“We always hope to venture into a little bit of new territory without alienating the fans who know us for a certain thing,” begins vocalist Myles Kennedy, speaking about 4 – the energetic new album from Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators, which comes out February 11 via Gibson Records / BMG.

Myles lives in Washington State, Slash lives in California, bassist / backing vocalist Todd Kerns, drummer Brent Fitz and guitarist Frank Sidoris all live in Nevada – the five of them jumped in a tour bus and drove across country to Nashville, Tennessee to record their exciting new album at the historic RCA Studio A. “Given the times we were living in, and the uncertainty of everything, we were trying to make this record safely; that was paramount to all of us,” recalls Myles. “We thought, let’s take a bus to Nashville and make the record. So, that’s what we did. We met up with Dave Cobb – who’s an awesome producer – and followed all the protocols to try and keep everybody safe. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned and Covid made its way into the realm, which really complicated things. But somehow, we managed to land on our feet and get the record done regardless. It was kind of a miracle.” Four of the five band members caught Covid while working on 4. “Frank managed to escape it. It was just one of those things. Like I said, we followed all the protocols, we were trying to do everything the best we could, and it crept in somehow. But Frank ended up making it out unscathed.”

Commonly known as Music City, Nashville is the epicenter of country music. With the exception of Airbourne and Rival Sons, producer Dave Cobb’s discography is more aligned with honky tonk than hard rock. Myles elaborates upon what brought SMKC to Tennessee. “Slash had wanted to make a record that was more organic, and I think Dave definitely is known for making those kinds of records. That’s where Dave is located, so that’s how we ended up in Nashville. It’s not the first record I’ve made in Nashville. I did a record in Nashville back in 2007, we recorded Black Bird with Alter Bridge. I love Nashville! It’s changed a ton since I was there back then; it’s grown massively.”

Normally when a band records an album, all the instruments and vocals are recorded separately, then the producer and engineer mix them together. But for the 4 album, all tracks – including guitar solos and vocals – were laid down live. “That is pretty much correct,” affirms Myles. “With a few moments, most of what you hear is while we were all in the room playing together. I thought, as a vocalist, I assumed they were going to capture the musical part, and then we would go on and do vocals later. It’s funny, there’s a song called ‘Actions Speak’, as I was singing that… or maybe it was ‘Call Off The Dogs’ – probably loads of them. I’m kind of a fidgeter. If they set the monitor situation where I can turn the knobs and set up my own mix, I’m notorious for spending quite a bit of time doing that. As we were tracking those songs, I was still setting up my volume, still setting up the mix, not knowing that what I was singing was going to actually end up being used for the record. It’s kind of funny cause I can hear little moments where – oh, I’m a little flat here, that’s probably when I was adjusting this knob. Little did I know Dave was going to use that tape. And I remember, we would finish tracking – cause I was behind the glass, I was in the vocal room so the music wouldn’t leak, all the drums and whatnot wouldn’t bleed into the vocal mic. Dave would be like, ‘I think we got a lot of the vocals on that take.’ I’m like, ‘What are you talking about? Aren’t we going to recut these vocals?’ But yeah, we used ‘em.”

Their musical talent is undeniable, but did the guys on the other side of the glass - Slash, Todd, Brent, and Frank feel any more pressure than usual? If you’re just laying down a bass track and you hit a wrong note, it’s no big deal to start over. But when all four of them are recording together, everybody’s got to be bang on, or else the whole group starts over. “Yeah, that’s a good question. I’m sure they did probably feel a little bit of, as I like to call it, red light anxiety – meaning the red light of the record button. There would almost be something wrong with them if they didn’t feel that. But to some degree, that actually can benefit an artist sometimes, cause the adrenaline can elevate your performance. It’s really like finding that happy medium where you’re trying to harness the power of that adrenaline and utilize to where you don’t let it totally take control and derail you.”

Apocalyptic Love had artwork by Casey Howard, both World On Fire and Living The Dream featured album covers created by Ron English. Conversely, 4 is rather simple, both in visual appearance and title. 

“Well, I think it’s such an about face from some of the previous visuals. I think, in a way, it’s kind of refreshing, just because it’s unexpected. If I remember correctly, the title 4 might have come from a conversation we were having with Dave Cobb. I don’t know if he was half joking or what, but he said, ‘You guys should just call this 4.’ So many rock records throughout the years, it’s like when bands get to their fourth record, it’s almost like, in this game, if you can get to your fourth record, that’s a feat in and of itself. Why not just bring attention to that?”

