Slash Says Rock 'n' Roll 'Needs a Movement', Calls New Bands 'Conformist'

Aging rockers have been pretty hard on today's music scene, and Slash is no exception. The famous guitarist shared some more thoughts on the state of rock recently with the Manchester Evening News.

"I do think rock and roll bands have become really conformist, and they are worried about pissing off their record companies and being played on the radio," the musician, who rose to fame by reinvigorating rock in the late '80s with Guns N' Roses, said, Blabbermouth reports.

Slash, aka Saul Hudson, thinks that the stale scene needs something to get it back into shape. "Rock and roll definitely needs a movement," he added. "It's become kind of the music industry's bothersome step child and what it needs is someone really committed to come and shake things up who doesn't give a shit if they make it."

After KISS figurehead Gene Simmons proclaimed that "rock is finally dead" in September, Slash was among some of the genre's big names to weigh in on the matter.

"I sort of appreciate the landscape at the moment because it has forced us to really feeling strongly about expressing ourselves in the rock 'n' roll format and really believe in it," he told The Irish Times. "That's the people who are really passionate about it. But being part of a live audience is people appreciating what rock 'n' roll music is all about. I don't think that has changed."

The guitarist also added that the quality of commercial rock at the moment is "in the toilet."

Slash's most recent effort, World on Fire, came out September 16 to favorable reviews.

Tags

Slash, Rock 'n' Roll, Guns N Roses