Love" with its funk driven riff that has Myles Kennedy using his full vocal range to drive the song on and features a great sing along chorus. "One Last Thrill" starts out with a scream in the background before Kennedy delivers the lyrics at 100 miles rate; it's a great piece of punk rock. It shows Kennedy has many different styles of vocals. It's also topped off by a trademark Slash solo. There's some great drumming and bass playing from Brent Fitz and Todd kerns on the song "Standing In The Sun", both Fitz and Kerns are part of slash's live band.

The song "Anastasia" starts out with a gentle flamenco style acoustic guitar (think end of double talkin' jive) before kicking into a "Sweet Child O' Mine" riff and changes again and features a great solo from slash as well as Kennedy going from low to high with his vocal. "Bad Rain" has a pure rock swagger about it with its pounding drums and a grooving riff. The first single "You're A Lie" is a good indication of the album with its killer chorus and sleek guitar playing, it shows how much the Slash and Myles Kennedy partnership has grown.

Just like Slash's debut solo album "Apocalyptic Love" comes as a special collector's edition packed along with a special edition of Classic Rock magazine, it contains a pin badge, poster and interviews with all band members, more importantly it comes with two bonus tracks including the Aerosmithesque "Carolina" as well as "Crazy Life".

Slash seems to have found his perfect frontman foil in Myles Kennedy and "Apocalyptic Love" is an unashamedly full blown rock album, one that owes much to Slash's 70's rock influences. It will be interesting to see where they go from here as the they continue to gel even more, Slash has stated in recent interviews that making the album was the most fun he's had in a long time and listening to the album its clear to hear the chemistry that they have.

I knew the collaboration of Slash with Myles Kennedy would result in an incredible album (just listen to 'Back from Cali' and 'Starlight' from Slash's last CD) But the end result is so far beyond expectations.
Its EPIC.
The riffs, the huge chorus's, beautiful lyrics and that voice of Myles's serve up one hell of a listening experience.
All the incredients for the perfect album are present. The rythmn section in Brent Fitz and Todd Kerns provide the perfect backbone.
Slash's guitar genius was made for Myles's vocal beauty.

This isn't just for Slash / Alter Bridge fans, its for fans of great rock music.

Amazing!

Imagine if Guns N' Roses had continued in its original form: this album is essentially that. Myles Kennedy is a very capable if more refined alternative to Axl Rose. It's almost impossible to avoid making reference to or comparison with Guns N' Roses album Appetite for Destruction because this seems to be such a natural successor, and for hard rock fans at least, surely praise does not come much higher than that. It may not quite have the raw 'wow' factor but it is a more developed and polished product. There is no doubt that Slash is on absolutely top form here - you only have to listen to 'Anastasia' to see that - what an amazing performance! Only time will tell if this becomes one of the great rock albums. It certainly deserves success.