Myles Kennedy is known for, among other things, being the vocalist in Slash’s backing band. Kennedy usually records with the Conspirators and with the band Alter Bridge, but his latest record, “Year of the Tiger,” is his solo debut. The record points back to classic rock, for sure, but it mostly points back farther than “Appetite For Destruction.”
The album opens with the title track, a very “Led Zeppelin IV” bit of epic Anglo-mystic stomp rock in the mold of “The Battle of Evermore.” Elsewhere he summons the spirit of Chris Cornell’s athletic belting. There are tinges of prog metal, grunge and good old mammoth hard rock. Acoustic guitar and slide guitar allow Kennedy to sing with full-throated abandon.
The record is thematically about the death, 40 years ago, of Kennedy’s father, which gives the music a kind of gravity. (Kennedy’s father was a Christian Scientist and it’s possible that he might have survived with the attention of a doctor, which complicated the feelings for the non-believing son.)
See Myles Kennedy at the Webster Theater, 31 Webster St., Hartford, on Nov. 23 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $11.50 to $27. 860-525-5553 and webstertheater.com