Slash On Velvet Revolver, Kings of Chaos Project + Cinematic Origin of ‘Anastasia’ [INTERVIEW]

There’s no doubt Slash is one of the greatest hard rock guitarists of all time. From his work in the ‘80s with Guns N’ Roses to Velvet Revolver to his current, solo project, Slash’s guitar lines and solos carry a course, high-octane voice, packed with raw emotion, speed and technical know-how.

Slash’s latest album, ‘Apocalyptic Love,’ dropped last year, and the guitarist is currently in the midst of touring with Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators in support of the release.

‘Anastasia’ is Slash’s current single, and Slash says it’s a song that’s been a long time coming.

“Musically, it came from the previous tour,” he said, speaking with the Banana’s Anne Erickson in an interview. “On the previous tour, every so often, I would play this ‘Godfather’ theme during the improv session, and I started coming up with a certain pattern in the solo—a certain series of notes that I stumbled on and felt were really cool. I started looking forward to playing the solo every night to see if I would stumble on them again, and it just became something I was working on, and it turned into the opening arpeggios of ‘Anastasia.’

“So, when the tour was over, I started working on this idea, and that’s basically where the music came from. I sent them to Myles, and he came up with some ideas. When we were doing pre-production, we actually flushed the whole song out, and it came together pretty quickly.”

Slash says the whole album came together naturally. The disc features the band he’s toured with for the life of his solo project: Kennedy, Todd Kerns (bass) and Brent Fitz (drums).

“That first tour ended up being a year and a half, and we had a great time, and during that tour, I thought that if I was going to make another record, I would do it with these guys,” Slash said. “They were into the idea, and I wrote a bunch of material with Myles on the road and came back, and we recorded ‘Apocalyptic Love.’”

Of course, many fans want to know when – if ever – Velvet Revolver might resurface. Moreover, how’s the search for a singer going?

“With Velvet, there’s no singer in place, and there hasn’t been, but we’ve actually very quietly been looking for somebody who’s right for that band,” Slash said. “But, interestingly enough, I’m playing some shows in South Africa with Duff (McKagan) and Matt (Sorum) and Glenn Hughes and Sebastian Bach, and that’s going to be interesting. It’s called Kings of Chaos, and Duff and Matt and Steve Stevens and Glenn Hughes and Sebastian Bach are the main band, and then they have guys that come up and guest. It’s going to be sort of like Velvet Revolver with Sebastian and Glenn Hughes singing.”

As for the future of Slash and Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, the group is already looking towards their next album.

“I’m working on the next Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators record, so that’s something that’s planned for early next year,” he said.