GUNS N' ROSES: Countdown Clock On Mysterious Web Site To Hit Zero Thursday Night

The GUNS N' ROSES web site GNR.fm has launched a countdown clock that is scheduled to hit zero Thursday night (May 3) at 9:00 p.m. PDT (midnight EDT).

The web site, which is registered to Universal Music Group, appears to be teasing an upcoming product or event related to the band's classic "Appetite For Destruction". Currently displayed is the message "DESTRUCTION IS COMING" along with the hashtag #AppetiteForDestruction.

A link to the same web site, along with the identical message, was shared earlier today on GUNS N' ROSES' official social media channels.

In addition, a billboard featuring the five skulls from the "Appetite For Destruction" cover art — each representing one of the band's original members — has shown up in the Camden area of London, also promoting the GNR.fm site.

This has led to speculation among fans that "Appetite For Destruction" will be reissued in a special deluxe edition with plenty of bonus material, although there has been no official word to date on any kind of release.

Some fans are going further, theorizing that the inclusion of the five skulls from the original cover means that drummer Steven Adler and guitarist Izzy Stradlin will participate in an event focused on "Appetite".

Neither Adler nor Stradlin have been part of the GUNS N' ROSES reunion tour that started in April 2016 and is continuing later this year with singer Axl Rose, guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan.

Adler did rejoin GUNS at several shows on the tour, including three stops on the U.S. leg and one gig in Buenos Aires, Argentina, playing drums on two songs. Stradlin reportedly turned down a five-figure fee to participate, writing that the band didn't want to "split the loot equally."

GUNS N' ROSES will return in June for a seven-week European jaunt, but the band's plans until then, and beyond that, remain unknown for now.

"Appetite For Destruction" was certified in September 2008 by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) for U.S. sales in excess of 18 million copies. The LP has reportedly accumulated worldwide sales in excess of 28 million since its 1987 release.

The album's original cover, based on the Robert Williams painting "Appetite for Destruction", depicted a robot rapist about to be punished by a metal avenger. After several music retailers refused to stock the album, they compromised and put the controversial cover art inside, replacing it with a cover depicting a cross and skulls of the five band members (designed by Billy White Jr., originally as a tattoo),each skull representing one member of the band: Izzy Stradlin, top skull; Steven Adler, left skull; Axl Rose, center skull; Duff McKagan, right skull; and Slash, bottom skull. The photographs used for the back of the album and liner notes were taken by Robert John.