Popular Post RONIN Posted October 16, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted October 16, 2017 (edited) Prologue: "Fire and wind come from the sky, from the gods of the sky. But Crom is your god, Crom and he lives in the earth. Once, giants lived in the Earth, Axl. And in the darkness of chaos, they fooled Crom, and they took from him the enigma of Slash. Crom was angered. And the Earth shook. Fire and wind struck down these giants, and they threw their bodies into the waters, but in their rage, the gods forgot the secret of Slash and left it on the battlefield. We who found it are just men. Not gods. Not giants. Just men. The secret of Slash has always carried with it a mystery. You must learn its riddle, Axl. You must learn its discipline. For no one - no one in this world can you trust. Not men, not women, not beasts..." [Points to SLASH] "This you can trust." - Mick Jagger Between the time when the oceans drank Atlantis, and the rise of the sons of Aryas, there was an age undreamed of. And unto this, Guns n' Roses, destined to wear the jeweled crown of Rock upon a troubled brow. It is I, their chronicler, who alone can tell thee of their saga. Let me tell you of the days of high adventure! Guns n' Roses were like the 90's Led Zeppelin infused with the spirit of The Doors. They had an anarchic punk rock edge that has not been rivaled since. So much potential wasted. No band has ever failed harder at being great than them. They could have been the next Zeppelin and Rolling Stones - they could have even been like The Doors, but they chose to go out in a fiery plume of flames like The Sex Pistols. Their spiritual successors, GnR weren't meant for longevity. Their greatness had a half life and dysfunction was hardwired into the band's DNA. In 30 years, they managed to release only 3 original albums. Each album made history for entirely different reasons. Each album was made under the absolute most chaotic conditions imaginable. The band was together for only 6 years but few believed they were destined to redefine Rock n' Roll or even survive at all. GnR's first album, Appetite for Destruction, made them infamous. It is widely considered the best debut record in history. That album took them from punk kids living off the streets to the world's biggest rockstars within the span of a year. So combustible and unstable were GnR, that they appeared to be capable of dying or imploding at any given moment. Their live concerts were so wild and unpredictable that the press called them "The most dangerous band in the world". They were born and bred to be rock legends. But nothing could prepare the world for the crazed story of their epic second album, Use Your Illusion, or its ill-fated tour. Listening to the Use Your Illusion records is a descent into wildly indulgent rockstar madness. The decadence and unhinged excess of their follow-up is off the charts. Never has an album been made like this before or since. As many critics have said, had these two albums been combined into a single album of the strongest material, it would have been one of the greatest albums ever made. But GnR was defined by extreme decadence - a concise and cohesive work was not their style. The sprawling Use Your Illusions contain some of the best songs ever written in rock history all the way down to the worst songs ever conceived. It was nothing short of a miracle for the band to even survive long enough to release these and it adds to the schizophrenic charm of the songs. Everything from punk rock - speed metal - art rock epics - near prog suites - grand ballads - country - saloon rockers - hard rock, you name it. You can literally hear the band breaking up by the final track, a Nine Inch Nails meets hip/hop inspired abortion of a song. The tracks on the album were written during insane benders where the band was strung out on enough heroin, coke, ecstasy and vodka to kill most humans multiple times over. They dodged death each and every night to create these albums. The sessions were literally mailed in because each member was too far gone to even crawl off the floor and get to the studio to record most of the time. Use Your Illusion took nearly 3 years to record. The record label forced the band to release the albums otherwise they would have been in development for god knows how long. A harbinger of things to come - the next GnR record, Chinese Democracy, would take over 14 years to complete and become the most expensive album ever made in rock history. With the Illusion albums finally finished, the members of the group found themselves at death's door mentally and physically - the process of making these records is such an exhausting and incomprehensible journey, it had taken everything they had to complete them. Just in time. There has been nothing like the anticipation for Use Your Illusion. Millions of people lined up around record stores all over the country at midnight to hear the band's magnum opus. It was a phenomenon not seen since The Beatles. And GnR had somehow survived it all - only to face the most daunting moment of their lives - an epic 2.5 year tour around the world to support the albums. Little did they know that it would be their last gasp as a