JOHN 5 Doesn't Know If MÖTLEY CRÜE Plans To Release New Full-Length Album: 'I'm Just Along For The Ride'

In a new interview with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station, MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist John 5 was asked if there are plans for the group to release a new full-length album or if he and his bandmates are focusing on issuing standalone singles and EPs. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "You know what? I'm not sure. I think we're gonna just drop songs. That's what I've been doing personally [in my solo career] for a long time. And then what I do is I'll just drop new songs, drop new songs, and then I'll take all those songs and put 'em in a record and sell 'em at my shows or whatever, the full record. But I personally really like doing it this way.

"When you drop these songs individually, it's like every song's a single, and it's really cool," John 5 explained. "And I think, like, just imagine if VAN HALEN did that. You would never know about 'Take Your Whiskey Home' or any of these deep cuts. You're, like, 'Oh, wow.' Like 'D.O.A.' or something. What if these were all singles? 'Cause in my eyes, all those songs are singles. I like those maybe more than 'Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love' or something like that. I think those deep cuts are just as good as the singles they put out. And these bands worked so hard on these songs. And nowadays you just listen to the singles and things like that. So, I like doing it that way. So I don't know. I don't know what they're gonna do. I'm just along for the ride."

Asked if the April 2023 recording sessions that produced the band's upcoming "Cancelled" EP marked his first time working with legendary producer Bob Rock, John 5 said: "Yes, with 'Dogs Of War' and these other songs, it was the very first time. 'Cause I've worked with everybody under the sun, but it was something special, because you go into the studio and you think, 'Okay, this is how it's going to be. I'm gonna go track in the control room.' But I was completely wrong. Everybody was set up in the live room. And that's something that's, like, from the '70s — even '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s, and then somewhere in the '90s, everyone started tracking in the control room, except for the drummer, of course. But we did it that way. And I'll tell you, I've only done that one other time, but it was so cool because you're all playing like a band, you're all playing at the same time. And that's how we tracked these songs. 'Dogs Of War' is a completely live track. Those are just like live off-the-floor tracks. And that's what's so cool about it. So it was really exciting for me. I really enjoyed it. And I had my notes here and Nikki [Sixx, MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist] had his notes and Bob was in the middle of the floor and we would just cut it like that. And it was super cool."

The "Cancelled" EP will be released on October 4. The three-song effort contains the title track, MÖTLEY CRÜE's cover version of the BEASTIE BOYS classic "(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!)" and "Dogs Of War", which was made available in April.

MÖTLEY CRÜE's version of "Fight For Your Right" has quickly become a fan favorite since the band first debuted the song live during their secret 2023 club show at The Underworld in London, U.K. At its premiere, 450 lucky, sweat-drenched fans who came out to see a band advertised as DÖGS OF WAR got the surprise of a lifetime when MÖTLEY CRÜE took the stage with the BEASTIE BOYS classic in their set list.

The veil of speculation surrounding the DÖGS OF WAR pseudonym was finally lifted when the band released their first new single since 2019 by the "Dogs Of War" name in the spring of 2024. "Dogs Of War" subsequently became a Top 5 Rock Radio hit, accompanied by a highly acclaimed music video by director Nick DenBoer. The cutting-edge visual, which is entirely CGI-based, features the members of MÖTLEY CRÜE navigating an exhilarating post-apocalyptic world.

"Cancelled" EP track listing:

01. Cancelled (Tommy Lee, Nikki Sixx, John Lowery)
02. Dogs Of War (Tommy Lee, Nikki Sixx, John Lowery)
03. Fight For Your Right (Adam Horovitz, Rick Rubin, Adam Yauch)

MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer Tommy Lee told Bill Maher's "Club Random" podcast last year that he and his bandmates felt inspired to write a song called "Cancelled" because they were surprised it never happened to them.

"There was this article that was like, 'How did MÖTLEY CRÜE ever not get cancelled?'" he said. "And we were like, 'Fuck, we've gotta write a song about that because we didn't ever get it.' We snuck in under the whatever threshold, wherever that was, where we got away with fucking murder."

The "Cancelled" EP will be made available via MÖTLEY CRÜE's new deal with Nashville's Big Machine Records

MÖTLEY CRÜE's deal with Big Machine sees the band and the label working together again after making the 2014 project "Nashville Outlaws: A Tribute To Mötley Crüe", which featured CRÜE tracks covered by country stars RASCAL FLATTS, FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE, Darius Rucker and more. Big Machine also partnered with MÖTLEY CRÜE's new guitarist John 5 for the release of his 2021 album "Sinner".

MÖTLEY CRÜE's last studio album was 2008's "Saints Of Los Angeles", which was followed by a 2009 "Greatest Hits" compilation.

In 2018, MÖTLEY CRÜE recorded four new songs for "The Dirt" movie, including the single "The Dirt (Est. 1981) (Feat. Machine Gun Kelly)", "Ride With The Devil", "Crash And Burn" and the band's own spin on Madonna's "Like A Virgin".

John 5 joined MÖTLEY CRÜE in the fall of 2022 as the replacement for the band's co-founding guitarist Mick Mars. Mick announced his retirement from touring with MÖTLEY CRÜE in October 2022 as a result of worsening health issues.

Photo credit: Ross Halfin