Hard Skool Officially Released at Midnight - Sept 24

[IrishgunnerII]

I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve not been the most positive GNR fan recently due to things about the band I think should be done better. That being said it’s baffling to see people who complain when there’s nothing happening, and then when there is stuff like new singles being released(which are like hen's fucking teeth with GNR btw) they seem to still be complaining about the songs. Now yes was absurd the best song ever released by GNR ? No it wasn’t but hard skool is certainly a better song and has an old school feel to it and it slash and duff on it and for what it’s worth I like it. And btw repeatedly saying you don’t like the song doesn’t make your opinion any more valid, it makes you repetitive. 

[DoMw94]

1 minute ago, Manfisman said:

Slash shared this one on his Instagram. He didn't do that with Absurd 👀

He did: https://www.instagram.com/p/CSQBqPTpOgE/?utm_medium=copy_link

[Iron MikeyJ]

Production sound aside, could anyone seriously argue that Hard Skool couldn't of easily been on the Illusions? I love every song on those albums (except for My World). To me, it sounds like classic gnr. Perhaps not Appetite/lies era gnr, but still old Skool gnr (sorry for my pun).

[oneway23]

1 minute ago, RussTCB said:

For sure. I hear ya. I didn't mean to bring anyone down with my comments on the mix btw. I love the song anyway and I'll be cranking the hell out of it. There's PLENTY of music out there that I love but I don't love the production. This is just one of those songs. 

Absolutely!  Production on most hard rock/metal albums of the past twenty-plus years leaves a lot to be desired, to be honest.  It can still be enjoyed.  At the same time, I just can't help but poke and prod the people who complain about "complaints."  Anyone who knows me "in real life" knows I'm gonna break down a song like that when I hear it...just can't help it! 

If some see that as somehow "negative" or, "like, bummer bro, just crank it and shut-up!!" and it bothers them, weeeeelllll, tough toodles.  You're on a public forum.  Don't like other opinions, call your family and talk to them about the song instead.

[Manfisman]

2 minutes ago, DoMw94 said:

He did: https://www.instagram.com/p/CSQBqPTpOgE/?utm_medium=copy_link

Oh my bad, thank you.

[19AT5]

46 minutes ago, jip said:

Guns is a huge as Zeppelin/Stones so they will keep touring as everyone.They will always have sold out arenas.If we get some new music i will gladly accept it.Simple as that

Eh, WTF you been puffing on!!? GNR's legacy isn't anywhere near that of The Stones or Zep. 

I've criticised the production value on Hard Skool but all in I do actually enjoy the track. I really like the wee flourishes that Slash has applied and I still rate the chorus as being very catchy. 

For what it's worth, GNR are not the only older band to struggle with modern recording techniques.

[Live Like a Suicide]

34 minutes ago, El Guapo said:

I wish the leaks didn't happen at all. 

Gotta disagree. They were absolutely necessary in tying people over until this year, and it is great to hear how the songs have developed over the years. 

[Gunner55]

Maybe my expectations of new music in these days in general are too high, but as if. 2 major rock radio stations in Winnipeg. Didn't play it. To my knowledge, didn't even mention it. Usually they'll at least post on news feeds on Facebook or something, but it's like they don't even know.

Axl's running the radio scene behind the scenes confirmed. 

[oneway23]

6 minutes ago, Gnrcane said:

I wonder if the technology exists to sample his voice from 1986-1994 and create a model that can be used to generate completely new vocals using the samples?

I don't have any "reactions" left, but, this is funny.  I know you're saying this in a joking way, but, sadly, yes, this tech actually exists!

Believe it or not, Mark Hamill voice on the Mandalorian was not his voice!  It's true!  It was AI modeled from existing phonetic sounds, based on pre-existing bits of his old dialogue.

This means that neither his appearance nor his voice was actually him!!  He was on set, however.

[agustingloger]

2 minutes ago, oneway23 said:

I don't have any "reactions" left, but, this is funny.  I know you're saying this in a joking way, but, sadly, yes, this tech actually exists!

