WORLD ON FIRE
Label: DIK HAYD RECORDS (Caroline Distribution)
Release Date:16 September 2014
FIRE FIRE FIRE! My world is on FIRE, but it’s a flame that burns long, strong, and fueled by none other than the legendary SLASH! Featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, World On Fire, comprising 17 tracks of unequaled phraseology, intonation, and just all-round kickassery, is definitely about to make rock fans drool at the mouth.
“This is basically a happy record with some dark subject matter. It ends up in a positive place, but it also leaves you with the idea not to get too comfortable.” – Slash
Produced by Mike “Elvis” Baskette in his Orlando-based Studio Barbarossa and at L.A.‟s NRG Studios, World On Fire, flies through a myriad of topics and depicts the astounding musical wizardry practiced by Slash, Myles Kennedy, Todd Kerns (bass), and Brent Fitz (drums).
Enough about the logistical crap! On to the songs!
“World on Fire” bursts in right away with traditional Slash and Myles goodness, a sound is unequaled by anybody other than these titans of rock. The key change grips you by the shirt and throws you straight into a guitar solo that lathers you down with all the Slashy-ness you’ve come to embalm yourself in. A smart choice as being the first single from this album, it’s definitely the Flagship to World On Fire, and it’s succulent intro to what’s in store.
With an arpegiatic guitar, “Shadow Life” begins with a meticulous intro, that moves us into groove laden verse that drops into tempo altered refrains. The guitars are dirty and spew cautionary riffs while the vocals move us through warnings of duplicitous lifestyles. The meandering tempos and rhythms ebb and flow until we reach the capitulating guitar solos.
Myles and Slash rev the engine and throw it into “Automatic Overdrive” as this song opens with a nostalgic retro 50s vintage punk. Myles’ vocals are the overlay to the true transportive mechanism: that guitar! Give me more! MORE MORE! As an appropriate following to “Shadow Life”, these songs go hand-in-hand, where we feel like jumping into a car and participating in a high-speed car chase.
Syncopated staccato drums thrust us into a more modern, yet true rock and roll song, accentuated by a rhythm section that breathes life and momentum into the refrains in “Wicked Stone”. The guitars deliver a glorious soft backdrop to allow Myles’ tenor to soar across. The chord choices build intensity that lands us into a recapitulation, yet not before an ardent solo and introduction to an anthemic vocal round, which opens the song into the second guitar solo and on into the breathtaking finale.
A gooey sticky tempo opens “30 Years to Life”, that explodes into modern rock with a tinge of blues. Myles’ vocals are paired with backup vocals that create a different stylistic texture. The first guitar solo 
brings us to a slower, yet succinct, groove laden tempo that blasts us into the key change. Now we are really rocking! The backup vocals make you want to join in and just let it all go. If “30 Years to Life” is my sentence, World On Fire is my judge and jury, and I’m guilty as charged! A sweet guitar beckons the listener on “Bent to Fly”. Myles’ vocals take on a different quality for us, impelling us to bend our ears and take notice. It’s a deeper, more tender Myles, and its definitely a Myles I want to hear more of.
The combination of delicate, yet firm, guitar strums, and mellifluous vocals, ascending into higher octaves and then glistening downward, just to rebuild to the intensity where left off and then some. The key change is breathtaking, and then we have Slash’s solo to envelop us. A distorted almost psychedelic guitar, accompanied with trance-filled vocals, “Stone Blind” blows up into a mechanism that does not accept no for an answer. The lyrics speak to the emotional ramifications of being blinded by physical beauty. A great message inculcated into our psyche via a rock and roll infusion.
A dirty bluesy-swamp beat takes us “Beneath the Savage Sun”, which opens into a free for all of guitar and drums. With lyrics shedding light on the atrocity of elephant poaching, the song wavers back and forth with tempos and styles, keeping us guessing as we encounter our first splash of Slash at the guitar solo. As the song unfolds, a 180 degree turn takes us to a haunting interlude, where Myles’ vocals are harmonized and rounded, assuming an otherworldly aura, trickled with velvety guitar. The song finishes out with its refrain blaring as savagely as the Sun itself.
I have a fever, and the only prescription is More Cowbell! Thank you Slash for alleviating us of our ailments, because “Withered Delilah” gives us a nice hefty dose, and when it’s delivered straight to our ears via this guitar. It’s definitely a cure for all woes. The lyrics speak to how women are aged out in showbusiness, and it’s disheartening to recognize this as a unfortunate truth. Acoustic guitars gingerly strum into the sweet song that unfolds into an epic and grandiose chorus. Powerful and driving, meandering between vocal caressing and tentative guitar, “Battleground” is metaphorical in nature and speaks to how people, no matter how much they love each other can turn their lives into an war entrenched arena. The passion that fuels the song into the “la la la” chorus, and the emotion is palpable and present.