Delving specifically into some of the songs on 4, we begin with “C’est la vie”. A French title that translates to “That’s Life”; a phrase everybody is familiar with. Lyrically, Myles is telling a story: “Far beyond this broken home, she’s alone, she’s alone, she’s afraid to run from the one that she loves but she’s had enough.” It doesn’t paint the prettiest picture. “Yeah, right. That song is basically about somebody who’s in this nasty, abusive relationship, and really just trying to find the strength to move on. It’s definitely a darker storyline on that particular track.” Yet the title is so carefee – c’est la vie – that’s life. But it isn’t if you’re stuck in an abusive relationship. “Definitely not. It’s interesting cause that phrase, c’est la vie, unfortunately, that’s life for a lot of people. That’s the unfortunate world we live in. It’s definitely a darker theme, without a doubt.”

Slash uses a talk box on “C’est la vie”. “He does. I always love it when he plays the talk box. It’s kind of his… first time I heard a talk box was Peter Frampton, back in the day. And it’s cool how Slash has taken that particular effect and made it his own; such a hallmark of what he does.” But he doesn’t overuse it, which is key. “Yeah, right. He uses it just right.”

Moving onto “The Path Less Followed”. That song has such a warmth to it, it’s reminiscent of the first two SMKC albums. “Yeah, I can hear that. What’s interesting about that track, from a melodic standpoint, is that I felt like in the verses, it really comes together once Todd’s harmony comes on top of my melody. I also love the riff! It’s a great, quintessential Slash riff. The theme of that song is just about living life on your own terms. That’s a theme I think everybody aspires to.” 

The lyric goes, “The path less followed is our road.” How so, for you specifically? “Deciding to be an artist. Growing up, I was taught to have very realistic expectations. I remember being in the third grade, talking to my stepdad, ‘Gosh, what am I going to do when I grow up?’ We’d talk about all these very realistic possibilities – teacher, maybe be a photographer; even that was considered to be a little dangerous! I loved sports as a kid, and I was a small kid, so I knew I’d never be able to be a professional, cause I wouldn’t be able to keep up with the big guys. But I thought, well, I could stand on the sidelines and take pictures of touchdowns. So, it was instilled in me to have realistic expectations. And the idea of taking the path less followed seemed like a pretty risky endeavor. That’s where some of those lines come from.” And it certainly paid off. “Yeah! It’s funny cause when we go to Vegas, people say, ‘Hey, let’s go play blackjack, or let’s go play the slot machines.’ I’m like, ‘You know what, man. I’m going to stay away.’ I’ve basically gambled my whole life, being a musician. And it’s one big gamble! The path I’ve taken has been one big game of craps.”

4 ends on such an epic note, “Fall Back To Earth” is truly a colossal song. It’s the longest on the album, at nearly six and a half minutes, and it features multiple guitar solos from Slash; it’s certainly comparable to those huge Guns N’ Roses songs – “November Rain” and “Estranged”. “It’s one of my favorites on the record because of what you just said,” admits Myles. “When

Slash sent the demo and I heard that melody, like we were talking about with the talk box, that is a hallmark of his, that kind of melody. It was really fun when we got in the studio, after Dave Cobb helped out with the arrangements and kind of shifted some things around. What he did ultimately was help reinforce that melody by making sure it was repeated throughout the song more than just a few times. At the end of it, it turned out to be this epic journey. I think it made sense to end the record on that note, just cause it’s such a moment. It punctuates the album in a necessary way.”

At ten songs, 4 is certainly not bloated. There’s no filler or throwaway. Was anything else recorded that’s being saved for later, or is sitting unfinished? “To my knowledge, we didn’t. I should know this; I was in the room. But it’s been just enough time. Just the ten were recorded. With that being said, we have plenty of other ones that we demoed, that we wrote for this record. But this was the ten that made the cut.” Ballpark figure, how many songs were demoed? “Geez, I want to say 15, maybe more.”

The US tour supporting 4, runs February 8 to March 26 (with one Canadian stop in Windsor, Ontario on March 4). Then, Guns N’ Roses resume touring May 21, and Myles Kennedy has solo shows booked June 1 to June 25. What happens in April? “Top secret,” chuckles Myles. “We’ll see. We’re trying to get the seventh Alter Bridge record up and running, so we’re trying to establish windows for all that. Both Mark (Tremonti, guitarist) and I are in the thick of it writing for that right now, demoing, pretty immersed in that whole process.”

In closing, will this initial cycle in February and March be the extent of touring in 2022 for the 4 album? “We’ll see. I think that just given the state of the world, and how things continue to change, it’s getting harder and harder to plan too far in advance because things can change in such a short period of time. At this point, this is all, this is where it stands.”

(Photos - Austin Nelson)