If you were wondering why
Slash, one of the greatest guitarists of his generation, chose to throw in his lot with
Myles Kennedy, one of the greatly undistinguished hard rock vocalists of his generation, consider this: if you spent your life battling temperaments like
Axl Rose and
Scott Weiland, you'd choose somebody who's easy to get along with too. Touring and playing with
Kennedy clearly is easier on
Slash's soul, and the music on
Apocalyptic Love, his second solo album and first to feature
Myles on vocals throughout, reflects this ease. It may be hard and heavy but it sounds relaxed,
Slash and company doing the music they do best: namely, L.A. sleaze rock basics, thickly layered with guitars. There are absolutely no surprises here -- it opens with a cascade of wah-wahs and quickly settles into grinding boogie derived from
Aerosmith -- but unlike either
Slash's Snakepit or the 2010
Slash,
Apocalyptic Love never tries too hard, so it winds up satisfying on its own limited scale. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine