SLASH: 'Almost 20 Songs' Ready For New Solo Album

Legendary guitarist Slash (GUNS N' ROSES, VELVET REVOLVER) will enter Barefoot Recording in Hollywood, California later this month with producer Eric Valentine (QUEENS OF STONE AGE, THE ALL-AMERICAN REJECTS) to begin recording his second solo album for an early 2012 release. Joining Slash in the studio will be the members of his touring band: vocalist Myles Kennedy (ALTER BRIDGE),rhythm guitarist Bobby Schneck, bassist Todd Kerns (SIN CITY SINNERS, formerly of AGE OF ELECTRIC),and drummer Brent Fitz (formerly of THEORY OF A DEADMAN).

Commented Kerns in a post on his official blog: "Back when I was originally asked to support [Slash] on his first solo tour, I wasn't sure if it would be a month or maybe fly-outs on weekends or what. Now here we are a year and a half later and we're getting ready to record a new CD as a band. [I] did not see that coming.

"We have been working on riffs for a while since we were on the road even. Those riffs have ballooned to almost 20 songs and growing. We have been hard at it in several writing sessions and are now in the midst of two weeks' rehearsal. We'll be entering Barefoot studios with Eric Valentine in a few days to start work on the first few songs. We'll finish up the record before the end of the year.

"Eric has produced a lot of amazing stuff, including Slash's last record. We'll be in the very studio where one of my favorite albums ever was recorded 'Songs For The Deaf' by QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE (produced by Eric Valentine). It promises to be very exciting. I'm stoked!"

In a recent interview, Slash stated about the musicians in his band, "I was really fortunate. When I'd done the [first solo] record, I thought, 'I've gotta tour on this.' And I had to figure how I was gonna actually pull that off. And I set about auditioning musicians in L.A. and I just happened to meet Brent Fitz, who I'd never played before and who is not from Los Angeles; he was one of the guys I auditioned and he was great. And then he introduced me to Todd Kerns, who fit in perfectly. And it turned out to be a great band from the start definitely worth going in and making a record with."

Valentine previously worked with Slash on the guitarist's self-titled solo album. But "the big difference," according to Slash, will be that Eric is "also gonna be mastering this one" in addition to recording and mixing the CD. "So it's like one-stop shopping, which is pretty cool," the axeman said.

Regarding the musicial direction of his new material and how it compares to last year's self-titled effort, Slash said, "This one's definitely a very focused Very hard. Some of it's very heavy. It's got sort of a more unified sound to it, especially with one vocal all throughout."

"Slash" was released in North America in April 2010 via EMI Label Services. The album featured an all-star roster of guest musicians, including Ian Astbury, Chris Cornell, Rocco DeLuca, Fergie, Dave Grohl, Myles Kennedy, Kid Rock, Lemmy Kilmister, Adam Levine of MAROON 5, Duff McKagan, M. Shadows of AVENGED SEVENFOLD, Ozzy Osbourne, Iggy Pop, and Andrew Stockdale of WOLFMOTHER.

"Slash" was completed with the rhythm section of bassist Chris Chaney (JANE'S ADDICTION) and drummer Josh Freese (NINE INCH NAILS). Slash handled the majority of arranging and songwriting duties and hand-picked each guest artist. The album's guests worked collaboratively with Slash to round out the song.