MÖTLEY CRÜE's NIKKI SIXX: 'I Don't Believe In Making Full-Length Records Anymore'

In a new interview with Joann Butler In Studio With..., MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist and main songwriter Nikki Sixx was asked if he has a favorite album or song that he made during his four-and-a-half-decade career with the band. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "They all mean something different to me. I was at different places at different times in my life. Writing a song like 'Knock 'Em Dead, Kid' after I'd got in a fight with the police on Sunset Boulevard and ended up in jail is something that I needed to do at the time. I was in revenge mode. I was in my 20s and full of piss and vinegar. And yet by the time we moved over to 'Theatre Of Pain', the band had been on the road for so many years, opening for Ozzy [Osbourne] mostly, we got an opportunity, like with 'Home Sweet Home' to do some different kind of halftime things, like a song called 'Save Our Souls'. So that's a departure from 'Shout At The Devil', which was a departure from 'Too Fast [For Love]'. And it's a constant evolution. We never quite know where we're going. When opportunity strikes, something comes up."

He continued: "Honestly — I know fans don't wanna hear this, but I don't believe in making full-length records anymore at this time on the planet, for me. The amount of work that goes into... If you're doing 10 songs on a record, you gotta write 20. And you better hope five of 'em are stellar. It's a lot of lyrics, a lot of notes, a lot of chord changes, a lot of time in the studio, which is all fine. That's what we do. We work hard. But what I don't like is that when people hear one song, and you recorded 10 or you recorded 20, and then 10 of 'em were demos and 10 was an album, they only hear one. Radio's changed, streaming is changing and evolving as we go. So I'm really into the idea of lightning strikes, something comes down, I call the guys. I got this song, it's just sitting on the tip of my tongue right now. I told Tommy [Lee, MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer] about it a year ago. I just told my friend, and he goes, 'You told me to write a song called that 25 years ago.' And I go, 'Okay, I'm gonna finish the song and then show it to the band.' But it's like having a song and a whole team behind a song and being able to get the fans to really understand what the song is about. It's just not something that they just pass by, or they go to the new MÖTLEY CRÜE album, and they only listen to one song. So I love the idea of like we did 'The Dirt' [film soundtrack in 2019]. We did five [new] songs from 'The Dirt'. We did three songs on this EP ['Cancelled'] we just did [in 2024]. I mean, that's already a full-length record. So I think we're just gonna keep going, like whenever something comes up, you feel something — heartbreak, joy, rebellion — let's write a song about it, and let's go cut it in the studio."

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.

In October 2024, MÖTLEY CRÜE released the "Cancelled" EP, featuring 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". All three songs were recorded in April 2023 with longtime producer Bob Rock.

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 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".