SLASH - World On Fire (2014)

Genre - Hard Rock

Label -

 

Track listing:

01. World on Fire
02. Shadow Life
03. Automatic Overdrive
04. Wicked Stone
05. 30 Years To Life
06. Bent To Fly
07. Stone Blind
08. Too Far Gone
09. Beneath The Savage Sun
10. Withered Delilah
11. Battleground
12. Dirty Girl
13. Iris Of The Storm
14. Avalon
15. The Dissident
16. Safari Inn
17. The Unholy

"World On Fire" with 17 tracks it’s not a short album, but surely with that many tracks there will be at least one in there as filler? Well, the short answer is no – this is one hell of a good album with songs that have been carefully polished and arranged.
The album kicks off with the title track. The fast-paced riff immediately hits you like a freight train from the start and will have you looking for the nearest person to run into, even if you’ve never moshed before. The '80s hard rock influence is very apparent and Myles Kennedy’s voice suits the song very well, with the singer in comfortable and confident territory as he wails down the mic with typically cheesy but brilliant lyrics: “Let me tempt you with the evils of the flesh and so much more”.
The breakdown later on in the track is something that English rockers The Who would be proud of, and it wouldn’t be complete without a token Slash solo, still showing he’s up there with the best when it comes to ‘shredding on the axe’.
“Shadow Life” starts of slower and more melodic with quite soft vocals before the drums join in with a crash and the guitar switches to a heavier riff and you’re into a flull-blown hard rock song. “Automatic Overdrive” starts with drums and guitar at a moderate pace and gradually getting faster and faster before launching into another great song.
The riff in “Wicked Stone” reminds you of Guns N' Roses, particularly the intro to the song before the vocals kick in. Once you get into the main body of the song it does lose that Guns feel. There’s a long guitar solo and a tight instrumental section as the rest of the band are still playing as well as Slash.
“Bent to Fly” is a ballad with soft vocals and gentle guitar its got quite a slow build-up but it’s only a minute or so till they ramp the power up for the chorus.
Despite the name, “Battleground” isn't a full power hard rock song. Instead it opens with some nice vocals and flowing guitar work before like goes to full power for the chorus.
“Iris of the Storm” is an unusual title – a play on the commonly used term 'eye of the storm'. It rocks, before the interesting instrumental “Safari Inn” kick in to add variation.
Slash’s last album was quite good, and this "World On Fire" is even better.
Myles Kennedy is a killer vocalist and it’s no wonder Slash wanted to work with him. His powerful rocking vocals shine and would normally be the star of the album, but the music here is equally impressive – particularly the first class guitar work from Slash, so there’s a perfect balance between the top singing and the kickin' music.
Slash is back, and if this new album is anything to go by, he’s here to rock your world.
Highly Recommended.

Rating - 9/10