4
studio
ArtistSlash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators
CoverSlash-4-album.jpeg
ReleasedFebruary 11, 2022
Recorded2021
StudioRCA Studio A (Nashville, Tennessee)
Length43:35
LabelGibson
ProducerDave Cobb
ChronologySlash
Prev year2019
Next year2024

4 is the fourth studio album by Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, and Slash's fifth solo album overall. It was released on February 11, 2022, as the first album from the new Gibson Records label.[1] The album was produced by country producer Dave Cobb in Nashville.[2] The album was announced on October 20, 2021, with the release of the first track "The River Is Rising" as a single.[3]

Background

Though Slash reunited with Guns N' Roses in 2016, he has still continued with his solo work, this being the second studio album release in that time period. Writing for the album started during the 2018–19 Living the Dream Tour.[4] Slash stated of the album, "There's two or three songs on the record that were written during the pandemic; everything else was written before".[2]

Looking to record the album in a different style than previously, the band travelled to Nashville to record at RCA Studio A with Dave Cobb.[2] Cobb shared the band's vision of recording the tracks live together, a tactic they had not employed on the previous albums. Slash noted that "we did it more or less live, and the mistakes are all in there. It's the sound of the five of us just jamming together in one room."[3]

The band faced the complications of COVID-19 not only in a delay of getting together to record the album, but also with the recording itself. Myles Kennedy was the first of several band members to contract the virus. He points out that you can hear his congestion on the opening track but states that these anomalies make the album interesting because "We just let those imperfections lay."[3]

Accolades

PublicationList
Metal HammerThe Best Metal Albums of 2022 So Far
Guitar WorldThe 10 Best Guitar Solos of 2022 (for "Fill My World"; ranked #8)[5]
Guitar WorldThe Best Guitar Albums of 2022 (ranked #15)[6]

Personnel

Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators

Additional personnel

  • Dave Cobb – producer, mixing
  • Ted Jensen – mastering
  • Eddie "Baby Faders" Spear – engineer
  • Phillip "Sweet Man" Smith – second engineer
  • John Ewing – pre-production engineer
  • Craig Defalco – guitar technician
  • Andrew Brightman – production coordination
  • Frank Maddocks – art direction, design
  • Austin Nelson – photography

Charts

Chart performance for 4
Chart (2022)Peak
position
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[7]11
Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[8]61
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[9]20

References

  1. ^ "Slash Announces New Album '4': See Release Date, Track Listing". Ultimate Classic Rock. October 22, 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  2. ^ Legaspi, Althea (22 October 2021). "Guns N' Roses Are Fully Back — But Slash Can't Quit His Solo Career". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  3. ^ Schaffner, Lauryn (October 22, 2021). "Slash Drops New Song 'The River Is Rising,' Announces New Album". Loudwire. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  4. ^ "SLASH Teases New Album: It's 'Probably The Best One We've Done So Far'". Blabbermouth. 4 October 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  5. ^ Horsley, Jonathan (14 December 2022). "The 10 best guitar solos of 2022". Guitar World. Future plc. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  6. ^ Horsley, Jonathan (21 December 2022). "The best guitar albums of 2022". Guitar World. Future plc. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  7. ^ "Albumit 7/2022" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  8. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums [2022/06/29 公開]" (in Japanese). Billboard Japan. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  9. ^ "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. March 14, 2022. Retrieved March 12, 2022.