During the period when Slash parted ways with Guns N’ Roses, he developed a deep passion for blues and soul music. With a group called Slash’s Blues Ball, he reinterpreted the music of Robert Johnson, Willie Dixon, and Stevie Wonder, among others, in concerts between 1996 and 1998. Now, almost three decades later, the guitarist, who returned to GN’R in 2016, is once again immersing himself in the repertoire of that group in “Orgy of the Damned,” his new solo album set to be released on May 17, featuring many of his famous friends.
The album, available for pre-order via Gibson Records, features contributions from Iggy Pop, Chris Stapleton, Demi Lovato, Paul Rodgers, Chris Robinson, Billy Gibbons, and Gary Clark Jr. In the first single, AC/DC’s frontman Brian Johnson sings Howlin’ Wolf’s “Killing Floor” while Steven Tyler of Aerosmith plays harmonica and Slash delivers a blues solo.
“Killing Floor is a song that I’ve always wanted to do,” says the guitarist to Rolling Stone in a Zoom interview recorded in February while he was on tour in Melbourne with Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators. “Brian was the only one I thought of for that song; I know his voice and how it sounds when he sings in a lower register.”
“When Slash asked me to sing on ‘Killing Floor,’ I immediately said yes,” says Johnson. “It was one of the first songs I learned in my very first band, and when he played the track for me, it was a breeze. Plus, Steven’s harmonica has such a warm sound. I had a blast in the studio, and I think we did justice to this great old song. Cheers.”
Slash, a longtime fan of AC/DC, enjoyed working with Johnson because “he’s a great example of a true rock & roll guy who just does what he does.”