Slash Shows Off His Band’s Chemistry On New Live Disc

Click to listen to Slash’s album ‘Made In Stoke 24/7/11’

On Slash’s 2010 self-titled release, the guitarist worked with some of rock’s greatest singers ”“ Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy, Chris Cornell and Iggy Pop, among others. When it came time to tour, those vocalists obviously had other committments, so the guitarist recruited Alter Bridge singer Myles Kennedy, as well as bassist Todd Kerns and drummer Brent Fitz, to travel around the world with him.

He wasn’t looking for this to be a long-term band, but the chemistry was undeniable. “It was one of those moments where from on high you get sort of a blessing and get all the right people without looking for them. It just happened,” Slash tells Rolling Stone. “From the onset we clicked. We just got better and better over time.”

That cohesion is on display on Made In Stoke 24/7/11, a live chronicle of the guitarist’s return to Stoke-on-Trent, the town where he was raised until the age of five. Featuring a mix of Guns N’ Roses tracks (“Rocket Queen,” “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” “Mr. Brownstone”), Slash’s Snakepit tunes and material from Slash, the live album shows the quartet has melded into a real band.

Making it official, they’re already at work on an untitled album due in April of next year. Slash knew very early this was the group to make his next album, he says. “I learned way back in March of 2010, when we did our first show at the Roxy, [and even] before that, when we were rehearsing, there was something that clicked with those guys,” he says. “It was just always a lot of fun, and I decided that’s who I wanted to do the record with.”

Thus far they’ve recorded three tracks, with 14 more to come in December and January when Kennedy gets off the road with Alter Bridge. Slash is pumped up about what they’ve done so far, calling it “fucking rad.” “On the last record, creatively it was pretty open-ended. This one is very diverse, but it’s one band,” he says. “It’s really cool. It rocks really hard. There are some cool epic songs and a couple of really cool ballads. I hate calling them ballads ”“ more bluesy tunes. It just covers a lot.”