Review Summary: Slash's first solo venture is a complete success, combining hard rock inspired blues with capable musicians this album is a win for Slash fans everywhere.
Slash's Snakepit is
Eric Dover- Lead Vocals
Saul "Slash" Hudson- Lead guitar
Eric Dover- Rhythm Guitar
Mike Inez- Bass Guitar
Matt Sorum- Drums
After Use Your Illusions 1 & 2 came out and before the horrible let down of The Spaghetti Incident Slash had a lot of time on his hands. During that period is when all the musicians came together and wrote It's Five O'Clock Somewhere. GNR fans everywhere pondered if this material could possibly compare to Guns, it did. This music can all be classified in the rock genre but on this album the songs range from straight up rock n' roll to nice blues rock jams.
Neither Can I starts the album off with a sorrowful tone. The almost 7 minute song is about an unknown person killing himself as a result of a fight. The pre-chorus tells the tale "You can't take it back, neither can I", so the person is so angry "nothing really matters, so I just went to sleep". This song was penned by Dover and his vocals are absolutely amazing. Along the same lines are Beggars & Hangers on Lower. Beggars has very nice hints of blues with slide guitar prevalent throughout the song. Lower is another song about suicide but wheras Neither can I was blues influence, Lower is almost a nod to Inez' previous group Alice In Chains. The verses have an unique grunge feel to them.
Right here I think it would be a good idea to talk about the rhythm section. Matt Sorum's work on the album is magnificent. The beginning drum fills in Dime Store Rock steal the attention from all the other instruments. Same could be said of the intro to Soma City Ward. SCW involves crossing over on the drums really hard to do, one of the top drum intros ever. Mike Inez also brings much to the table. Unlike most albums the bass is actually audible in every song. Especially What Do You Want To Be. Inez also co-wrote the albums only instrumental (Jizz Da Pit) with Slash.
The rest of the songs on the CD are all up tempo rockers. Take it away, Monkey Chow and Doin' Fine are really nicely done. The guitar solos are fantastic and the bass line in Monkey Chow is just ridiculous. The final two songs are probably the weakest. I Hate Everybody(but you) and Back and Forth Again are the closest songs on the album to filler. IHE and B&FA are attempts at upbeat love songs. Neither is bad but there not excellent.
In all the CD is definitely worth buying or download or stealing from a friend. All of the songs have high points and you will be entertained the whole time.
