Slash

Saul Hudson (born July 23, 1965), better known by his stage name Slash, is a British-American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During his later years with Guns N' Roses, Slash formed the side project Slash's Snakepit. He then co-founded the supergroup Velvet Revolver, which re-established him as a mainstream performer in the mid to late 2000s. Slash has since released two solo albums, Slash (2010), featuring an all-star roster of guest musicians, and Apocalyptic Love (2012), recorded with singer/guitarist Myles Kennedy, along with rhythm section Brent Fitz and Todd Kerns, known on the album as The Conspirators.

Slash has received critical acclaim as a guitarist. Time named him runner-up on their list of "The 10 Best Electric Guitar Players" in 2009, while Rolling Stone placed him at No. 65 on their list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" in 2011. Guitar World ranked his solo in "November Rain" No. 6 on their list of "The 100 Greatest Guitar Solos" in 2008, and Total Guitar placed his riff in "Sweet Child o' Mine" at No. 1 on their list of "The 100 Greatest Riffs" in 2004. In 2012, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, along with other members of Guns N' Roses.

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Myles Kennedy has become very well known for his collaborations with current Velvet Revolver and former Guns N' Roses lead guitarist Slash. In late 2009, it was reported that they would be working together on Slash's self-titled debut solo album. Slash later confirmed that Kennedy was chosen to sing and co-write the final song, "Starlight," on his album. Other musicians who appeared on the album include Ozzy Osbourne, Adam Levine of Maroon 5, Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters, Kid Rock, and Chris Cornell of Soundgarden. Then, according to MusicRadar, Slash asked Kennedy to co-write and sing another song, "Back from Cali," which was added to the album at the last minute, making him the only musician to appear on more than one song on the album's standard track listing. The album was released in April 2010.

On February 3, 2010, Slash announced that Kennedy would be the lead vocalist for his band on tour. On tour, Kennedy performed a number of songs found throughout Slash's catalogue. Slash and Kennedy were also the supporting act on Ozzy Osbourne's tour in 2010. The other members of Slash's band are rhythm guitarist Bobby Schneck, bassist Todd Kerns (formerly of Age of Electric), and drummer Brent Fitz (formerly of Theory of a Deadman). In late 2010, Kennedy and Slash appeared on That Metal Show, a talk show on VH1 Classic. On November 14, 2011, Slash released a concert film and live album titled Made in Stoke 24/7/11 featuring Kennedy and the rest of his band.

Slash's second solo album will again feature Myles Kennedy, this time as the sole vocalist. It was also announced that band mates Bobby Schneck, Todd Kerns, and Brent Fitz, along with Slash, would complete the lineup for the album. In an interview with MusicRadar, Slash confirmed that it would be less of an actual solo album and more of a collaboration album with Kennedy, and that he was not sure if the album will be billed to Slash or a new name entirely. As of December 2011, three songs had been recorded: "Halo," "Standing in the Sun," and "Bad Rain." Slash has described the new music as "very heavy." The album will be released on May 22, 2012. A behind-the-scenes video was also released with this announcement. Titled Apocalyptic Love, the album will be billed to "Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators", featuring Kennedy, Kerns, and Fitz as members of Slash's band. The band performed the album in its entirety on April 11, 2012, at the Revolver Golden God Awards. The first single, "You're a Lie," was released to rock radio on February 27, 2012; a 30-second preview of the song was released online. Kennedy has reportedly said that some of the lyrics on the album are about his earlier experiences with drugs. On April 14, 2012, Kennedy performed three Guns N' Roses songs with five former members of Guns N' Roses during their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in Axl Rose's absence.