band. By the end of the grueling Use your Illusion tour in mid 1993, the band had conquered the world and become legends - reaching the pinnacle of success, and in doing so, fallen into the depths of oblivion. Like Icarus, they had flown too close to the sun - their singed wings no longer able to stop their inevitable plummet. They would never soar to such heights again. The band was doomed. The scent of death and decay lingered upon them heavily by the end of the Illusion era. A Phyrric victory, the album and subsequent tour had mortally wounded the once mighty band. They would never recover. GnR's greatest achievement would become their greatest downfall. The epic saga of Guns n' Roses was suddenly ended in the midst of their dizzying ascent - cut down in their prime, with no final chapter to add to their epitaph. The members of the band nearly extinguished - irreparably broken into pieces by the juggernaut of unimaginable fame and fortune. It was over. And they were forever changed. So, did Guns n' Roses establish dominion over the world and having no further concern, they sought adventure in the West. Many wars and feuds did they fight amongst themselves. Honor and fear were heaped upon their name and, in time, they returned once more to reclaim their throne and wear the Crown of Rock again. And this story shall also be told. Edited October 16, 2017 by RONIN 3 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieselDaisy Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 There were a lot more drugs involved in Exile's creation and Exile is a vastly superior album. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RONIN Posted October 16, 2017 Author Share Posted October 16, 2017 (edited) Prologue: "All the gods, they cannot sever us Axl. If I were dead and you were still fighting for life, I'd come back from the darkness. Back from the pit of hell to fight at your side." - Slash "Crom, I have never prayed to you before. I have no tongue for it. No one, not even you, will remember if we were good men or bad. Why we fought, or why we died. All that matters is that five stood against many. That's what's important! Valor pleases you, Crom... so grant me one request. Grant me rights to the name Guns N' Roses! And if you do not listen, then the HELL with you!" - Axl Rose Between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and rise of the sons of Aryas, there was an age undreamed of. When shining kingdoms laid spread across the world. Hither came Axl, the flame haired Rock God, legal contract in hand. It is I, his chronicler, who knows well his saga. Now, let me tell you of the perils of rock n' roll decadence! The aftermath of Use Your Illusion: By the end of the Illusion tour, there are 4 confirmed riots that end with hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage. Countless other near riots around the world take place including one where the Chilean military threaten the lead singer with death if he decided not to play the show. Another promoter forces the singer onto the stage at gunpoint. GnR had become notorious for not showing up or throwing tantrums and leaving early. They would eventually escape arrest after their most infamous riot by hiding in their stretch limos and fleeing across state lines. At the time, multiple records would be achieved with the Use Your Illusion albums and tour. Shortest time taken for a band to ever play stadiums. The longest tour in rock history. The most chaotic tour in rock history. The fastest selling albums in history. The most expensive music videos in history. The longest song (november rain) to chart in billboard history. The only albums in history to debut at #1 and #2 on the billboard charts. One of the top 3 highest grossing tours of the decade and one of the top 10 tours in history. Much infamy was also achieved. Despite playing to over 7 million people and having one of the biggest tours ever, the band barely broke even because they were nearly bankrupted by the lavish theme parties they threw each night, curfew fines for arriving 3-5 hours late for each show, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fines from multiple cities suing them for riot damages to fan lawsuits because the band members would jump into the crowd and fight unruly fans in the middle of their own concerts. Within 6 months of the tour ending, the singer/frontman, Axl Rose, spiraling into madness, gives his final interview of the 90's before disappearing off the face of the earth into nearly a decade of seclusion at the peak of his career. By the age of 32, the world's most famous rockstar, fronting the biggest band in the world, has effectively vanished from the scene in his prime, leaving a massive power vacuum behind in the music industry. The rock throne had been abruptly vacated - its king, nowhere to be found. There are no press photos of Axl in existence during this time. No interviews. Just alleged sightings. He is rumored to be nearly unrecognizable from his halcyon days. A recluse, hiding in his estate somewhere in the Malibu hills. His wealth is alleged to be staggering despite only a 5 year career, rivaling the richest musicians in history. So great is his self-imposed exile that Rolling Stone