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Seminal bassist for Guns ’N Roses and Velvet Revolver is onto something big here.

The Taking is Duff McKagan’s Loaded’s third full-length studio album and it follows the same dirty rock ‘n’ roll sound that Duff carved out for himself on the band’s last album, Sick.

With Loaded, Duff abandons his stage right bass duties he performed in the aforementioned bands for the lead center spot as guitarist/vocalist with his own band. And he sounds great. Duff’s dirty vocals are a perfect fit for Loaded’s music — raw, gritty and inspirational. Formed in 1999, long time members Jeff Rouse (bass) and Mike Squires (guitar) return to Loaded, joined by new drummer Isaac Carpenter.

The production has a huge, warm sound with a good drum mix. The bass is very prominent and the vocals are mixed well, too.

The twangy, distorted riff of "Lords of Abaddon" kicks off The Taking in fine fashion. Duff's voice is sneering and confident. "We Win" is an uplifting pop-sounding song with a brisk tempo and a positive message. It was featured at a Seattle Seahawks home game, which is Duff’s hometown. With its catchy melody and thunderous multi-layered vocal chorus, it’s one of the most memorable songs on the album. There’s plenty of sleazy, ’80s rock-inspired tracks on The Taking. "Executioner's Song" and "Easier Lying"  are two that remind me of Duff’s G ’N R days. "Indian Summer," with its single distorted riff, is soon met with a pounding tom pattern that breaks into a catchy, melodic Foo Fighters-type groove.

What you get with The Taking is twelve tracks of dirty rock 'n' roll done by a man synonymous with the genre. There’s something on here for every type of rock and metal fan.

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