Naupis

I have long believed much of the overt hatred towards Myles is a secret grudging jealousy that he essentially is what we all hoped Axl would have aged into but didn't because he's lazy. Most outside the GNR bubble think Myles sounded great on the GNR stuff (which he largely did) because he hits the high notes (without sounding like bad karaoke or an Axl wannbe) , doesn't ever sound gassed and never embarrasses himself or the band. All things we wanted from Axl. He records and releases music with Slash on a regular basis, and has been part of a remarkably stable band line-up. Much of the over the top Myles sucks stuff from GNR fans is merely misplaced anger they feel towards Axl because it is maddening to them (particularly in the pre-reunion world) that Slash had found the guy who represented everything they wanted Axl to be. Watching Slash put on killer shows with Myles for years while GNR was embarrassing themselves with the goofey line-ups and refusal to release music just led to bitterness.

I would be perfectly happy hearing GNR play this and Civil War with no Dizzy or Melissa (I won't even comment on the drumming as we know Frank brings nothing to the table while Fitzy plays the stuff better than anyone who's sat behind the drum kit since Steven). YCBM and Civil War were revelations when I heard them the way Slash plays them without all of the un-necessary weird noises that come out of Dizzy/Melissa (Pitman before them) and add nothing to the songs. They sound so much more aggressive with good drumming and just guitars.

When you've been away this long, if you're are going to release something it should be the best song you have out of the gate. If the best this band can attain is "filler rocker" level from the Illusions era I would prefer they just remain a touring outfit that doesn't release music as opposed to sullying the brand. When they released the first single off their long awaited follow-up to Appetite YCBM was exactly the type of kick ass sound/vibe people expected, and quickly confirmed that they were going to be different from the one album wonders that often occurred at the time. If Axl were interested/motivated there are any number of Slash songs that could have been the basis of a classic sounding GNR. It tells me that the only thing holding the process back as usual would be the red head. If he cared, they could easily put out a level of quality beyond the retreads we have gotten so far. He just can't be bothered apparently.

HS and Absurd are no where near the level quality wise the public would expect from a comeback single from a re-united GNR. Frankly I am happy they have largely ignored them. It's been 30 years since Axl/Slash have released a song of new material together, and if and when they do it better be a hell of a lot higher quality than what we have heard so far.

I will forever be grateful to Myles for allowing Slash to embrace the GNR catalog again when the solo project first started. There were so many songs we hadn't heard him play for 15-20 years and in the pre-reunion world seemed like we would never hear again. Stockdale would never have given him that ability to play the GNR stuff the way Myles did. Myles frankly is the only guy I can think of that Slash could have gotten to sing all the GNR and VR stuff as well as he did. In that period where it looked like the reunion was never happening, Myles made it possible for Slash to thrill the GNR fans once again who never got to see him play the hits. That 2010-12 period was awesome, and I will always hold Myles in high regard for being the guy who largely made it happen.

Got me to thinking about my favorite Slash ballad, and I still come back to his guitar playing on Elan's Street Child. Guy lays down his most epic non-GNR solo on a little known independent artist's track. Goes to show I guess he never mails it in. I always thought to myself that Axl would have given his left nut to build a song around this kind of solo during the period Slash was gone. To anyone unfamiliar with the song, here is 2:40 of pure Slash awesomeness.

I think I have read both Slash and Tremonti over the years say Myles is a better guitar player than they are, he just doesn't put it out there for all to see. I have no doubt Myles and Slash have talked shop when it comes to guitars, and it is probably part of what led to them getting on as well as they do. At heart Myles is a big guitar nerd who just happens to have a killer voice so he sings.

Here I thought you might take the angle that in GNR all future releases must be a minimum of 15-20 years old while requiring extensive cutting and pasting to cobble together. A true GNR fan in 2021 should know that Slash's approach of recording fresh ideas with the members of his current band has no place in today's music industry.

