Te-riff-fying! Slash crafts score for 'Clowns' 3D maze

With a name like Slash, it was inevitable that the hard rock guitar hero would lend his talents to a horror show.

The rocker has composed the score for Clowns 3D: Music by Slash, one of several elaborate scarifying mazes coming to Universal Studios Hollywood for its annual Halloween Horror Nights beginning Sept. 19.

For past Halloween blowouts, the theme park has partnered with such music legends as Rob Zombie, Alice Cooper and Black Sabbath, but this marks the first time a musician has created an original maze score.

Slash, lauded by Time magazine as history's second best guitar player (behind Jimi Hendrix), brings his demonic electric fretwork to a haunted house built around the theme of coulrophobia, a fear of clowns. Guests will wind through Sweet Licks Frozen Clown Pops Family Amusement Center, a rundown roadside attraction and former ice cream factory run by crazed clown Sweet Licks and his equally psycho children.

"I'm a HUGE fan of Halloween Horror Nights and was inspired to partner with Universal Studios Hollywood because they are the founders of creating extreme horror," Slash said in a release. "I've been composing music for as long as I can remember and jumped at the chance to be an integral part of this year's event and create the original score for this creepy clown maze. I can't wait to see the fans' reactions and will be first in line to experience the maze myself."

John Murdy, creative director at Universal Studios Hollywood and executive producer of Halloween Horror Nights, added, "It's an honor to collaborate with one of the most iconic rock legends around. From the moment I heard Slash's original composition for the maze, I immediately knew he got it, as the vibe and feel of his score are so right on. He captured the exact tone we were looking to convey to our guests."

It's not Slash's first dip in the genre. His Slasher Films company produced 2013's supernatural drama Nothing Left to Fear. But he's far better known as the fleet-fingered picker formerly with Guns N' Roses, his own Snakepit and Velvet Revolver. He and his band featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators will release World on Fire on Sept. 16. For details, visit SlashOnline.com.

For his preview of the Clowns 3D: Music by Slash maze, take a look here.

Halloween Horror Nights will also serve up gore and frights with a new scare zone inspired by The Purge, a retooled Terror Tram and mazes based on John Landis' 1981 cult classic An American Werewolf in London, Robert Rodriguez' From Dusk Till Dawn, upcoming film Dracula Untold, sci-fi series AVP: Alien vs. Predator, SyFy's Face Off and AMC hit The Walking Dead.

Watch for updates on Halloween Horror Nights here.