GUNS N' ROSES Guitarist RICHARD FORTUS: 'I Hope That We Have New Music Out This Coming Year'

GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Richard Fortus was asked in a new interview with Forbes for an update on fresh music from the band, as well as the possibility of varying up the setlist on this year's tour. He responded: "We love bringing new songs in. We always rehearse stuff up. It's just a matter of everyone sort of feeling comfortable to integrate it into the show. I hope that we have new music out this coming year."

Asked what he is excited about for GN'R in 2020, Fortus said: "I'm excited to go back to South America in March, then we'll be in Europe in the summer. And doing the festivals in Europe is always a lot of fun because you get to see lots of great bands and friends that you don't normally see."

Ever since guitarist Slash, singer Axl Rose and bassist Duff McKagan reunited in 2016 as GUNS N' ROSES, rumors have been circulating that new music from the band — the first to feature the three "classic-lineup" members since 1993 — was in the works.

Last September, Slash told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation" that writing new material for GUNS N' ROSES was the "focus" for the coming months. Slash also talked about whether GUNS N' ROSES fans can expect to see new music from the band in the form of standalone singles or as a full-length record. He explained: "I think at the end of the day, everybody wants to have a full album released. I don't think that's really changed all that much. But there's a different way of putting stuff out initially nowadays more so than… I mean, there's always been the single, but now you sort of look at that preliminary release a little bit differently now. All things considered, it's like the Wild West out there; there is no formula for any of it. [Laughs] I haven't seen any routine kind of thing that works. I mean, you can do any one of a million different things to releasing a record. But at the end of the day, I think that we will ultimately release a full album."

GUNS N' ROSES' "Not In This Lifetime" tour, which began almost four years ago, recently became the No. 3 highest-grossing tour in the history of Billboard Boxscore.

Launched in April 2016, "Not in This Lifetime" features Slash, McKagan and Rose backed by Fortus, drummer Frank Ferrer, keyboardist Dizzy Reed and second keyboardist Melissa Reese.

GUNS N' ROSES will perform at the second Bud Light Super Bowl Music Fest, set to take place January 30 through February 1 at American Airlines Arena in Miami. GUNS N' ROSES will headline on January 31.

Photo credit: Katarina Benzova