Slash, Myles Kennedy, and The Conspirators are heading into their fifth studio outing with an appetite for working fast. The group has announced a twelve-track album titled Flying Blind, scheduled to arrive on February 26 through Gibson. Accompanying the record announcement is an ambitious global tour mapped across much of 2027, along with the release of the title track as an initial preview.
The sessions took the quintet back to Studio Barbarosa in Florida alongside producer Michael Elvis Baskette. Rather than piecing the recordings together across separate booths and endless overdubs, Slash, Kennedy, rhythm guitarist Frank Sidoris, bassist Todd Kerns, and drummer Brent Fitz set up in a single room and played live together. That setup yielded quick results. The bulk of the album came together across roughly seven days, with the band frequently finishing two complete tracks in a single day. Slash kept things direct, steering away from overthinking the material and sticking to a raw, spontaneous approach. He also added some pedal steel to his standard lead work during the sessions.
The title cut itself came out of that same immediate mindset, having not existed when pre-production rehearsals first got underway. Slash stumbled onto an unfamiliar riff while jamming with the group, and by the end of the evening, the quintet had hammered out the full arrangement together. Kennedy responded to the progression with a vocal melody tailored to the movement of the opening chords, later praising Slash for writing uncluttered, enduring progressions that leave space for a singer to work. Lyrically, the song examines the human tendency to hunt for shortcuts, focusing on the ways people try to take easier paths toward peace of mind and contentment.
Director John Harvatine IV handled the accompanying video for the single, capturing the band at the Viper Room in Los Angeles. Flying Blind follows their 2022 release, 4, and presents a twelve-song sequence that opens with Avarice And Greed. The opening stretch runs through Good Time Girl, Thrill Seeker, and One Of Your Kind before arriving at the title track. From there, the record moves through Looking For A Miracle, Sweet Kill, Won’t Be Long, Living The Dream, (Don’t) Thread The Needle, and Rev My Heart, eventually closing out on Stem the Flow.
The upcoming touring schedule reflects the scale the band typically works at on the road. The 2027 world tour starts in South America in the spring, turning northward in late April and running through May. That North American leg includes stops in Los Angeles, Denver, Kansas City, Boston, New York, and Nashville. By June, the group heads across the Atlantic, mixing festival appearances with headline dates in cities such as Munich, Warsaw, Rome, and Stockholm.
The UK and Ireland itinerary opens at Cardiff Castle on June 30. From there, the band travels to Scarborough Open Air Theatre, Dublin's Trinity College, Custom House Square in Belfast, and the Piece Hall in Halifax. They wrap that run with an appearance at London's Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith on July 7, prior to finishing up the rest of July with further European shows. General ticket sales begin at 10am local time on Friday, October 9, preceded by early access opportunities.
