Slash

Slash is an honest and gripping autobiography by Slash. He shares raw stories about his rise to fame with Guns N’ Roses, the chaos of the rock lifestyle, and his personal struggles. The writing feels candid and real, giving fans a deeper look behind the music. A must-read for any rock fan! 🎸

I have always been a fan of Guns & Roses,particularly for their unique guitar styles and amazing solos(Estranged,Nighttrain,November Rain) so when i saw this book i grabbed it,and i'm glad i did. I have always been a die-hard fan of heavy metal & have always enjoyed reading band or individual band members biographies as to say...a fiction story. This book has alot of great information,starting from the very beginning of his upbringing,and explaining how he was so musically inclined through his families work in the music business. The book is very informational in the sense it talks about how he grew up & his interests as a boy such as BMX & artwork. As he grew up it talks about some of Slash's famous stunts such as how he would boost cassette tapes in his pants,snakes wrapped around his arms and all other kinds of reptiles. His love for snakes & reptiles explains why he named his solo project after his departure in G&R Slash's Snakepit. This book gets into how he made the decision to pick up the axe and start wailing away on the 6string,how he came to form a bond with Duff and Steven as well as how he met up with Axl and Izzy. The band progressed themselves almost too fast as they were added on to open up for the equally as hedonistic band Motley Crue. The book goes into great detail about their individual tastes and such but this book is from Slash's perspective and talks about him and his endevours but also,obviously has to go into detail about Guns & Roses. The book is very insightful about the inner workings of G&R and how and why the tension slowly built after years on the road & info about the lineup changes as well as Axl constantly being late to gigs or just deciding to bail before the set was scheduled to end. Personally,being born in 1990 i can't say i knew all of this about the band,but now i do. There is alot of detail about the throes of addiction & substance abuse in this book but trust me it isn't nearly as bad as Nikki Sixx's Heroin Diaries,or even Steven Adlers book about substance abuse. Regardless this book goes through the different events in his life,pertaining to groupies and debauchery. Alot of great detail about how he tried to kick the dope and did it successfully(but replaced it with booze) and all the cocaine and crack that he would consume,almost killing him in 1 story. He took some time out to explain about his houses and buying a new one,then moving into a new place with his wife Perla. This book really goes through alot and covers alot of ground,from Guns to Snakepit to Velvet Revolver as well as his collaborations with Ray Charles,Michael Jackson and many others. Alot more stories about how he & the band had to hitchhike around the country to get to gigs when they first started. There is stories about how much excessive spending went on & how the band got sued by outside sources as well as Axl. There is info about his children and how he raised them with his wife,they both went to rehab for their own substance issues. Slash had a defibrulator installed in his heart because he OD'd and his heart got weak from all the years of excess parties and gallon of vodka a day drinking habits. There is just so much in here that i can't really say on this review but there are some great pictures in here as well as his personal views on subjects such as life,love,addiction,family,etc. If you are a fan of Slash,Guns,Velvet Revolver or the Snakepit or just a straight up fan of the band and want to learn a bit from their perspective then go and grab a copy. I have gotta say i have books from Ozzy,Lemmy,the Crue,Zakk Wylde,Metallica,Rex from Pantera,Korn,Manson and many other rock stars including Duff & Steven Adler and i have gotta say this book is top-notch. For fans of the band this book is a must own.

Fascinating story about the life of Slash. I'm glad I read it as it provides some insight on the life of a famous guitarist/rock star. The life he has lived was a wild and crazy one. It took me some time to finish this book because it was hard to read at times, given how rambunctious he could be. Overall a good book but there were times where the story dragged on but I'd recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about the life of Slash.

I bought this to research a writing project I'm working on, and it was a terrific read. The writing style is conversational--in that clearly transcribed conversation kind of way, but it felt comfortable, like Slash was just telling me stories. And, dude, this is a guy I want telling me stories. PROS: This book moves in an effective and engaging way. This will evolve into a con (we'll get to that later), but the pacing (while erratic) feels genuine, like a guy with a dozen lifetimes worth of experiences just chatting with me. I love the genuine nature of his storytelling. It's a rock and roll memoir, and it's definitely got the sex, drugs, and rock and roll you'd look for. But often these types of memoirs feel more about the stories than the person, but Slash as a human being comes out here, and I feel like a get a sense of him as a person I certainly never had before this. The stuff about his childhood felt carefully told and important. In other memoirs I've read, it often feels like the writer is just trying to get through that stuff. Not here. And that's pretty cool. But the rock and roll stories are still great. He's a terrific storyteller, really. Maybe he doesn't give you fully fleshed portraits of everybody he discuss, but he definitely keeps me informed and engaged and I was rarely lost on what childhood friend or whatnot he's talking about at a given moment. I felt his voice in my head as I read through this, and certainly was entertained. As I mentioned above, I picked this book up to research more about the relationship between Slash and Axl, but I was vacationing when I read it, and wasn't particularly short of time, so I didn't just jump ahead in the book to find the Sunset Strip and beyond stuff, and instead read through. I'm glad I did. I was entertained, educated, and ended up feeling much more informed about an artist I was already interested in and liked. I certainly liked Slash a lot more after I finished the book. CONS: As I mentioned above, it does meander at times, and it certainly jumps around. This style didn't bother me, but the flow feels less like a writer and more like a guy telling stories. For a memoir like this, that's fine by me. Likely you're not going to be interested in the book if you aren't already interested in Slash or Guns N' Roses, but if you got this far in thinking about it, just read it. It's a good read, accessible and engaging. Absolutely recommended.

Loved the book and the stories and the anecdotes. Well written.

Good

Amazing biography, I've read previously the Duff biography and thought it was insurmountable but this is even better.

Best ever biography I've ever read...... A must read for all rock and roll lovers ......just Tooooo good

The honesty and the info on one of the best bands in the world. Slash writes really well and recounts episodes of his life with clarity. It was a joy to read. Highly recommend it to any rock fans out there.

Bellissima l'autobiografia di Slash, da fan dei Guns non mi poteva mancare!! Ci sono state molte critiche negative sul libro, ma econdo me é scritto molto molto bene ed è comunque una lettura scorrevole e piacevole. Ve la consigli o vivamente, anche se non c'é bisogno,se vi piacciono i Guns, il libro di Slash insieme a quello di Steven Adler e quello di Duff McKagan sono a Peter mio il regalo più bello che i nostri artisti preferiti potessero farci!!!