Watch: Bending The Blues: Inside The Making of the Album ‘Orgy Of The Damned’ w/ Slash and Producer Mike Clink Live from the GRAMMY Museum®
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MyBeer Buzz
Watch as Slash and his band perform two songs off the Orgy of the Damned album “Crossroads” and “Oh Well”:
Above: Click on the image to play the video.
Slash performs at the GRAMMY Museum.
All photos, credit Rebecca Sapp/The Recording Academy HERE.
Above: click on the image to play the video.
Slash and his band perform live at the GRAMMY Museum.
Above (L-R): Scott Goldman (moderator), Slash, and Mike Clink.
Above: Cesar Gueikian, President and CEO of Gibson and Gibson Records introduces Slash and Mike Clink to the crowd at the GRAMMY Museum.
Above: Mike Clink (producer), Slash and Scott Goldman (moderator).
Above: Michael Jerome (drums), Teddy ‘ZigZag’ Andreadis (keys/vocals), Slash (guitars), Tash Neal (vocals/guitars), and Todd Kerns (bass) performed.
Above: Slash and Cesar Gueikian, President and CEO of Gibson/Gibson Records.
Above: Gibson Records artists Serj Tankian (System Of A Down), Slash, and Cesar Gueikian, President and CEO of Gibson/Gibson Records.
Above (L-R): longtime Slash manager Jeff Varner (Revelation Management/Red Light), Slash, and Jodi Emond and Niru Pratapgiri (Revelation Management/Red Light).
Above: the Gibson/Gibson Records team came out to support Slash at the event (L-R) Cesar Gueikian (President and CEO of Gibson), Peter Leinheiser (Senior Director Entertainment Relations, US at Gibson), Slash, Beth Heidt (Chief Marketing Officer at Gibson), and Raeann Vinton (Cultural Influence at Gibson).
SLASH Orgy of the Damned cover artwork.
On Orgy of the Damned, SLASH goes back to what has always been at the heart of his playing: the Blues. Released on May 17 2024, SLASH’s critically acclaimed sixth solo album, Orgy of the Damned—was produced by Mike Clink and is available everywhere worldwide on Gibson Records HERE. A first for SLASH, Orgy of the Damned spent 13 weeks at #1 on the Billboard Blues Album Chart in the U.S. The new album also debuted as the #1 Blues Album in the U.S and the U.K., #2 on the U.S. Rock Albums Chart, as well as achieving Top 10 Chart positions in 7 countries around the world.
Hailed “a beautifully tailored love letter to the Blues,” (Blues Matters) on Orgy of the Damned SLASH revitalizes blues classics with the album’s handpicked diverse guest vocalists, which include Brian Johnson (AC/DC), Chris Stapleton, Iggy Pop, Gary Clark Jr., Billy F. Gibbons, Chris Robinson (Black Crowes), Dorothy, Paul Rodgers, Demi Lovato, Tash Neal, and Beth Hart. SLASH selected standard blues songs made famous by Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson, and tracks from blues rock bands like Peter Green‘s Fleetwood Mac and Steppenwolf. He even strays from the blues for the Motown tracks from the Temptations and Stevie Wonder, showcasing the inherent blues underlying all great music from the 60s and 70s. The legendary guitarist reunited with two of his bandmates from his Blues Ball Band outfit in the 90s, Johnny Griparic (bass), and Teddy ‘ZigZag’ Andreadis (keys), and brought on drummer Michael Jerome and singer/guitarist Tash Neal who round out his blues band in the studio and on the road.
While recording Orgy of the Damned, everything was played live in the room, with an emphasis on improvisation which resulted in a striking collection of energized songs that are vital and raw. Highlights include “Oh Well” with outlaw country star Chris Stapleton’s gritty vocals on the beloved early Peter Green/Fleetwood Mac tune, listen HERE, and the Howlin’ Wolf-penned first single “Killing Floor” an electrifying collaboration with Brian Johnson of AC/DC on vocals, and Steven Tyler of Aerosmith on harmonica, listen HERE. “Hoochie Coochie Man,”–written by Willie Dixon and made famous by Muddy Waters–showcases the album’s powerful in-the-moment nature with Z.Z. Top’s Billy F. Gibbons stepping in on vocals and guitar. Gary Clark Jr. joins in for a rowdy take on Robert Johnson’s “Crossroads,” while Beth Hart stuns on the twanging and soulful rendition of T. Bone Walker’s “Stormy Monday,” and Iggy Pop’s vocals soothe the soul on a unique version of “Awful Dream” by Lightnin’ Hopkins. Some of the songs, like Steppenwolf’s “The Pusher,” Charlie Segar’s “Key to the Highway,” and Albert King’s “Born Under a Bad Sign,” had been performed by Slash’s Blues Ball, while others, including like Stevie Wonder’s “Living for the City” with powerful vocals from Tash Neal, were long-time favorites for SLASH.
