GUNS 'N' ROSES

"Welcome to the jungle
We got fun 'n' games
We got everything you want
Honey we know the names"

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

“D+”

Main Decade: 80’s

Main Eras:

Hard Rock (1968-???)

​

Key Members:

Axl Rose, Vocals

Slash, Lead Guitar

Izzy Stradin, Rhythm Guitar

Duff McKaggan, Bass

Matt Sorum, Drums

​

Key Songs:

Sweet Child Of Mine, Estranged, Welcome To the Jungle, Don’t Cry, Paradiose City, So Fine, Patience, November Rain, Knocking On Heaven’s Door, Coma, Dust N’ Bones, Out To Get Me, Civil War, Live & Let Die, Since I Don’t Have You, Symphaty for the Devil

​​

​

Talking about Guns N’ Roses is like opening a can of worms. Many hate them with a passion, while many others love them immensely, regardless of their antics or history. Many of these young people didn't experience the great hard rock bands of the 70s, so they consider Guns N' Roses one of the greatest bands in the universe; and on the other hand, the vast majority of us have a complicated love-hate relationship with the band. The same goes for reviewers and critics; many either overrate them or dismiss them completely. That's why it's really difficult to talk about them without falling into subjective opinions.

​

The truth is that Axl Rose is one of the most despicable people on the planet, along with Yoko Ono, the Bushes, and Uma Bomber: he's a walking egomaniac with absolute contempt for his audience, his bandmates, rock music, and himself. And besides, he doesn't sing; he meows like a cat in heat. He could win the award for the most irritating vocalist in history, or at least be nominated. However, we must also acknowledge his great charisma as a frontman and his ability to surround himself with great musicians during the original Guns N' Roses lineup. This allowed him to form a band that not only embodied rock's rebellious spirit, rescuing it from the soft, submissive attitude it had adopted in the mid-80s, but also, when Guns N' Roses wanted to, rocked with gusto, creating great songs and riffs. Their musicians, while not virtuosos, were above average, and they bridged the gap between the Glam movement and more socially conscious and intelligent music, becoming one of the most interesting acts to emerge from the 80s.

​

I didn't go to the concert that Axl and his new Guns N' Roses (whom I'll refer to as Gunzan Roses to give due respect to the original Guns N' Roses) gave in my city in 2009 because I already suspected he was going to pull something crazy. And sure enough, he came on stage three hours late, drunk, and when the audience was on the verge of rioting. As much as I can hate Axl, it makes me angry when, for example, I run into emo girls saying there's a "new" band called Guns N' Roses (sic) that copies Tokio Hotel (!!!). But I also think it's ridiculous when young people who haven't looked back beyond the '80s claim they're the best band in the universe and that Slash is the best guitarist in the world (often fueled by VH1, which named "Welcome to the Jungle" the best hard rock song of all time). Okay, I can forgive ignorance, but not stupidity. In short, there are hierarchies! Led Zeppelin is a gigantic monster capable of devouring cities in one bite, Guns N' Roses is a small predator that can still be deadly and can still get a chicken ingested, while Tokio Hotel is a worm valued more by teen magazines and MTV than as a true link in the musical food chain.

​

Axl Rose and Guns N' Roses have, after all, given plenty of material to both their detractors and their fans: they released this massive debut, which revolutionized the 80s rock scene and is one of the most important and influential albums of the decade, and was also absolutely necessary to refresh rock. This album turned them into overnight superstars, opening for the Rolling Stones, with Slash playing on Michael Jackson tracks, and rubbing shoulders with the musical royalty of the time. Fame and money went to their heads very quickly, and the band lost touch with reality. If they already had problems with drugs, these worsened, and they truly felt like they owned the place. Then they released Lies in '88, which, to be honest, is quite weak and tame compared to the expectations they had generated with Appetite for Destruction. An album with barely 8 songs, 4 of them a fake "Live" recording that had already been released as an EP, and the other 4 acoustic tracks, which could easily have been released independently as another EP. Lies is generally considered an opportunistic rip-off by the band.

​

They would later redeem themselves with the double release of Use Your Illusion in 1991, which are also very well-made (especially the second one), once again establishing themselves as one of the most distinctive and powerful bands of the early 90s. The Illusions feature some of their best-known songs, such as the hugely popular "November Rain," "Don't Cry," and the covers "Knocking on Heaven's Door" and "Live & Let Die." After the disappointment that was Lies, the Illusions justified the wait and once again placed them among the leading bands, alongside Metallica, who released their Black Album that same year. 1991 was characterized by being led by two extremely powerful bands, who began the purge of 80s glam metal into the 90s. They disappointed again with the abominable *Spaghetti Incident?*, so bad that it caused the original lineup to fracture, as Axl wanted to pursue a more accessible and commercial path, while Slash and almost everyone else wanted to make a purer, more powerful rock with a 70s influence. The failure of *Spaghetti* led to Axl keeping the rights to the band's name and kicking the rest out, which would mean the end of the real Guns N' Roses and the beginning of that farcical charade by Axl and his puppets. Rose spent more than 10 years trying to release the next album, which suffered changes, leaks, and everything in between. Finally, Axl and his Gunzan Roses released Chinese Democracy in 2008, the most overproduced album in history (almost 14 years), which was, predictably, a bad joke (how could he possibly use the guitarist from Nine Inch Nails and expect him to play like Slash?!). The band continues, a poor imitation of itself, doing covers of a great band from the late '80s and early '90s, throwing tantrums, with Axl arriving late and drunk to concerts, and firing his musicians depending on his mood that morning.

​

In any case, many bands would love to have the number of classics and good songs that Guns N' Roses have on just 5 albums (not counting Gunzan Rose's Chinese Democracy). You can criticize them all you want, you can accept that they are overrated and inflated, they may have some of the most hateful vocalists on the planet, but they are the closest thing our generation had to the true Rockstars of the 70s, in attitude, power, creativity and sound.

​

If they were SO important, then why a D+??? I insist that their importance should be measured in terms of influence and the good albums they made. Their influence was very limited in the '80s, mostly on other glam bands that couldn't adapt to the transition between decades the way they did. And after '93, that influence completely vanished, as hard rock went back into the shadows for a long time. In terms of albums, they have three very good ones. And as for originality, yes, they sounded fresh and original in '88 and '91, but it wasn't anything that hadn't already been done in the '70s. Furthermore, for every step forward, they took two steps back with three other abominable albums, so I don't think they'll ever reach the same status as Deep Purple, for example. No, a D+ is more than enough for Guns N' Roses.

​

Ladies And Gentlemen, welcome Guns N' Fuckin' Roses to the jungle!!!!

 

 

By Corvan

Mar/9/2010