Paul Stenning - Slash--Surviving Guns N Roses, Velvet Revolver and Rocks Snake Pit: Excess: The Biography

Is there a bigger icon in the world of rock music than Slash? With his frizzy hair obscuring his face, top hat perched on his crown, cigarette permanently dangling from his mouth and bottle of Jack Daniels by his side, there are few people in the world who would not recognise him.

Its due to this indelible image that Slash has graced thousands of music magazine covers and been interviewed by every type of publication under the sun. Slash is not just a brilliant guitarist, he is an icon and a marker of rock n roll excess and cool. He has experienced pretty much everything one associates with the nefarious world of rock and, unlike many of his peers, he has lived to tell the tale with continuing humility and good grace.

His generation of rockers has its share of drooling, junkie fuck ups, but somehow Slash has managed to retain his cool charm throughout drug and alcohol use that would have wrecked lesser individuals. Indeed, he has commented that people often say he looks younger than his forty-plus years and that they expect him to look more addled.

Quite how he has emerged so scar-free from numerous excessive years is unclear but this is a character who permanently stands on the precipice of decadence yet somehow keeps his head clear and his guitar playing immaculate. Though he is now a global symbol of rock n roll for sheer distinctive image alone he made his name with an ability to ring an impressive succession of notes from his permanent axe companion, a sunburst Gibson Les Paul. Slash can play rhythm guitar with a composed insouciance and he shreds solos like you or I pour milk.

Such legends are not made, they are born. Considering his rock n roll upbringing, Slash was perhaps destined to become a star himself and the writing was on the wall early in his career. As a very young man, he played guitar on one of the best selling albums of all-time, Guns N Roses Appetite For Destruction. It was the success of this record that propelled two of its members to global stardom. Frontman Axl Rose was an instant icon but Slash too achieved the kind of success that results from being one half of a truly enigmatic partnership. Not since Jagger and Richards or Page and Plant had such a riotous combination of vocal wonder and guitar genius been established. This rare duality made Axl and Slash superstars although they both accepted the honour with notably different approaches.

Axl thrived on the limelight whilst Slash shunned it, hiding behind his mop of curly hair. Axl swaggered and floated across the stage, while Slash threw his head in a tangle of head-banging glory, for all the world looking as if he were some kid pretending to be a rock star in front of his bedroom mirror. Except he was the real deal. In numerous interviews, the Guns N Roses singer frequently caused controversy, becoming known as a fiery superstar; Slash, meanwhile, was always available with a laugh and a smile. Keep him stocked in Jack & Coke and he was devotedly yours.

Like all the best and most successful rock partnerships, it was this paradox of behaviour which served the double act so well. They were chalk and cheese, Axl said tom-Ah-to, Slash baulked, tom-A-to. Yet out of this clash of styles, some of the greatest rock music of all time emerged and many people felt, with the greatest of respect to the other members, that G N R was predominantly about Axl and Slash. In their unavoidable clashes, the two prompted certain fans to favour one over the other. The volatile frontman wannabes preferred Axl while the low slung six-string pretenders picked Slash. Whatever your preference, everyone sensed the band would not truly work without one or the other.

With inner turmoil and inevitable arguments over musical style and money, the original incarnation of Guns N Roses was destined to disintegrate their collective career as the ultimate five-piece was short. Slash stayed longer than his guitar partner Izzy Stradlin, he outlasted childhood friend Steven Adler and avoided the inevitable split from Axl as long as he could. Yet the writing was on the wall and after a decade of ties, Slash moved on.

Without Slash, can Guns N Roses ever possibly be the same? For some, it is debatable that the guitarist was equally as important to their success and proficiency as Axl Rose. He was the one who still managed to wake early, handle interviews without complaint, and he who would always make a show on time and on form.

The late 1990s were less than eventful for the top-hatted one, but he somehow remained in the minds of numerous rockers around the world, initially with apparent side project Slashs Snakepit. Yet, it was not until he created a super-group, with the help of ex-G N R bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Matt Sorum and a consummate frontman in ex-Stone Temple Pilots throat Scott Weiland, that Slash once again enjoyed the glare of world attention. With Velvet Revolver, he returned to his glory days with G N R, all the while smoking Marlboro and slugging Old No. 7.

Contrary to some cynical suggestions, Velvet Revolver are anything but a one hit wonder. Despite previous drug problems and subsequent jail time for Weiland, the band seem able to stick to their touring commitments and keep the VR name in the spotlight. With a carefree attitude and typically brazen playing, Slash has become the focal point of the band and continues to release top quality recordings featuring his guitar efforts; meanwhile, Axl Rose sits on a ticking time bomb in the shape of his Chinese Democracy album which, at the time of writing, has taken a whopping fourteen years and counting to make.

Given Slash is such an enduring icon, it is a surprise there has not previously been a biography written on his life, and his part in the rock n roll massacre of G N R and beyond. With this in mind, this book hopes to uncover information on his tale and how he became one of the greatest guitar players of the modern music era. By examining his role in all the key albums of his career and by investigating his personal life, we will see how a polite, understated English kid traversed the international music community and became a hero for aspiring guitarists and rock n roll down n outs the world over. This is Slashs untamed story and a homage to his abilities and attitude.

Long may he reign as the six-string King.

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Slash is famously quiet, shy and hard to figure out. However, in tracing his history, it is possible to find the man behind the veil. The story of Guns N Roses has been told many times before, but it is a tale that is vital to understand how Slash came to be where he is and who he is. If you already know certain parts of the story then press on, because there are plenty of revelations within the G N R saga, previously unexplored. But most importantly, this is the first book to examine the catalogue of other work by Slash, which have been regularly brushed under the carpet by so-called rock experts. How many times has someone ignored the fantastic and consistent Slashs Snakepit? If Slash had formed Velvet Revolver with an unknown singer, then his most recent band might well have suffered a similar, low profile fate to Snakepit. This is a shame because everything Slash has ever put his name to has always been quality rock music blessed with his trademark guitar style.

So there is an in-depth look into Slashs projects post-Guns N Roses, which includes everything from his Blues Ball outfit to the ongoing super group, Velvet Revolver. Again, given Revolvers impression on the rock scene, their story is somewhat familiar. I can make no apologies for tracing the lineage of their search for a singer and their debut album