Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash gave his opinion in an interview with Matt Pinfield (Transcribed by Ultimate Guitar) on Black Sabbath and AC/DC. The musician shared his love for the two famous groups and revealed some of his favorite songs from them.
Slash gives his opinion on Black Sabbath and AC/DC
“The first Sabbath record just had the biggest impact on me. Because, when you think about it, in the landscape of all the other music that was happening at the time, there’s this one dark record that comes out that really created what you would consider dark heavy metal and created the path for everything that was to follow. And so yeah, that record is especially poignant.”
“But, you know, I also love the ‘Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath’ record. I mean, really all those records… But the first one and the ‘Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath’ record probably had the biggest impact on me. And the title track, that breakdown towards the end of the song. There’s just nothing that’s ever come out that’s heavier than that. Not one band that I can think of has a riff that is as heavy as ‘Sabbath Bloody Sabbath,'” Slash said.
Formed in Birmingham, England back in 1968 by Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Bill Ward and Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath created Heavy Metal music after the release of their self-titled debut album in 1970 and many other classic albums like “Paranoid” (1970) and “Master Of Reality (1971).
His opinion on AC/DC
“There’s two of my favorite records. One’s Bon Scott. That’s ‘Down Payment Blues’… ‘Powerage.’ But, I mean, ‘Back in Black’ was a big deal at the time, because when it came out… They were talking about that period when, in the ’80s when ‘Back in Black’ had come out and it was such a massive record and the songs were so great, and it was a great record from start to finish.”
“So that that Brian Johnson delivery on that record, and some of those songs are just undisputedly some of the best rock and roll that was ever created. But the ‘Powerage’ record is probably, hands down, my favorite musical AC/DC record. I think just the rawness of the record and the songs themselves… It’s a seminal AC/DC record,” Slash said.
One of the most important Hard Rock bands of all time, AC/DC was formed in Australia back in 1973 by Brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. They are one of the best-selling bands of all time with more than 200 million records sold worldwide. The group is also one of the few cases in Rock and Roll of continuing to be successful with a another singer, since Brian Johnson replaced Bon Scott after the musician’s death.
Slash
Slash has received critical acclaim as a guitarist since the beginning of his career, receiving several awards and honors to this day. Time magazine named him runner-up on its list of “The 10 Best Guitarists” in 2009, while Rolling Stone placed him in sixty-fifth place on its list of “The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” in 2011.
Also, Guitar World ranked their solo in November Rain in sixth place on their “The 100 Best Guitar Riffs” list in 2008, and Total Guitar placed their Sweet Child o ‘Mine riff first on their ” 100 Greatest Riffs “in 2004. In July 2012, Slash received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, where the musician grew up.