Guns N Roses would sound better live today if you had Fitz and Frank playing with Slash/Duff/ Axl. Musically (minus vocals) Slash's band plays circles around the current GNR when playing GNR songs. Fitz frankly might sound more like a GNR drummer than anyone they've had since Steven when it comes to nailing the sound. It is night and day listening to him vs Frank. Throw in the lack of Dizzy/Melissa littering the songs with stuff that doesn't need to be there and it just takes away from the sound.

I kind of hate that they are releasing the substandard crap like they have been instead of a true comeback single that sounds like the GNR people expect to hear. You never get a second chance to make a first impression, and this approach makes it seem like this is the best stuff they have. I can't believe after waiting so long how indifferent I am to this, but the cut and paste stuff just isn't working for me. I wish Axl would move on and stop trying to put lipstick on the pig that was the Nu-GNR era by continuing to force this crap instead of just recording some new songs from scratch. It is the only reason we have to put up with Frank and the rest of the holdovers from that era. Axl is still trying to convince himself he didn't waste 20+ of the prime years of his career on that, so he keeps refusing to just move on from it as if one day he will get a gold star and validation that it was all worth it. This half ass approach just kind of sucks and takes the fun out of what would otherwise be a wildly exciting time getting new music.

I am frankly embarrassed for Slash, and it crushes me to say that as I love the guy. I know divorce and alimony are expensive, but he is fucking better than this. The first true comeback studio song is fucking Silkworms? That he even entertained playing on that piece of shit makes me sad, but that he willingly recorded it in a studio and released it to the public is a black mark on his legacy. God forbid they release a banger of a studio song to announce they are back to the world. No, we get fucking Silkworms.

It just blows my freaking mind that 5 years into the reunion the level of despair among the fan base and band itself has reached a point that a reworked Silkworms was deemed something worthy of wasting any time on. Think of what they accomplished in a 5 year period between 86-91 when it comes to quality original material. We have fallen so far now that reworking Silkworms is a thing they thought the public needed to hear. God help us all.

The fact Axl thought it was worth dusting off Silkworms and putting even one second of energy into it tells me how far gone he is at this point as a creative entity. He's got nothing, and thinks that Slash reworking songs from 20 years ago will some how validate what a colossal waste of time that 20 year period of his life was. He should be freaking embarrassed that song ever existed in the first place. Yet his view of the world is so distorted at this point he not only isn't embarrassed, but commissioned the band to play around with the song and try to do something with it. People with a vault of golden material don't allow time to be wasted on excrement like Silkworms. He might as well put up a billboard with his face on it letting the world know he doesn't have crap, so we will be forced to listen to his by way of songs like Silkworms.

The fact they even waste time tinkering with crap like Silkworms tells me Axl is creatively busted at this point. Fussing with and re-arranging songs from 20 years ago that weren't any good in the first place screams "I've got nothing", and it makes me sad to realize that is the reality of GNR at this point. I know divorce and alimony payments are expensive, but I am highly disappointed in Slash for even considering playing with Silkworms. Is humoring a soon to be 60 year old man who hasn't created a damn thing in going on almost 2 decades now really something he finds worthwhile and worthy of the bands once proud legacy. That Axl is so stuck creatively that wasting time on 20 year old crap is seen as a victory by some makes me want to cry realizing how far the guy has fallen from what he was.

Can someone explain why November Rain has been allowed to go to hell? It is practically unlistenable now and I am embarrassed for him. How does he manage to sound so freaking bad when he's sitting stationary at a piano and all he has to do is sing. It's not a fast song, and yet he can't keep up with lyrics and sounds abysmal. It makes me sad what has happened to the live performance of this song.

Should probably sticky this on the GNR section so everyone sees it. Most people don't come down to this section.

Kind of looked like an upside down toilet seat at first glance.

For me it would be for Axl to wake up and forget he ever met Team Brazil and put an end to their grifting once and for all. When you look at the nose dive Axl's career took once they came into his life it is staggering. Beta tells Yoko to hold her beer when it comes to ability to break up a band.

He was trend chasing and sadly that is a very bad look for a guy who was once the world's biggest rock star. That was the beginning of a long, dark period for the band.