SLASH: New Solo Album Due In April

VELVET REVOLVER/ex-GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Slash has issued the following update:

"I'll be staying in town for the holidays, but I'm doing a poker tourney in the Bahamas first week of January, which is a benefit for 'The Foundation for AIDS Research,' or AMFAR. It should be a cool trip and it's for an important cause.

"The mastering session of my solo record is done. We did it at Sterling Sound with George Marino, who is hands down the most genius mastering engineer I've ever worked with. He is the perfect engineer to best bring out the dynamic nuances of the analog recording and I'm ecstatic with the results.

"Although it is not in my nature to brag about how good the performances are or how good the songs are, I will say, between [producer] Eric Valentine and George Marino, it is a fucking great-sounding record.

"We are now in the process of mixing the special bonus tracks which should be done next week. Then we will master those and be done with the whole recording, mixing, mastering process.

"I should be signing a U.S. distribution deal in the coming days, I will announce who with as soon as I do. We're still looking at an April release so far.

"I'll be at the NAMM show next year announcing the new 'Slash model' Marshall, as well as a new signature Les Paul and a signature set of Seymour Duncan pickups, all of which will be available early in the new year. I played the new 'Slash model' prototype with the new Seymour Duncan pickups at the KLOS Christmas Show at the Nokia recently and they sound fantastic. The performance was a little loose, but the guitar sounded great."

Slash will release his debut solo album, "Slash", in the spring in Europe via Roadrunner Records.

"Slash" will see Roadrunner Records enter into a unique and innovative association with a U.K. media partner — the special-interest media group Future. In a brand new concept in record distribution, the standard album release will be preceded by a "Fan Pack," in which the Roadrunner Records album will be bundled together with a highly collectable, 132-page special issue of Future Publishing's Classic Rock magazine dedicated to Slash's career. This will be the first format of the album available anywhere in the world.

The partnership is a first for music and media industries, marking the first-time a major new album has been released this way. The partnership ensures that Slash's new album is available through over 4,000 U.K. retailers that stock Classic Rock — sidestepping the issue of dwindling high street music outlets and top 20 only stocking in supermarkets. Classic Rock is one of the U.K.'s biggest rock music magazines and this year recorded its eighth consecutive circulation increase, the only paid-for music magazine to grow.

The Slash "Fan Pack" featuring his debut solo album from Roadrunner Records, along with a 132-page "Classic Rock Presents: Slash" special will have a cover price of £14.99.