Watch: SLASH And Producer MIKE CLINK Discuss Making Of 'Orgy Of The Damned' Album At Grammy Museum

Last Friday (October 4),GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Slash visited the Ray Charles Terrace at the Grammy Museum for an evening discussing his latest album "Orgy Of The Damned", a star-studded, vibrant homage to the blues. Grammy Hall Of Fame producer and longtime Slash collaborator Mike Clink joined the conversation to discuss the creative process for the album, and an intimate acoustic performance followed. Attendees also had an opportunity to enjoy rooftop views and a cash bar prior to the program.

Fan-filmed video of the "Bending The Blues: Inside The Making Of 'Orgy Of The Damned' With Slash And Producer Mike Clink" event, moderated by Scott Goldman, can be seen below.

Released May 17, 2024, Slash's critically acclaimed sixth solo album "Orgy Of The Damned" — produced by Clink — is available worldwide on Gibson Records. A first for Slash, "Orgy Of The Damned" spent 13 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Blues Album chart in the U.S. The new album also debuted as the No. 1 Blues Album in the U.S and the U.K., No. 2 on the U.S. Rock Albums Chart, as well as achieving Top 10 Chart positions in seven countries around the world.

Hailed a beautifully tailored love letter to the blues, on "Orgy Of The Damned" Slash revitalizes blues classics with the album's handpicked diverse guest vocalists, which include Brian Johnson (AC/DC),Chris Stapleton, Iggy Pop, Gary Clark Jr., Billy F. Gibbons (ZZ TOP),Chris Robinson (THE BLACK CROWES),Dorothy, Paul Rodgers (FREE, BAD COMPANY),Demi Lovato, Tash Neal and Beth Hart. Slash selected standard blues songs made famous by Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson, and tracks from blues rock bands like Peter Green's FLEETWOOD MAC and STEPPENWOLF. He even strays from the blues for the Motown tracks from THE TEMPTATIONS and Stevie Wonder, showcasing the inherent blues underlying all great music from the 1960s and 1970s. The legendary guitarist reunited with two of his bandmates from his Blues Ball Band outfit in the 1990s, Johnny Griparic (bass),and Teddy "ZigZag" Andreadis (keys),and brought on drummer Michael Jerome and singer/guitarist Tash Neal who round out his blues band in the studio and on the road.

On "Orgy Of The Damned", Slash goes back to what has always been at the heart of his playing: the blues.

Regarding the inspiration for the "Orgy Of The Damned" album title, Slash told Germany's Rock Antenne: "It's the only title I came up with. It was just because blues and rock and roll have always been considered taboo and devil's music and all that kind of stuff. And it's 'hide your kids from that.' And I wasn't raised to think that, but I know society at large has always had that kind of attitude towards it, but of blues especially. And so when I thought about having a collaborative thing with all these different artists doing a blues record — 'Orgy Of The Damned', right? It seems so obvious to me, and I actually Googled it to see if somebody else had already used it, but they hadn't."

When the interviewer suggested that it must have been a "logistical nightmare" getting all those guest musicians to appear on the LP, Slash said: "It's difficult. I mean, you basically just have to get on the phone, and if they say 'yes', then okay. So that's really the hardest part, is calling people up and asking the question and seeing if they'll do it. And I was fortunate doing this, because I picked songs that… What I would do is I'd have the song and then go, 'Okay, who should sing this?' And whoever came to mind as being the appropriate singer, I would call them up. But, fortunately, I picked the right song for them to sing and so they would identify with it automatically. And so then that would make them feel more obligated to get involved and sing it properly or whatever goes through one's mind. But it was great because all the different artists were so open to the material and it really meant something to them. So, what happened was the vocal delivery really came from the heart; they were really singing from a place of connecting with the material."

Asked if there was anybody he wanted to get to appear on the album but couldn't, Slash said: "Well, the biggest one, really, the one that bums me out was [late MOTÖRHEAD leader] Lemmy. That was because there was a moment there where [I thought], 'Fuck, man, Lemmy would be great.' And I still haven't gotten used to the fact that he's not here, 'cause I'm so used to him being there. So that was the big one. I try not to make a big deal out of it. There's some people that I couldn't contact until after the record was done. And then they showed up, and [I would tell them] the record's done already. But other than that, everybody that I thought of were there."

Although he grew up in England, Slash's American grandmother turned him on to the blues early on and he was immediately taken with B.B. King. At the same time, his parents raised him on a healthy diet of '60s British rock 'n' roll, from THE WHO to THE KINKS. Once he moved to Laurel Canyon, Slash found himself surrounded by rock and folk singers like Joni Mitchell, CROSBY, STILLS & NASH and Neil Young — all of whom eventually inspired his playing and songwriting. It wasn't until he began playing guitar himself that Slash realized all of his favorite musicians had been influenced by the same B.B. King blues records he'd listened to as a young kid.

"Orgy Of The Damned" encompasses a broad range of styles within the blues genre, veering from an upbeat, rowdy take on Robert Johnson's "Crossroads" to a plaintive, twanging rendition of T. Bone Walker's "Stormy Monday". Some of the songs, like STEPPENWOLF's "The Pusher", Charlie Segar's "Key To The Highway" and Albert King's "Born Under A Bad Sign", had been performed by SLASH'S BLUES BALL while others, like Stevie Wonder's "Living For The City", were longtime favorites for Slash. "Hoochie Coochie Man", written by Willie Dixon and made famous by Muddy Waters in 1954, showcases the in-the-moment nature and unrestrained energy of "Orgy Of The Damned", with ZZ TOP's Billy F. Gibbons stepping in on guitar and vocals. The group went into a rehearsal room in North Hollywood and began hashing out soulful, rollicking takes on the classic songs. Everything was played live in the room, with an emphasis on improvisation which resulted in a collection of dynamic, energized songs that are immediate, raw, and distinctly familiar.

As Slash was considering vocalists, he approached his old friend and collaborator Iggy Pop, who had long wanted to record a blues song. Pop suggested Lightnin' Hopkins's 1962 track "Awful Dream", a sparse, drawling number originally laid down on acoustic guitar. The duo decided to recreate that stripped back vibe and recorded their own languid, emotionally-resonate version sitting on two stools in Slash's studio.

Elsewhere on "Orgy Of The Damned", Demi Lovato lends her powerhouse voice to "Papa Was A Rollin' Stone", a fervent, soulful version of the 1972 single by THE TEMPTATIONS that Slash admired as a kid. Although the song veers more towards R&B, the guitarist wanted to give it his own impassioned spin. The album concludes with a soaring original instrumental number, "Metal Chestnut", penned specifically for "Orgy Of The Damned" by Slash.

The first single, "Killing Floor", features Johnson on vocals and Tyler on harmonica.