


“But it took quite a lot of work to sound this enthusiastic. “I’m very proud of this record,” the singer says. But looks can be deceiving, Anderson counters. The album feels like it simply exploded out of one single dusk-to-dawn session, like a vintage Richard Gottehrer “Instant” Ramones record. Underscored by the meaty, Will Sergeant-conversive axe work of guitarist Richard Oakes, who replaced departing founder Bernard Butler in 1994, songs like “Black Ice,” “Shadow Self,” “15 Again” and a sinister Gothic creeper ominously dubbed “It’s Always the Quiet Ones,” the disc is riveting, right through to the bass-heavy closing stomper, “Turn Off Your Brain and Yell.”

From the opening anthem “She Still Leads Me On,” an uplifting, almost tear-jerking ode to his late mother, Anderson is yelp-bellowing with the same Grand Guignol bravura he displayed way back in 1993 on Suede’s dramatic Britpop-era debut, the Mercury Prize-winning Suede. But remarkably, the still-whip-thin vocalist is absolutely on rejuvenated fire on Autofiction, the group’s majestic new album, its eighth. Rose Original bridge, and a set of EMG 60A (neck) and EMG 81 (bridge) active pickups, just as Kirk's own guitar uses.After three decades in show business fronting British glam-punk combo Suede, or The London Suede, as they’ve been contractually re-christened in the States, Brett Anderson could easily have fallen prey to cynicism, meh-shrugging melancholia or complete loss of any novel sense of inspiration whatsoever. Maple neck, rosewood fingerboard with 24 extra-jumbo frets and Kirk's skull & bones inlays, and high-end components including Goth tuners, a Floyd It's a neck-thru-body shred machine, with a comfortable alder body, extra-thin U-shaped But the KH-2 Vintage is more than just its cool looks. The resulting "lived in" vibe, including distressed paint with small chips and pitting, lightning-fast neck,Īnd famous "CAUTION HOT" sticker and "KIRK'S GUITAR" label, are perfectly recreated by the luthiers at the world-class luthiers at the ESP Custom Shop A specialĪdaptation of Kirk's standard ESP KH-2 model, the KH-2 Vintage is based on one of Kirk's personal guitars that saw duty in the studio and on stagesĪround the world during Metallica albums and tours. Perhaps no other guitar is as closely associated with Metallica's massively influential lead guitarist Kirk Hammett than the ESP KH-2 Vintage.