Read SLASH’s full breakdown of every song and artist collaborations on Orgy of the Damned, HERE. For a deep dive into the making of the new album, watch Gibson TV’s new music documentary “The Making of Slash’s ‘Orgy of the Damned,’” Episodes 1, 2, 3 and 4, are all streaming now, HERE.
Check out press acclaim for SLASH’s new album Orgy of the Damned:
“Slash and [Iggy] Pop, who howls on the song’s outro like a lost, mournful coyote, captured not only Hopkins’ insouciance—a notable part of his musical character—but underscored every bit of the lyric’s fatalist chiaroscuro, which includes references to the atom bomb, an ominous talking bird, and, ultimately, death. Orgy of the Damned, indeed. But for an album with that title, its dozen tracks plucked from the classic blues and R&B canon are a hell of a lot of fun. Slash and his compatriots—who also include Chris Stapleton, Billy Gibbons, Paul Rodgers, Gary Clark Jr., Brian Johnson, Tash Neal, Steven Tyler, Beth Hart, and Demi Lovato–rock the juke joint down.”
–PREMIER GUITAR
“an all-star blues party, Orgy of the Damned is a celebration of the genre that has had a deeply influential impact on Slash’s own style.”
–GUITAR WORLD
“Sonic perfection.”
–AMERICAN SONGWRITER
“[Slash and Iggy Pop on ’Awful Dream’] is just one of many magical music moments on Orgy of the Damned.”
–BILLBOARD
“[Orgy of the Damned is] a who’s who of hard rock: Paul Rodgers, Steven Tyler, Billy Gibbons, Iggy Pop. There’s also Demi Lovato, the rock-loving pop star who gives a powerhouse performance of the Temptations’ ‘Papa Was a Rolling Stone.’ …[Papa] shows Slash working the talk box with his guitar and playing a wah-wah-wah solo (that’s extra wah), plumbing new depths of soul in the song. But the clip also shows Lovato’s intensity as she reads the lyrics about making sense of an absent father and finding her own meaning in words like, And when he died, all he left us was alone. Her voice even climbs to the same height as Slash’s guitar for the final solo.”
–ROLLING STONE
“Chris Robinson sounds about 100 years old on a fabulously grizzled take on ‘The Pusher’, Billy Gibbons glides over ‘Hoochie Coochie Man’, and Brian Johnson does his best Tom Jones on ‘Killing Floor’. And Chris Stapleton outsings them all on ‘Oh Well.’ As is only right and just, Slash is the star of his own show, and he’s chosen material to showcase his guitar pyrotechnics.”
–CLASSIC ROCK
“A fascinating listen. While Beth Hart brings her incredible vocal range to ‘Stormy Monday,’ Paul Rodgers lays his smooth vocals over the jaunty rhythms of ‘Born Under a Bad Sign,’ and Slash serving as the connective tissue between each song, the album itself is able to explore different blues sounds and styles in accordance with how each of the chosen singers meshes with the material. Orgy of the Damned presents blues fans with an exciting way to hear new takes on favorite songs.”
–BLUES ROCK REVIEW
“Orgy Of The Damned serves as an authentic bridge from his musical roots to his many hard rock endeavors. …most importantly to Slash, it goes back to what has always been at the heart of his playing: the blues.”
–GRAMMY MAGAZINE
“Stapleton’s voice, one of country music’s most powerful, blends perfectly with Slash’s dirty blues playing on the song [‘Oh Well’], written by Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Green and first released by the Mac in 1969.”
–ROLLING STONE
“The legendary Slash has teamed up with Chris Stapleton for a killer Fleetwood Mac cover. Slash and Stapleton amp up the rock and roll early on in the song, giving it a modern refresh while still keeping the bones good. Stapleton pulls out his best raspy vocals on this track to sing the few lines of the song, but the single is really a showcase of their incredible talent on the guitar.”
–WHISKEY RIFF
“Slash has assembled a star-studded cast of the world’s top musicians and a revolving door of talented singers – including Demi Lovato, Paul Rodgers and Chris Stapleton, delivering an album that’s choc-full of serious guitar statements.”
–MUSIC RADAR
“Orgy of the Damned is a can’t-miss collection of classic blues rock tracks with Slash’s unmistakable imprint on all of them.”
–LOS ANGELES MAGAZINE
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