New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Guns 'N Roses fans will be pleased to hear the band are working on a new album. It has been many years since the American rockers released their last full-length studio album. That was 'Chinese Democracy' back in 2008, which polarised opinions then and still does so a dozen years later.
Roses trio Axl Rose, Duff McKagan and Slash, in particular, have been keeping busy of late. Slash recently told Sweetwater: "I've been jamming with Duff and I've been jamming with Axl. I've been doing stuff like that. So we've been getting some work done that way. I'm basically just focusing on writing new music and recording demos and recording guitar stuff for Guns."
This bodes well for a band that has been around for a veritable age, since announcing their arrival with 'Appetite for Destruction' in 1987 to continuing their influence with 'Use Your Illusion I' and 'Use Your Illusion II' in 1991. The less said about 1993's 'The Spaghetti Incident?' the better, but there's no doubting the band's penchant for the popular - and ability to transcend culture.
They had movies made about them and documentaries based on them. Renowned author James Patterson has even involved himself in a book with Guns 'N Roses, much like when Megadeth's Dave Mustaine had the authoring help with 'Rust in Peace'.
Their cross-cultural reach has extended to online games as well. Looking at some popular online pokies and the games they offer, you can see that King Billy Casino, among other providers, allows its players to enjoy the Guns 'N Roses slot game. This is another great example of the band's global appeal in Australia, the United Kingdom and other countries where NetEnt games are licensed.
In terms of how Roses' new album, whenever it is released, might be received is anyone's assumption at the moment.
From critical acclaim across the Use Your Illusion brace to outright criticism over 'The Spaghetti Incident?', they have occasionally blown hot and cold in the public's eye.
Diehard fans have had to wait for the occasional single, re-release and live performances now and then to tend to their Roses fix. A decade-plus is a long time to wait for a fresh album from one's favourite band. Whatever Guns 'N Roses put out, it'll definitely be on the back of extended recording time.
"Recording's a good tool for keeping your chops up because obviously whatever it is that you're playing has to be good enough to be able to be permanent," added Slash.
While Axl and Duff have hundreds of thousands of fans of their own, Slash has collected a subset of supporters on social media that is closing in on four million-strong. The devilishly good guitarist is almost a brand unto his own. Yes, Roses effectively made him, but he's carried him through some difficult times by being consistent throughout.
In the past, he also forged the time to pursue projects aside from Guns 'N Roses. These included a solo album in 2010 and a couple of others with Velvet Revolver in 2004 and 2007.
Solo album - Slash (2010)
Albums with Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators: Apocalyptic Love (2012), World on Fire (2014), Living the Dream (2018)
Albums with Slash's Snakepit: It's Five O'Clock Somewhere (1995), Ain't Life Grand (2000)
Albums with Velvet Revolver: Contraband (2004), Libertad (2007)
"I've been back and forth between my studio in the house and doing a lot of writing and recording on my own. I haven't been doing any collaborations with the odd artist and whatnot," said Slash.
That's more good news, indeed, for Roses fans - as it pretty much means Slash's focus is solely on the band over the individual's brand.
