SLASH: 'It Was Great When AXL And I Started Talking Again, 'Cause I Missed Him'

In a new interview with Abe Kanan, the afternoon host of "The Abe Kanan Show" on Sacramento, California's 98 Rock (KRXQ-FM) radio station, GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Slash spoke about reuniting with GUNS singer Axl Rose for the first time in two decades for the "Not In This Lifetime" reunion tour, which kicked off in April 2016. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, it was great. I mean, God, it's a long story, but it was great when Axl and I started talking again, 'cause I missed him. We had so much developed so much animosity that it just got worse and worse as time went on. So when we finally spoke and I started talking about playing, God, it was a huge kind of weight lifted off of our shoulders and it was exciting to get back together. And there was that chemistry that happens that you sort of forget about — how intense that is when you get on stage together or just working together. So, yeah, it's really cool, and I'm really happy that we managed to get past all that."

Back in 2021, Slash told Revolver magazine about his working relationship with Axl: "I'd worked with different singers, on and off, for a while, and then when I met Axl and we started jamming together, he was the only singer that ever brought an emotional content to it that affected me on an emotional level, on an energy level. A song all of a sudden went to a whole new level, and I felt it. And that's when I realized where music and vocals really meet. Because prior to that, everybody that I'd worked with sucked and I had no use for it, and I would just rather play instrumentally. But that's when I first really arrived at that poignant feeling that you get when things connect on a lyrical and the vocal level and the music level."

GUNS launched its long-rumored and long-awaited reunion tour with an April 2016 club show in Hollywood and appearances in Las Vegas and at California's Coachella festival.

GUNS N' ROSES' reunion features classic-lineup members Slash, Rose and bassist Duff McKagan backed by guitarist Richard Fortus, drummer Frank Ferrer, keyboardist Dizzy Reed and second keyboardist Melissa Reese.

In a 2020 interview with Guitar Player's "No Guitar Is Safe" podcast, Slash spoke about what it felt like for him to step back out on stage with GUNS N' ROSES for the first time in over two decades at the band's concert at the Troubadour in West Hollywood, California.

"That was our first gig back," Slash said. "I think probably the last time that we ever played there was in 1985. I don't think we even played there in 1986. Probably '85 was the last time we played there. "[The April 2016 concert was] our first show together after 20 years. We obviously had more gear and more crew than we did back in the day, I'll tell you that much. And it was loud. But it was a lot of fun. It was an almost poignant moment to fucking stand there and look at that crowd in that sort of room and have that kind of nostalgic feeling."

In 2019, Slash told Guitar.com that his first concert back with GUNS N' ROSES was an "overwhelming" experience. "It was so cool," he said. "Because it was a long time — we're talking more than 20 years from the last show in 1994… it was 22 years since the last time we'd played together. And obviously I'd played with Duff [since then] but there's a certain dynamic in the three of us together. It was awesome, and it's a really great experience."

The legendary hard rock outfit has not released a full-length effort since 2008's "Chinese Democracy", which included only Rose from the band's classic lineup. Slash and bassist Duff McKagan reunited with Axl eight years agp and have since released several standalone singles — "Absurd" (stylized as "ABSUЯD"),"Hard Skool", "Perhaps" and "The General" — but have not made any announcements about another LP.

GUNS N' ROSES released a four-song EP, "Hard Skool", in February 2022. The effort, which was exclusive to the GUNS N' ROSES' official store, contained the two new songs the band released in 2021 — the title track and "Absurd" — as well as live versions of "Don't Cry" and "You're Crazy".