Pedrolg

It's better, but not great. Sounds like he is putting a lot into it though, even forcing it sometimes.

He always sounds good until Jungle

1 minute ago, GNRfanMILO said:

The problem is that that period happened after 2010. He set the bar too high, that’s why RIR 2011 is hated that much (when RIR 2017 actually had worse vocals).

I agree. In my opinion Axl in 2010 was an absolute beast, and more consistent than the early 90's. There is probably a reason why that signaled the start of his decline 

At the same show he simply rips into Better with his old voice, changing it after the first verse

If Lafon interviewed Axl and hosts the show with the interview with Niven, Axl will probably hunt him like a dog for the next 10 years 

Yeah, nothing would make most of us happier GNR wise than Axl kicking ass.

I've been listening to quite a few shows of Axl from 2011-2014 lately, and I wonder, how much did we overreact about his vocals being shitty during that period? And really, how much did he actually improve in 2016 compared to his best moments from that era? Last year for instance it was actually worse than most things you can find from the dreaded era online. Perhaps things like RIR 2011, Bridge School and the awful SA leg of the 2014 tour ended up becoming the icons of that time. Take that, for instance (video below). Imo it would be awesome to hear Axl perform like that today.

Also, historically, he seems to have a lot more care about performing in the US than he does in the rest of the world. His US legs are usually the best of the tour in 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2017. 

8 minutes ago, RONIN said:

What are the chances of Axl coming back strong on the next gig?

I remember a lot of us (including myself) were writing him off after RIR last year. He closed out the rest of the south american gigs in decent form from what I recall.

I hope he recovers a least partially. I see a lot of people writing this off, but the thing is that, imo, Berlin was a different level of scary. Rasp where he didn't want it, failure to reach notes that were never a problem, followed by unwillingness to go for notes that were never a problem, followed by "I suck", followed by unprecedented cuts on the setlist. I mean, it does not bode well, it is not unreasonable to assume this is worse than previous weak 1st shows on a tour.

But hell, it's Axl, so it's not like we can predict a thing or have another choice that is not waiting and seeing. With the Axl the way he is, I wouldn't even discard the chance that his vocals still come back close to greatness at some point before his career is over (not holding my breath on that one though).

My guess is that he will improve a bit and sit firmly on 2012-2014/2017 mickey territory for most of the tour, reaching the notes allright but in that way most of us are familiar with. With a bit of luck by the end of the leg he will pull off some above average performances here and there.

Not the brightest prediction but better than having his voice shot to pieces like it seemed in Berlin. We'll see.

26 minutes ago, ChristmasFnatic said:

I know Russ is the pianist and do backup vocals. Dont know this Buck. But anyway, even with the backup vocals, I dont really agree that Steven Tyler cant sing anymore as that one guy said.

I was in Sao Paulo last year- was front and center for all 3 concerts(Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, and GN'R)- all 3 frontmen dont sing like they used to, but Steven is still miles better than Jon and Axl. Even on the normal notes, Steven sounds like Steven, Jon cant hit the high notes, but Jon sounds like Jon, Axl is really not recognizable from even 2010-12 Axl, except for a few moments per song. The advantage of GN'R over the other 3 bands is the theatrics - so much lights and grandest stage. And of course, Slash(though to  me, Perry is just as good).

Nah, Jon is absolutely done since 2013-ish. He sounds nasal, can't hit high notes, eats up loads of words, seems winded and weak. Axl up until last year would still blow the roof off in songs like Nightrain, rasp Jungle, sound great in ISE, Patience, Brownstone, CD and others, LALD screams etc. 2016 Axl was fucking great for someone his age with such a demanding style.

Also, once again, Steve's singing voice is very, very close to his talking voice. It's within his natural register, and this is tremendously important for longevity. Singing above your natural register is one of the biggest voice killers out there.

6 minutes ago, Draguns said:

You are making assumptions that he has a medical issue. If the guy does then I'm sure they'll cancel the tour. Until they actually do say it, don't make assumptions. I went to  concerts in both 2016 and 2017. He didn't have an issue in both concerts. As for the shortened setlist, some people who live in that area stated that there is a 10pm curfew. 

To be fair, I truly hope he is fine and that this was some sort of fluke, but I just don't believe it at this point. If he doesn't improve by thousands of nautical miles this week he will, sadly, be absolutely slammed at Download.

Just now, Kwick1 said:

Something about the sound stage plus.....

does his speaking voice sound different? 

same as ever to me

Video of the "I suck" comment by Axl. I can't make you what else he says.

Found video of Axl saying he sucks before Slither. Can anyone understand the rest of his sentence?

Just now, edsonandhudson said:

Wasn't he on a break til 2 days ago? What was he doing during this time? If he didn't take care of his voice during his long break, why would he do it now during the tour?

Maybe it's not a matter of taking care of his voice, maybe it's a medical issue, or his voice is simply dying out. He needs to look into the issue and sort it.

