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Over the course of all of music history, there are been too many feuds between band mates to mention. However, one of the more infamous disputes in rock and roll was between lead singer Axl Rose and guitarist Slash of hard rock band Guns N’ Roses (GNR). Back in 1996, in the middle of writing material for a new album, Slash relieved himself of the band’s primary guitar duties and left the group. It was later identified that the tension that had finally boiled over between the two began over something quite petty. AOL reported that when Slash told the group in 1991 that he’d be working with the King of Pop Michael Jackson, it left a bad taste is Rose’s mouth. Slash had also had creative differences with Rose in terms of the direction the band was going in at the time.
Fortunately, since then it’s been relatively peaceful between the two rockstars. In 2016, after two decades being away from the band, Slash decided to reunite with original band mates Rose and bassist Duff McKagan, for the Not In This Lifetime…Tour. This historic time in rock and roll history marks the first time the three shared the same stage since their Use Your Illusion Tour back in 1993.
Launched in April 1, 2016, the reunion tour has hit the ground running since its first day. Yahoo revealed that throughout 2016, the tour successfully sold over two million tickets, making it the year’s most successful rock tour. There were 25 shows in 21 cities during the span of less than two months. For the rest of the year, the band would then perform in various venues across North America and Latin America. The success of the tour carried over to 2017 selling out arenas in Asia, Oceania, Europe, South America, and more cities in North America. During the Billboard Touring Awards, Guns N’ Roses won the “Top Tour/Top Award” besting U2’s The Joshua Tree and Coldplay’s A Head Full of Dreams.
More fans will be able to witness the return of GNR as they have extended their tour into 2018. Apart from headlining a number of musical festivals, Blabbermouth reports that the band will perform a number of shows across Europe.
The triumph of the tour is proof that the duo of Axl Rose and Slash is a crowd-drawing and wildly entertaining entity. Moreover, in many ways, it also proves that GNR is an enduring and powerful force in rock and roll music unlike any other band. Their fame continues to grow and it has even translated to the digital arena. In the video gaming world, GNR classic anthems such as Sweet Child O’ Mine, Paradise City, Patience, have been heavily featured on the globally successful video game series Guitar Hero. In the online gaming world, Slingo released the Guns N’ Roses Video Slots game, which further cemented the idea that their music has not only transcended different platforms of entertainment, but that its reach continues to capture a broader audience in the process. Despite the breakups and turmoil, fans have always been able to interact with the band in one form or another. This has meant that the original version of the band who created the Appetite of Destruction album never truly went away.
As GNR are enjoying a lot of positive momentum, fans are hoping that a new album is in the pipeline. In an interview with the NME, Axl Rose said that the prospect of going into the studio and laying down new tracks for this GNR line-up is becoming possible. “We are working on new stuff. I’ve got a lot of stuff. I played some of it to Slash and Duff, and they liked it. They might play on it.” As they are set to play on the same stage until next year, it should come as no surprise if they decide to immortalise that rekindled chemistry into a new album, especially now that all the quarrels and qualms between Rose and Slash have been put to rest.