Legendary guitarist Slash (GUNS N' ROSES, VELVET REVOLVER) has completed the first recording session for his upcoming solo album at Barefoot Recording in Hollywood, California with producer Eric Valentine (QUEENS OF STONE AGE, THE ALL-AMERICAN REJECTS). Joining Slash in the studio were the members of his touring band: vocalist Myles Kennedy (ALTER BRIDGE), rhythm guitarist Bobby Schneck, bassist Todd Kerns (SIN CITY SINNERS, formerly of AGE OF ELECTRIC), and drummer Brent Fitz (formerly of THEORY OF A DEADMAN).

Slash played three of the newly recorded songs — "Halo", "Standing In The Sun" and "Bad Rain" — for VH1 Classic "That Metal Show" co-host Eddie Trunk, who tweeted yesterday, "I can tell you the three songs I heard are heavy with killer riffs and vocals. It's the same band that he has been touring with last couple years on the album, and it sounds more cohesive because of it. Really strong!"

Slash's as-yet-untitled new album is tentatively due next April.

In a recent interview, Slash stated about the musicians in his band, "I was really fortunate. When I'd done the [first solo] record, I thought, 'I've gotta tour on this.' And I had to figure how I was gonna actually pull that off. And I set about auditioning musicians in L.A. and I just happened to meet Brent Fitz, who I'd never played before and who is not from Los Angeles; he was one of the guys I auditioned and he was great. And then he introduced me to Todd Kerns, who fit in perfectly. And it turned out to be a great band from the start — definitely worth going in and making a record with."

Valentine previously worked with Slash on the guitarist's self-titled solo album. But "the big difference," according to Slash, will be that Eric is "also gonna be mastering this one" in addition to recording and mixing the CD. "So it's like one-stop shopping, which is pretty cool," the axeman said.

Regarding the musicial direction of his new material and how it compares to last year's self-titled effort, Slash said, "This one's definitely a very focused… Very hard. Some of it's very heavy. It's got sort of a more unified sound to it, especially with one vocal all throughout."

"Slash" was released in North America in April 2010 via EMI Label Services. The album featured an all-star roster of guest musicians, including Ian Astbury, Chris Cornell, Rocco DeLuca, Fergie, Dave Grohl, Myles Kennedy, Kid Rock, Lemmy Kilmister, Adam Levine of MAROON 5, Duff McKagan, M. Shadows of AVENGED SEVENFOLD, Ozzy Osbourne, Iggy Pop, and Andrew Stockdale of WOLFMOTHER.

"Slash" was completed with the rhythm section of bassist Chris Chaney (JANE'S ADDICTION) and drummer Josh Freese (NINE INCH NAILS). Slash handled the majority of arranging and songwriting duties and hand-picked each guest artist. The album's guests worked collaboratively with Slash to round out the song.

-blabbermouth.net