Kill to live, kill for kicks
“Slash ‘n’ Burn” is, by all milestones, a great opening track. It’s got a direct reach that immediately grabs the listener, it sets the scene tonally for the album and it boasts a hell of a shout-along chorus that acts as the call-to-arms to convince the listener they’ve started something great. Some people would debate if Generation Terrorists counts as ‘something great’, but even they would have been charmed by “Slash ‘n’ Burn”.
That is to say, it kicks off its album with a bang. Every single trait of Generation Terrorists is made clear from the very first minute: the shouting guitars, the bombastic rock and roll drama where 80s hair metal anthems meet glammed-up punk, the ridiculously over the top lyrics where each line is a manifesto begged to be scrawled in some teenager’s personal notebook, the unashamedly poppy hooks that contrast with all the aforementioned, and that twink of tongue in cheek smirk underneath the supposed po-facedness. From the guitar intro to the soaring chorus and the brilliant build-up break, “Slash ‘n’ Burn” is a jubilantly great crowd pleaser that was made to fly free in giant stadiums long before the band could even think of reaching them. But they had the ambition – goals of 12 million album sales and all – and they made their opening song match that ambition.
Of all the Generation Terrorists singles “Slash ‘n’ Burn” is the least remembered – perhaps thanks to its lackluster live footage video though James looks incredibly cool playing this song shirtless – but among that line-up of classic chart hit wannabes it’s one of the best. It’s an absolute anthem from the riffs to the vocals, has one of the best choruses of the entire record and it’s full of little moments of joy: the riff-only breakdown, James’ falsetto “that’s all you nee-ee-eeeed”, and that Guns ‘n’ Roses -esque fake orgasm launching right back into the final sets of choruses. In fact, the whole thing is all very Guns ‘n’ Roses and is one of the clearest love letters from James to one of his biggest inspirations on the entire record, to the point that title has to be an intentional nod (or given how the Manics write these songs, James took it as a guideline to write the song with). The lyrics are also one of the best on Generation Terrorists: I’m never going to be completely sold on the style the band exhibited very early on, but “Slash ‘n’ Burn” pulls it off excellently.
“Slash ‘n’ Burn” is one of the handful of songs that got a remix treatment for the US version of Generation Terrorists, adding in live drums instead of the rigid drum machine of the original. It’s otherwise kept faithful to the original and it’s objectively the better version (take a listen to the tom-beat under the solo to compare), but I’m just too used to that clinical MIDI drumkit to truly prefer it.
The sleeve quote for the single was Herman Melville’s “Only the man who says no is free”, echoing the song’s anti-consumerist attitude.
[edited 25/08/2021]
As a new fan (hopefully there will always be some) your blog has been sooo helpful in understanding especially the young Manics’ songs. Wish you added something new soon. Enjoyed reading very much every bit.