Believe it or not, Mark Hamill voice on the Mandalorian was not his voice!  It's true!  It was AI modeled from existing phonetic sounds, based on pre-existing bits of his old dialogue.

This means that neither his appearance nor his voice was actually him!!  He was on set, however.

That was weird as fuck. He did the scenes though. Then he was photoshoped or whatever You want to call it. But he was the actor indeed

[dario27]

32 minutes ago, GnR Chris said:

I’m not one of those “you can’t say anything negative” folks, but I’ve read this entire thread now and the handful of people who continually tell us they hate the song are a serious fuckin’ drag. It’s just the incessant complaining, not the criticism, that sucks. 
 

The stuff being said about the way it’s mixed is likely valid, though it sounds good to my ears. I’m listening through Spotify connect via Denon receiver and Polk 3.1 stereo sound. Or on my Bose quiet comfort 2 cans. I’ll test the car stereo out in a minute when I go for my beer run.

Dude, put Duff “too hard school” higher in the mix  WHAT THE HELL, I can’t even hear it unless I’m wearing headphones.

The stuff being said about Axl not being bothered to record new vocals is also valid. Like, what happened, man? I don’t expect new vocals on the already excellent verses and chorus. But they had to sample “Eye on You” for the bridge. That’s telling. Man’s couldn’t get in the studio to drop some “hey, heys.”
 

Still, what a time to be a GNR fan. Excuse me while I go crank “Hard Skool.”

It's Guns N' Roses m8

The band with the most miserable fan base

Most just want to listen to another November Rain, SCOM "but new"... 

And I guess with the most experts in production/mixing, record creation, song structure, etc.... and of course Spotify at 268kbps for critical listening opinion judgment.. 😁

[oneway23]

2 minutes ago, agustingloger said:

That was weird as fuck. He did the scenes though. Then he was photoshoped or whatever You want to call it. But he was the actor indeed

Hell yeah...wacky as fuck...he was in the robes and all that, they just CG'ed his face and created a younger voice...wild times

[Iron MikeyJ]

4 minutes ago, Pele said:

You've seen it all - except all the unreleased songs that we've all heard?  Cool.

No, I've heard Hard Skool before as well. But I heard it once, and just put it out of mind. As I did with Going Down. Honestly, that was around the time my "opinions" on leaks changed. I "liked" going down, it was a good song. But it wasn't guns n roses to me, it was something else. If Axl sang the whole song, I would have liked it better, but given the state of the band at that time... Leaks just didn't appeal to me anymore. Why get excited about unreleased music by a band with one original member, that's imploding for the 2nd time (Tommy was leaving, BBF left, Ashba was Ashba, etc). Guns n roses were dying to me at that point. So ANY unreleased music from that era, recorded by those musicians, just didn't excite me anymore.

So when Hard Skool and others leaked, I listened to them once or twice. Then thought about what Axl said about "the world doesn't revolve around guns n roses music" or something to that effect (I'm paraphrasing). Which he was right, so like many, I just stopped caring. 

The reunion was great, that gave me hope. But I didn't feel a band (even as great as guns), can REALLY make a big impact on the music scene anymore. They can release new music (or not), tour, live their life, etc. But to expect some sort of "ground breaking" music from a band who's members are at this age, just isn't realistic. Name me ANY band/musician that REALLY did something special by this point in their careers? You can't. So why should I expect anything different from guns?

As for new music, I had faith we would hear some stuff. I think that might have been part of the reason why NUgnr imploded like it did, Axl didn't have faith in those musicians to release an album with. At least that's how I see it. So again, it made sense for the reunion. But after sitting through the CD drama, the band seems pretty drama free at this point. Which is a good thing. Plus I'm sure Covid effected plans (as it did with everyone). So I had hope new music would start coming out, and it has. Which if I had played myself out on the Hard Skool leak, it would be like the CD release all over again for me. So I'm glad I didn't listen to it a bunch. 

[Axl S]

Duff played a radio edit version on his show. It's chopped up to hell to make it shorter and the mix sounds different.

