Slash explains the difference between composing music for bands and films

slash seems to have three great passions in his life: rock and roll, bizarre Instagram posts and horror films. Regarding the last “department”, the guitarist of Armas e Rosas has been involved in a way that transcends fan appreciation: he has a feature film production company focused on horror — BerserkerGangin addition to having already commanded the Slasher Films — and has already produced soundtracks for these works.

One of his most recent works is The Breacha science fiction film that is coming out BerserkerGang. In an interview with Brooke Marsden (via Ultimate Guitar), the owner of the most famous hat in hard rock pointed out what it is like to record material in this segment and what the differences are with his “regular” bands.

Initially, he noted that composing music “in the context of a band” requires a different kind of concentration. Riffs and rhythms are the priority, whereas in films, the general mood is the number one demand.

“When I’m writing in the context of a band, I’m just putting together a rhythm and cool riffs. I start thinking about a musical structure. When you’re composing a soundtrack for a movie or TV show, you’re creating a mood for a concept or plot… It’s using a whole different side of your brain. [Risos]”

Another point is that slash really enjoys being involved with soundtrack work. He not only composes the pieces, but also makes a point of performing them. This does not mean, however, that he is in charge of the entire soundtrack of a film — because there would not be enough time for that.

“One of the things I love about this production company is that I am involved with music in some way. And I don’t want to be a composer of complete soundtracks, watching the film from start to finish and only then composing. What I do is create pieces, a theme, and then work with a composer to incorporate that into the film.”

Guitar on soundtracks

Also noteworthy is the fact that slash to be, primarily, a guitarist. It’s not common to hear the classic six-string instrument on horror film soundtracks. Therefore, he also noted during the interview that his work in this field ends up involving other people.

“Obviously, I write on guitar, but using guitar for an actual soundtrack isn’t something you do all the time. So, we have to create the instrumentation completely.”

In another interview, with NME(via website Igor Miranda), the musician offered some more details about the process. The soundtrack of The Breach it was created during the pandemic, remotely, but always with the involvement of more professionals.

“We composed the soundtrack during the pandemic, so we did a lot of things remotely. And I don’t specialize in that kind of recording, so I just composed my parts and sent them. Then the sound department put them on the instruments we used for most of the film. I recorded some individual guitar and acoustic guitar parts that we put in there as well.”

The movie that scared Slash

An inveterate fan of horror films since childhood, Slash is the type who worships classic productions of the genre. Still at NMEhe commented:

“I’ve always been a big fan of horror, especially back in the day when horror movies really scared you.”

At the time, he was also invited to reveal which feature in this segment really scared him. The answer was:

“I don’t scare very easily. That said, the first Night of the Living Dead (1968) scared me. It was so visceral and raw and dark. I found it quite disturbing.”