“It was building up in the back of my mind for so long that it finally pushed its way to the fore”: Why this was the year Slash finally got the blues

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2024 Year in Review: The Guns N’ Roses icon indulged his earliest influences and shone a spotlight on blues icons old and new

Slash wears a top hat and holds a GIbson J-45 acoustic guitar
(Image credit: Future / Jen Rosenstein)

2024 Year in Review: Sure, he’s been keeping busy enough with Guns N’ Roses and his solo band (fronted by Myles Kennedy), but when he’s in creative mode, Slash has proven himself to be an unstoppable force.

This year’s blues album, announced back in March and titled Orgy of the Damned, ended up being one of the most talked- about releases of 2024, with the Les Paul devotee roping in star guests like AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson, Gary Clark Jr. and Demi Lovato for modern takes on old-school classics by Robert Johnson, Peter Green and Howlin’ Wolf.

“It was building up in the back of my mind for so long that it finally pushed its way to the fore,” Slash said of the release in his September GW cover story.

“One of the great things about blues is the stories that it tells, especially for people who are struggling,” he observed.

Slash feat. Brian Johnson - "Killing Floor" (Official Music Video) - YouTube Slash feat. Brian Johnson -
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The guitarist also put together the S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival tour, enlisting modern luminaries such as Eric Gales, Samantha Fish and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram for a joyous celebration of all things flat five.

The top-hatted gunslinger also joined forces with Ryan Gosling and Wolfgang Van Halen for a show-stealing performance of Barbie tune I’m Just Ken at this year’s Oscars ceremony.

Amit Sharma
Amit Sharma

Amit has been writing for titles like Total Guitar, MusicRadar and Guitar World for over a decade and counts Richie Kotzen, Guthrie Govan and Jeff Beck among his primary influences as a guitar player. He's worked for magazines like Kerrang!, Metal Hammer, Classic Rock, Prog, Record Collector, Planet Rock, Rhythm and Bass Player, as well as newspapers like Metro and The Independent, interviewing everyone from Ozzy Osbourne and Lemmy to Slash and Jimmy Page, and once even traded solos with a member of Slayer on a track released internationally. As a session guitarist, he's played alongside members of Judas Priest and Uriah Heep in London ensemble Metalworks, as well as handled lead guitars for legends like Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols, The Faces) and Stu Hamm (Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, G3).