[Ace Nova]

I’m diggin’ Hard Skool.  I only gave the leaked version a few listens and thought it was “ok” but after listening to the studio version 4-5 times now, I think it has the “classic” GNR sound with some punk mixed in.  Two thumbs up! 👍 👍

Edited September 24, 2021 by Ace Nova

[Tom-Ass]

2 hours ago, RussTCB said:

Just listened to it in the car a few times at full volume from Spotify and JESUS the production on this is a mess. 

How can you expect any different with the way it was put together?

[RussTCB]

Just now, Tom-Ass said:

How can you expect any different with the way it was put together?

Dude.....there are MANY songs that have been sourced from tons of different sources of all ages and they turned out way better than this production wise. 

[Gnrcane]

15 minutes ago, oneway23 said:

I don't have any "reactions" left, but, this is funny.  I know you're saying this in a joking way, but, sadly, yes, this tech actually exists!

Believe it or not, Mark Hamill voice on the Mandalorian was not his voice!  It's true!  It was AI modeled from existing phonetic sounds, based on pre-existing bits of his old dialogue.

This means that neither his appearance nor his voice was actually him!!  He was on set, however.

It was definitely meant in a joking way.  I'm horrified that the tech exists.  Hopefully Axl doesn't find out about it!

[alfierose]

I think maybe it was the wrong weekend to release this. The radio seems to be full of 30 years of Nevermind and other music from 1991. That's what my husband is currently dancing to in the kitchen. 

[Gordon Comstock]

The production on Absurd is certainly not great, but it didn't bother me too much because... it's still Silkworms, and you can't polish a turd.

But the production on Hard Skool is just... sloppy. Obviously the drum sound is an odd choice, but the biggest issue for me is probably the vocals - it seems like they had properly mixed and finished vocals, but then had to drown them in effects so they'd sound better with Slash's guitar tone. It kind of worked on Absurd, but that was a 'weird' track to begin with - there's no logical reason here to have that much processing and echo on Axl Fuckin' Rose - it just rips some of the soul and emotion out of the track.

The editing, like with Absurd, is really sloppy in places, making it sound like a rushed job. The mix is kind of a mess... I completely expected new songs would be pieced together using old tracks with new Slash and Duff parts, but with all the time they've had and the resources at their disposal, I still expected it to sound more cohesive than this...

[James Bond]

7 minutes ago, Axl S said:

Duff played a radio edit version on his show. It's chopped up to hell to make it shorter and the mix sounds different.

Shorter? The song isn't even four minutes long to begin with.

[Iron MikeyJ]

Let me start by saying that criticism of the band can be helpful, and HAS been warranted at many times during the bands history. 

Having said that, the "endless complaints" that some people have are interesting to me, as a long time fan. Sure, when compared to how (Metallica) for example do things, then yes criticism will most likely be warranted in some minds. But let's look at Guns "eras"

1. OG line up (not counting pre appetite eras)

2. Illusions era

3. NUgnr era 1

4. NUgnr era 2

5 Reunion era

Besides the OG and Illusions era, the Reunion era HAS to be the third best era for the fandom. I don't know how ANYONE could argue either NUgnr era was better (I'm not talking about music, but just how the band operated). EVERYTHING Guns n' Roses related has been on the upswing since Slash and Duff came back. 

I guess it's hard for me to complain when things have been MUCH worse. But I also don't come here every day anymore and analyze the bands movements either. 

 

[Tom-Ass]

1 hour ago, vloors said:

I get it. Axl will record in the studio for cartoons he likes but not for his band or gnr fans lol. Priorities hey.

Rest of the band have proven they have no issues making new music. 

great point

[Manfisman]

Why would you change a vocal take that's perfectly fine? It doesn't make sense.

 

This is a great song, that's all I care

[Ak1nney]

3 minutes ago, James Bond said:

Shorter? The song isn't even four minutes long to begin with.

I'd assume the middle section is probably shortened and maybe one of the last choruses left off? Radio is weird. Decisions like that get made, but then they still play the long ass Don't Fear the Reaper jam and Stairway haha.