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Axl's voice  has been absolutely fried for months now. Apparently he is not very concerned about doing something about ti (or maybe is unable to). It absolutely kills any enjoyment for me. Those performances are impossible to listen to.

On 9/20/2018 at 4:40 PM, IncitingChaos said:

I would say based on his comments that he’s quietly nudging Axl towards talking about recording together. He knows Axl is reading each interview he does and so I think he’s trying to throw the ball into Axl’s court. 

That's my impression too. He is clearly letting Axl know he is up for that.

2 hours ago, RussTCB said:

If he has a technique for signing AC DC well, why on Earth would he not use it for Guns as well? 

Maybe he was wrong on his assessment of his ability to use that technique regularly without causing damage. I know there is this whole "Axl is lazy" belief going around, but his downfall begun right after the US leg with AC/DC. In this last leg of the tour, there were definitively signs of damage.

28 minutes ago, GNRfanMILO said:

This is how Axl should sound nowadays... Steven is fucking 70 years old. And we have to celebrate when Axl rasps two words in Rocket Queen.

2:45

 

Steven is way off the curve. Most rock singers become a shell of themselves as they age. Bon Jovi, Paul Stanley, the much maligned Vince Neil. Others just tune their stuff way down and sing conservatively such as Brian Johnson and Robert Plant. The fact that Steven sings within his natural voice range (just listen to him talking) tremendously helps his longevity.

As bad as Axl sounds sometimes compared to his prime, he is quite in the middle of the pack. Hasn't completely lost it, still has something special, but lacks consistency and has bad moments. I think he would benefit from a more conservative approach, but he will never be like Steven or like he was in 2010.

Axl/DC was amazing, but it was what it should be, really. He filled in, absolutely kicked ass, and that's it. As much as Bon is missed, it was with Brian that AC/DC reached its peak, and if he is able to tour, there is absolutely no reason to have Axl there. Brian is AC/DC.

Axl has a massive band to front. Also, I doubt that this current version of Axl could replicate those 2016 performances. That might even have played a part in all this.

4 minutes ago, Jw224 said:

I feel like it's hard for them not to know if they watch the forums.

Well, the post is fairly recent. If they are behind it, though, it's a fandom ending event for me.

4 minutes ago, RussTCB said:

That's exactly why I wanted to start here. I'm not interested in causing trouble from GN'R. I'd just like them to know that people are making threats in their name, whether or not they actually have association with these people or not.

I think you are absolutely right in your approach. I'd even suggest that your attempt to reach them goes beyond this post and this board (maybe downzy could get/provide more direct contact). If that fails, then I'd cause trouble, but the decision in that case falls to you and the other people involved.

If you guys do end up wanting to go public, I'm a reporter for a massive news site in Brazil (the biggest, actually). IF and WHEN you want it, I'd be glad to help you get your story some exposure around here. Only if you want it, will not do anything unless you ask.

9 minutes ago, Wagszilla said:

If you guys want to go one step further, email this thread to news organizations. Help pick up some steam. 

I'm sure some fans could help with connections in that department. If it hasn't been thought of already.

Any way, it's a shame the situation is at where it's at for whatever reason. I could easily see a scenario where the fans are fat and happy and still genuinely interested in going to shows, buying new and old albums, and so forth. 

I'm there for a CD box set, The Joint 2001 show, and CD era and pre-CD era unreleased songs in a heartbeat. This includes Axl's solo stuff or him fucking around on a piano for an hour. 

Let's hope the tide is about to change. 

 

I'd try to know for sure if it actually has anything to do with GNR before involving any press. It takes little for a public opinion conviction without trial is cases such as this. 

Well, just 2 cents from someone who is far removed from what is happening. I know there is a past of clashing and bad blood between this community, some fans and TB/GNR. With that said, it's unfathomable to me that they could be aware of this sort of behaviour, much less condone it. Even removing any sort of "caring for the fans" aspect, this would be absolutely stupid and disastrous from a marketing and financial standpoint after all the work the band did to reposition itself with the public, with massive success, going massively mainstream again.

With all shit that is said about him, Axl strikes me as the type of guy that would personally look into this and address it agressively if it reaches him and it ends up having anything to do with somebody actually inside his camp.

Just a suggestion, @RussTCB, @downzy and specially the victims. I would recommend investing in getting this message to GNR through official and guaranteed channels. Make sure they get it, and once they do, I'd give them a reasonable timeframe to address it. If nothing happened after that, I'd make it all public, if I were you. Major news outlets public.

I think the letter states pretty clearly that people are threatening families on behalf of GNR.  Did you guys tweet this to Axl directly? 

Melissa post has all characteristics of a farewell.

I think Axl is aware of how he sounds. It sure seemed so on this leg, with the "I suck" and songs being removed from the setlist on off nights. Unless he can get it back, I doubt he will expose himself with AC/DC.

No idea what's in store for him, really. Unlike most of this forum, I thought this leg was tremendously weak in terms of his vocals. The first few shows were kind of a new low, even for a rusty beggining. A few months of inactivity will surely lead to a dismal return.

I hope he turns it around, but I doubt it at this point. I'd bet on him being worse and worse with each subsequent leg.

Axl sounds awesome on Madagascat. The beggining is the closest we get to classic Axl these days, and he nails the hugh stuff with rasp and a nice tone. Shadow also awesome, Nightrain awesome. Paradice City has been good for a while now, so has Don't Cry. As Inciting Chaos said, hopefully he gets Jungle and RQ back on track soon.

44 minutes ago, IncitingChaos said:

Axl must be going deaf, only explanation 

It's either 1) monitor issues, as he sings nearly the whole song in the wrong range, but somewhat gets it right at the end or 2) voice/range issues, he can no longer hit those notes consistently with rasp.