For all the shit we give him (justified sometimes), we as fans should support him if he takes a break to look into his voice. It really, really seems like the right thing to do right now. A performance on Wednesday might shed further light on it, but things seem dire.

10 minutes ago, killuridols said:

This is reasonable. What should be done. But I don't see anyone in TB actually sitting down to talk to Axl this way. Plus, Axl is stubborn as well... It is hard to tell who's pushing him through a 3rd year on the road.

Is it himself? Is it TB? Is it the promoters? Slash & Duff? Their overall greedyness? Personally, I think they should have wrapped it all up last year. Axl's instrument is his voice, he cannot compare or compete with Slash guitar or Duff bass. If those instruments break, they get an awesome replacement right away. Axl can't do that with his voice.

I understand it must be really hard for a singer to accept that they have a problem with their voice. It must hurt your ego really bad. But the results are worse, the criticism, the reviews.... had it been a roughier audience, I am sure they would have ended bottled. They were lucky audience reacted maturely, in spite of how bad this show was.

 

Axl seems fully aware of what's going on, and is probably devastated. I wonder if he is maybe contractually tied down with heavy fines and stuff for cancelations because of his past. Still, I hope he doesn't keep performing.

I don’t think it’s fair at this point to assume it’s a bad night, or put it down to a lack of preparation, lack of fitness etc. Yesterday was a whole different animal, a whole different kind of failure which might not be related to the old “Axl is a rusty on the beginning of tours” thing. Also, it’s delusional to bring up the sound issues. His voice was failing and, by all accounts, he even mentioned it on stage.

Axl can’t win, really. We gave him shit for years for not pushing himself, and then he did just that in 2016, from outrasping Bach in My Michelle, to the 2016 classic Out ta get me performances, the massive 30 second LALD screams and the absolute abuse that were the AC/DC gigs. Two years later, his voice is shot to bits (it’s been shot to varying extent since the 2016 NA leg, let’s face it. It just hit rock bottom in Berlin). I guess he had a reason to pace himself since 2011 after all.

This is a guy that made a career singing with insane amounts of drive (rasp), way above his natural register, and reaching ridiculously high notes even higher up. Those are the 3 things any vocal coach will tell to not do regularly. Axl had second primes of sorts in 2006, 2010, and, to a lesser extent (still admirable for his age though), 2016. He lasted longer at a top level than Brian Johnson, Robert Plant, Bon Jovi, Lee Roth (before someone brings up Steven Tyler, listen to him talk – his singing voice is his talking voice). It really doesn’t make sense for a guy that doesn’t give a shit or doesn’t take care of his voice.

Things are what they are. Axl simply cannot keep performing right now. If I was close to him I’d advise him to:

1)      Address the issue publicly. No point in hiding it at this point, he was going through hell on stage

2)      Cancel the next dates

3)      Go see a doctor and a vocal coach. Get treatment, then training, take care of himself.

It seems harsh but it’s his health and future as a performer on the line here. Loads of singers have done that in the past, Hetfield, Grohl.

He’ll get a bit of shit, some people will forget how professional and reliable he has been for years now and put down to some “Axl is back at it” BS. Still, I firmly think that anyone who actually cares about him would see this as the best course of action after Berlin.

He needs to stop the tour and take care of his health and voice. Singing with his voice shot to pieces will ruin it forever.

He is having major issues with his voice. He seemed to be struggling more than in RIR 2011. HOpefully it is not permanent.

Yeah, that's BS. And i actually went to shows in 2017 and 2016. There were also proshots and soundboards from Apollo, RIR and Fórum.

Axl has been bad for a while now, and hasn't been really great with GNR since 2016's US leg.

Berlin imo is a case of putting the tour on hold to see a doctor and a vocal coach to sort things out. The man can't sing right now. It happens.

I won't slam the guy as i truly don't think it is a matter of rehearsals or effort. He's been of for some time now, I fear 2016 might have been Axl's last good run.

It becomes clearer each day that AC/DC took its toll on Axl. He is losing range, and not going for high notes he never had a problem before.

it all started with those Hells Bells voice cracks, which started appearing in GNR shows in 2017. Now it seems something more severe is going on.

1 hour ago, IncitingChaos said:

I’m just happy they are starting a new leg. I always get high expectations for something different vocally. He’s gotta get it fixed soon I feel. 

Nah, I don't really think so, even though I hope you are right. The fact is this tour is massively successful, both financially and critically. There are many shows in 2017 that were very well reviewed, there's this odd thing that makes his currently vocals somehow project better live. I hate the falsetto, but the shows I went to in the NITL tour (Brazil end of 2016) seemed pretty good live to me. Afterwards I went to youtube and found them pretty bad.

I hope Axl realizes that eventually. I know his voice is not what it used to be, and what he does is very demanding, but I'm also certain that he has more than enough in him to be able to perform at much better levels at this point. He just needs to move away from what he's doing. We should find out soon enough, but I'm not getting my hopes up.