Slash and his rock and roll posse have released their third solo album with Alter Bridge vocalist Myles Kennedy. This is a mean, heart-resuscitating rock machine with driving tempos, crunchy chord work, and the most incredible guitar playing of Slash’s career.

Produced by Michael “Elvis” Baskette, the album efficiently reproduces old-school anthemic Sunset Strip rock, with white blues flourishes – minus the heroin-soaked unpredictability, irreverence, and danger. Drummer Brent Fitz and bassist Todd Kerns provide diligent support.

Comparisons are unfair, but any album that Slash releases will be compared to the groundbreaking Appetite For Destruction recorded 30 years ago. While Slash’s guitar playing displays more melodic range, precision, and fire than ever, the compositions on World On Fire are unmemorable.

It’s generic hard rock mining familiar lyric tropes, catchy lead breaks, thematic soloing, notched wah lead tones, and sharp production. These forgettable arena-ready tunes are well crafted, but mostly provide a platform for Slash to unleash copious amounts of whup-ass. Until he finds another Axl Rose, you can rest assured Slash’s chops are still world-class.

This article originally appeared in VG‘s January ’15 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.