SLASH: More 'Fan Pack' Details Revealed

VELVET REVOLVER/ex-GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Slash will release his debut solo album, "Slash", in the spring in Europe via Roadrunner Records.

"Slash" will see Roadrunner Records enter into a unique and innovative association with a U.K. media partner — the special-interest media group Future. In a brand new concept in record distribution, the standard album release will be preceded by a "Fan Pack," in which the Roadrunner Records album will be bundled together with a highly collectable, 132-page special issue of Future Publishing's Classic Rock magazine dedicated to Slash's career. This will be the first format of the album available anywhere in the world.

The partnership is a first for music and media industries, marking the first-time a major new album has been released this way. The partnership ensures that Slash's new album is available through over 4,000 U.K. retailers that stock Classic Rock — sidestepping the issue of dwindling high street music outlets and top 20 only stocking in supermarkets. Classic Rock is one of the U.K.'s biggest rock music magazines and this year recorded its eighth consecutive circulation increase, the only paid-for music magazine to grow.

Mark Palmer, managing director of Roadrunner Records U.K., said: "While the past few years have seen the unrelenting rise of Classic Rock in a troubled magazine market, it has also witnessed the gradual disintegration of high street record retailers. By partnering with Future to release the Slash 'Fan Pack,' we are able to make widely-available a quality product for those consumers that have a real passion and interest not just in Slash's new music, but also every facet of his amazing career to date."

Chris Ingham, group publisher of Future's Classic Rock and Metal Hammer, added: "We are delighted to be working with Roadrunner Records and one of the world's greatest rock stars on this innovative new distribution model. By partnering with Classic Rock, we can support Roadrunner's U.K. efforts to promote the album — there are many challenges in getting quality music to real enthusiasts, and the 'Fan Pack' is a pioneering attempt at redressing the challenges of retail against digital distribution. By seeing the potential of the new format, Roadrunner Records are putting Slash's music directly into the hands of rock enthusiasts who will champion it and develop positive buzz ahead of its standard global release."

The Slash "Fan Pack" featuring his debut solo album from Roadrunner Records, along with a 132-page "Classic Rock Presents: Slash" special will have a cover price of £14.99.

Slash recently took to Twitter to defend BLACK EYED PEAS singer Fergie's (a.k.a. Stacy Ann Ferguson) vocal performance on a new recording she did with Slash of the GUNS N' ROSES classic "Paradise City", also featuring CYPRESS HILL. A copy of the recording surfaced online last month, while Slash is contemplating whether to include it on his new solo album. The former GUNS guitarist tweeted, "Until now, not too many people have heard Fergie sing rock & roll but she sings it better (than) most dudes I know. She's a screamer at heart."

Among the other guests appearing on the album are Dave Grohl, Flea, Chris Cornell, Duff McKagan, WOLFMOTHER's Andrew Stockdale, Iggy Pop, Alice Cooper, Nicole Scherzinger, Meat Loaf, MAROON 5's Adam Levine and Ozzy Osbourne, who contributes vocals to the first single.