Contraband
The bass entrance to Slither is one of Contraband's smartest decisions. It gives the song somewhere to go before the full guitar riff arrives, creating tension that the chorus can release. Velvet Revolver are at their best when they allow that kind of movement inside their considerable force.
The band have plenty of force available. Slash and Dave Kushner give the guitars a substantial attack, Duff McKagan holds a clear place in the lower end, and Matt Sorum keeps the rhythm firmly directed. Scott Weiland brings a different sort of flexibility, changing the colour of a line or layering his voice to make a chorus feel larger.
Big Machine shows how those approaches fit together. The bass-heavy verse leads into a more emphatic chorus, allowing Weiland's melodic phrasing to redirect the song's energy. Headspace also finds common ground between hard rock drive and a more angled alternative rock sound. The combination works because the singer has room to shape the material.
The early sequence is less convincing. Sucker Train Blues and Do It for the Kids establish speed and intent, but the repeated attack gives them less individual character than their performances deserve. The band sound determined to make an impression before they have always found the most effective song to make it with.
Fall to Pieces offers a necessary change. The guitar melody and Weiland's more exposed delivery make the emotion easier to follow, and the arrangement grows around a strong tune. Loving the Alien closes on another reflective note, allowing a gentler side of the band to emerge after so much forward pressure.
These quieter tracks also reveal what the record sometimes lacks: room for one idea to register before the next arrives. When the guitars, vocal effects and rhythm all demand attention at once, an otherwise promising song can lose its centre.
Contraband contains enough persuasive work to justify the collaboration. Slither and Fall to Pieces have a clear identity, and the musicians find several ways to combine their strengths. The album is less consistent than those peaks suggest, but its best songs sound like a band working toward something shared, with more to offer than familiar names.