It could be one, both or a mix of both. He's had issues with high notes on this leg, and he had issues with his ear monitor too.

I guess it can be passable, but it's painful how things went south that fast. Back then the tour was just getting started, and it really seemed Axl had a lot left in the tank and could even reach something close to 2006 levels in time. Instead, two years later and he is arguably worse than 2011-2014.

The performance people are calling "brilliant" from today.

How he sounded 2 years ago:

But nah, everything is fine.

6 minutes ago, IncitingChaos said:

Axl couldn’t do Rosie well in Europe last year either. But he got it back at MSG in the states. 

I don't want to extend the voice discussion in this thread, but it was different. To be posted on the voice thread once a vid becomes available.

It was pretty cool, but the highlight was in 2016, and that's already 2 years ago. Since then, we are getting increasingly worse performances from Axl, balanced with a few changes in the setlist, with mixed results. Slither, Shadow are cool, but stuff like Wichita, meh. Hopefully this run is coming to an end and there are some surprises in the future.

4 minutes ago, sidman69 said:

anybody have the full setlist. I missed the show. Sounds like whole lotta rosie and out ta get me were added today?

Rosie was played, OTGM was not, I think. I listened to a good chunk, and the part where OTGM usually gets added and didn't hear it.

6 minutes ago, baldek said:

Perhaps adding that opinion to your signature would save you the hassle of constantly repeating it and would leave you room to add valuable insights.

This is becoming ridiculous. This leg has brought a full new array of new lows, from YCBM being cut from the set once, to Axl being unable to sing This I Love, passing through performances of Jungle with absolutely zero rasp, Coma being unbearable each night, Axl being unable to sing the bridge to YCBM, with him now failing to reach the notes through Rosie. All this two years removed from the AC/DC performances. All in all I actually thought it was a nice show within expectations, never said it sucked or Axl can't sing shit anymore. His upper register has sounded consistently fried and problematic throughout this leg, though, whether you like it or not. This is a board to discuss the band performances, and I absolutely don't care if my opinions are to your liking or not. "Oh, he sang it in the end of a set, it was the first in months". They are making per show more than 99% of people in the world make in a lifetime.

Still, it was brilliant, Axl seemed in a great mood, was very talkative, the crowd was very happy and singing along, Axl introduced Slash, it was a 24 hour set, they played Slither, Axl sounded the best he's ever been. Hope that's valuable enough for you.

5 minutes ago, AlexC said:

Talk about an out of context observation.

Yeah, it's not like he had trouble reaching higher notes in at least 4 shows on this tour so far. I've been saying that he is aging and his range is suffering, that's all. 

Axl can't reach AC/DC notes anymore. Like to hear everybody says his voice is perfectly fine now.

27 minutes ago, Trmac72911 said:

Probably discussed already but I kind of checked out after that Berlin show. Had some free time and watched a lot of videos from that Nijemegan show; I thought Axl sounded really good on almost all of the videos I watched; especially Madagascar! At this point, new music is the only thing that would be truly exciting to me but I've also come to grips with the fact that touring is where you make your money in this day and age. The band sounds tight, the guys look like they're having fun, and I'm sure its a rush hearing tens of thousands of fans screaming your name. 

Sorry for the rambling, but my point is that Axl's voice has improved a lot since the beginning of this 2018 leg and I truly am happy about that. Haven't followed every show but that's what my ears are telling me after hearing that Nijemegan show. Just my two cents. 

New music these days is kind of the excuse to keep touring. Most of the new material from those classic monster rock bands is kind of generic, lukewarm. There isn't a song in Metallica's Hardwired, or AC/DC's Rock or Bust that quite stays with you like the classic hits did back in the day.

In GNR's case, the fact that there's still some novelty factor to the reunion means they don't need the excuse to tour. Once (and if) this wears off and public dwindles, they might look more seriously into releasing stuff. It's also sad but true that, considering Slash's and Duff's output throughout the years, their creative prime is likely behind them. In this lineup, the one who probably has the most to say artistically should be Axl, and we all know how reliable and predictable he is.

7 minutes ago, RussTCB said:

 

And, again, lol, speaking voice has nothing to do with the fact that John is FAR older than Axl and still able to sound right. 

I agree with most of what you said, Russ, but you are wrong on that bit. Singing way above one's natural register is THE MOST harmful thing a singer can do (the second being using excessive amounts of drive/rasp without very good technique). Axl has, unfortunately, done both to an insane degree. TBH I have a hard time thinking of a singer whose singing voice is so far off their natural speaking voice as Axl's.

You will notice that Axl's regular register is still fine. He sounds good with it, even when he pushes it (after the solo in Slither, "know I know you better"), or when he adds rasp to it ("please remember, how I felt inside" in DC, "I've been walking the streets tonight", "I won't be told anymore/that I've been brought down in the storm). Those all sound great to this day. It's when he is pushed to go higher that things start to go south.

Singing crazy high has ruined many singers. Take Brazilian heavy metal band Angra. Once Eduardo Falaschi took over from André Mattos, he talked about how their songs were way above his natural register. He did them anyway for a while, and actually sounded awesome. Than one day, just like Axl, it was very suddenly over, and he was singing the songs in a way that would remind you of Axl's "mickey". Robert Plant's prime lasted 3 years, he was severely diminished after that. Elton John needed surgery and he doesn't go high anymore. Brian Johnson has been a shadow of himself for who knows how long. Bon Jovi, Paul Stanley are done.

Axl managed to do what he did with AC/DC, but who knows what it took. Truth is he has declined quite a bit after that. Those were crazy high notes, but probably the shorter verses meant he could trade some power for control.