It’s just over 20 years since perennially top-hatted guitarist Slash bowed out from the ongoing soap opera that is/was Guns ‘N’ Roses. However, in a weird way it’s like he never left. For millions of people, he will always be “Yer man from Guns N’ Roses” and judging by the material on his latest solo record, Slash seems just fine with that: World On Fire doesn’t stray far from the sound that made his name.
His third “official” solo record (‘90s project Slash’s Snakepit was a different beast) it once again features Myles Kennedy on vocals and it’s packed with plenty of sleazy riffs. That said, at 17 tracks and a running time of a whopping 77 minutes, World On Fire is looooong, and the likes of run of the mill hard rock romps such as ‘Wicked Stone’ and ‘Dirty Girl’ blend into one another. ‘Automatic Overdrive’ is a stand-out, as Slash attacks with a distinctly NWOBHM-like riff and the title track is an incendiary offering. Overall, a touch more brevity would have helped.
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