Another gritty dirty ditty, “Dirty Girl” makes us feel alright. It’s grinding classic rock and roll the way we crave it, intense with a sticky beat. We can feel the scintillating pixelated vixen on the screen to which Myles casts his fancy. The guitars are carnal and sensuous, and Myles is definitely not the boy you want to take home to your mama, and he doesn’t care. He’s not in the market for the kind of girl is mama would approve of either. Slash’s solo takes off across a sordid guitar drone, after which Myles returns with a syrupy distorted vocal that blasts back into that nasty groove.
Slash – World On Fire (Lyric Video) – (Explicit) ft. Myles Kennedy And The Conspirators
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Myles and Slash bring us into the “Iris of the Storm”. Harmonizing vocals paired over Slash’s mastery guide the song from light into darker riffs and solos. The second guitar solo climbs, and assumes a life of its own as it takes us straight into the end. Slash hooks up the wah on this one, and we can’t do anything but move with the beat and become one with the sound.
A cursing and distorted old bitty on a guitar with the quality of a vinyl 45 opens “The Dissident”, bringing on a nostalgic air. We are then propelled forward in time and instantly connected with a modern savory guitar introduction. Myles’ vocals speak of war in terms of generational gaps and personal evaluation of one’s personal beliefs, and its a difficult personal decision whether or not to follow the story or the music. It’s the best of both worlds: meaningful lyrics and kick ass musicianship. Right at height of the song we experience Myles’ vocal range as he spirals into the Slash-tastic guitar solo.
Appropriately named, “Safari Inn”, this savage instrumental is like a creeping panther on the prowl. Dangerous and sleek, Slash taunts us with his prowess. Enraptured are we to the legend’s proficiency, as he leads us down tantalizing trails into his “Safari”. If we hadn’t known already, we definitely know after this song: this man is a beast with his instrument in hand, and mere mortals can only prostrate and marvel at his mastery. We are no longer here to listen to him play; we are here for his pleasure alone. He knows just what we are craving, and he delivers it and more.
A solemn solo guitar opens over children’s laughter, giving us a premonition as to where “The Unholy” is taking us. Myles’ vocals commence with a sad tale followed by an eerie whisper, hidden and occult, as we move into the chorus where we the true thematic nature of the song is revealed. “The Unholy” wavers back and forth across accusatory whispers and charging forceful assertions . The minor key builds an aura that is horror-filled to mimic the theme. Emotions run deep, as we understand the correlations between the twittering of happy children and the evil that they have suffered at the hand of trusted leaders of the Catholic Church, and just as the issue is ongoing, the song concludes in a purposeful rough cessation, leaving us to understand that this is not an issue that can simply be closed and forgotten.
What a journey! From “World on Fire” to “The Unholy”, it’s an adventure from beginning to end. The question is: is it good? The answer is a resounding “hell yes it’s good!” The sound is incomparable. Myles and Slash are instantly discernible. If you love that, then you will set your body to blaze with World On Fire. I give a solid 4.5 out of 5 skulls, but more than just that. As the album is World on Fire, these skulls have been fired up in tribute.
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by Alice Roques, Cofounder and Managing Editor of RockRevolt Magazine
Catch SLASH featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators on the road through the fall:
| DATE | CITY | VENUE | ||
| Fri | 8/1 | Scottsdale, AZ | Talking Stick Resort & Casino – Ballroom | |
| Sat | 8/2 | Las Vegas, NV | MGM Grand Garden Arena | |
| Fri | 8/8 | Stateline, NV | Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena At Harvey’s | |
| Wed | 8/13 | Concord, CA | Sleep Train Pavilion | |
| Fri | 8/15 | Coquitlam, BC, Canada | Hard Rock Casino – Vancouver | |
| Sat | 8/16 | George, WA | The Gorge Amphitheatre | |
| Tue | 8/19 | Denver, CO | Pepsi Center | |
| Fri | 8/22 | Dallas, TX | American Airlines Center | |
| Mon | 8/25 | The Woodlands, TX | The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion | |
| Thu | 8/28 | Atlanta, GA | Phillips Arena | |
| Fri | 8/29 | Hollywood, FL | Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino | |
| Sun | 8/31 | Atlantic City, NJ | Boardwalk Hall | |
| Wed | 9/3 | Newark, NJ | Prudential Center | |
| Sat | 9/6 | Bristow, VA | Jiffy Lube Live | |
| Tue | 9/9 | Clarkston, MI | DTE Energy Music Theatre | |
| Fri | 9/12 | Sydney, NS, Canada | Open Hearth Park | |
| *Tue | 9/23 | Hollywood, CA | The Troubadour | |
| *Thu | 9/25 | Hollywood, CA | The Roxy | |
| *Fri | 9/26 | Hollywood, CA | The Whisky A Go Go | |
| * Indicates Headlining Shows. | ||||