dubs him "The Howard Hughes of Rock". The mystique of Axl becomes legendary by the end of the 90's. Seemingly loathed and revered by fans, peers, and critics alike - his name itself begins to evoke awe and enigma. Sporadic rumors are whispered of him tinkering in isolation like a mad scientist on a grand trilogy of experimental, avant-garde masterpiece albums. Almost nothing is known about Axl or the band during these wilderness years except random whispers that he is heavily involved with psychics and faith healers. The lunacy of this period is perhaps only rivaled by Michael Jackson. At last, Axl re-emerges years later in front of 300,000 shocked fans in Rio with an entirely new lineup of Guns N' Roses. He is flanked by a mysterious masked guitar virtuoso wearing a KFC bucket on his head - who only speaks through his friend, a hand puppet named Herbie. No doubt, the replacement for the enigmatic Slash. The singer's Brazilian nanny/housekeeper is now firmly in control of the GnR empire behind the scenes. Every person in the original band by this time has been fired or forced out. He soon vanishes from sight again, leaving the world stunned and confused. The follow up to Illusions, Chinese Democracy, becomes the most anticipated album in history. The legend of Axl has continued to grow as he stays hidden in the shadows...biding his time, forever frozen as the warrior he once was. The world awaits with baited breath for his triumphant return. Battleworn and neglected, the immortal axeman, Slash, stumbles away disillusioned to find his own path forward. Like the nameless Ronin of yore, the enigmatic Slash wanders the earth as an axe for hire - slaying riffs for cigarettes and whiskey. Izzy Stradlin', the mythic guitar slinger, disappears into the mists of time. The reticent Stradlin' is rarely seen or heard from ever again. So legendary is his reputation, grown men still weep at the very mention of his name. With no hope for reconciliation and no longer drowning himself in gallons of alcohol, the great King of Beers finally departs to seek new fortunes. And yet he awaits with his bass guitar in hand. Waiting to reconquer the world with his brothers by his side and reclaim what was once theirs. And so it was that Axl mourned his beloved brothers Izzy, Duff, and Slash. At length, he sought replacements in distant lands and trod the jeweled thrones of the earth....beneath his sandaled feet... until, at last, he returned to his kingdom...alone...and wore his crown upon a troubled brow. But that is a story for another time. Edited October 16, 2017 by RONIN 1 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooby845 Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 Can anyone explain to me what this is? A work of fiction? Or...? 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ludurigan Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 man WTF oh, and the band had conquered the world by the end of the Appetite tour in december 1988 -- or about 1989-1990 when everyone was in love with them! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janrichmond Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 wowzers 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyPrettyTiedUpMichelle Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 19 hours ago, RONIN said: Prologue: "All the gods, they cannot sever us Axl. If I were dead and you were still fighting for life, I'd come back from the darkness. Back from the pit of hell to fight at your side." - Slash Is it wrong that I bloody love this quote for a GNR saga? Go on Slash, you fight for Axl! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silverburst80 Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 It read it first without the music and it was ok.... reading it with the music fired me up man i feel like punching a horse. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janrichmond Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 1 minute ago, Silverburst80 said: It read it first without the music and it was ok.... reading it with the music fired me up man i feel like punching a horse. Don't punch horses, please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silverburst80 Posted October 17, 2017 Share Posted October 17, 2017 1 hour ago, janrichmond said: Don't punch horses, please i won't i just got carried away and thought i had conan powers for a minute there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ludurigan Posted October 17, 2017 Share Posted October 17, 2017 1 hour ago, Silverburst80 said: i won't i just got carried away and thought i had conan powers for a minute there you gotta grab them by the mouth 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOSSY78 Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 Wow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triad Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killuridols Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 What is this? Who wrote it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IncitingChaos Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 I'm offended by this 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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