Slash, Duff McKagan and Chad Smith Join Bear McCreary on "Cool Kids"

Bear McCreary's new single "Cool Kids" opens with a riff that arrived as a voice memo from Duff McKagan. A week later, McKagan, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and McCreary's brother Brendan were in a studio writing the song together. Slash then plugged in at home and added his guitar solos.

"Cool Kids" is the latest single from McCreary's upcoming album "The Singularity: Ekleipsis", the follow-up to his 2024 symphonic metal album "The Singularity". The 15-track record has been announced for July 31.

McCreary, an award-winning composer for film, television and video games, described how the track came together. "Duff McKagan sent me a voice memo of a riff he was messing around with," McCreary recalled. "My ears perked up instantly."

The two met the following week with Brendan McCreary on vocals and Chad Smith on drums. They wrote the song during the session, building it from McKagan's riff. Slash added his parts later.

What does the collaboration mean for the album?

The single points to the scale of McCreary's guest list. His first "Singularity" album featured System of a Down's Serj Tankian and Slipknot's Corey Taylor. "Ekleipsis" goes further, gathering names from across progressive metal, punk, alternative rock and virtuoso guitar playing into one project.

McCreary said the song celebrates the freedom of being yourself. He joked that listeners might assume the title refers to the fact that he and Brendan got to record with some of the coolest musicians in rock — an explanation he finds convincing.

"The Singularity: Ekleipsis" continues the story begun on its predecessor. Its themes cover abandonment, disillusionment and perseverance in a troubled world. The title comes from an ancient Greek word associated with abandonment.

Who appears on the record?

The album's collaborators span several generations and styles of rock:

• Gojira's Joe Duplantier on "Black Box", alongside The Mystery of the Bulgarian Voices
• Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump on "The Chandelier"
• Coheed and Cambria's Claudio Sanchez with Polyphia guitarist Tim Henson on "Sweet Misery"
• Henson again with Steve Vai and Brendan McCreary on "Blueshift"
• The Police's Stewart Copeland on "Pray for a Storm"
• Meshuggah vocalist Jens Kidman on "The Elephant's Foot"
• Alissa White-Gluz joining Brendan McCreary on "Our Kingdom"

Guthrie Govan, Raya Yarbrough and Gene Hoglan also feature across the wider project. Slash appears a second time, on "One Fine Day" with Brendan McCreary.

How did the song actually get made?

The process behind "Cool Kids" was straightforward. McKagan had a riff. His friends liked it. They gathered in a room and wrote a song around it. These musicians have played on some of the most recognizable rock recordings of the last four decades, and they still came together over a single idea sent by phone.

That origin story stands apart from the album's grander conceptual framework. McCreary builds elaborate worlds across his "Singularity" project, yet the single at its center came from a voice memo, a week of planning and one studio session.

The full tracklist runs to 15 songs, from the opening "Overture II" to the closing "I Forever", with Brendan McCreary appearing on nine of them. The July 31 release gives listeners the next instalment of the world McCreary has been building with his collaborators.