SLASH Talks New GUNS N' ROSES Music: 'The Next Record That We're Gonna Do Is Gonna Be All New Original Stuff'

In a new interview with Sylvia Alvarado of the Las Vegas radio station KOMP 92.3, GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Slash spoke about the band's recently released two new songs called "Atlas" and "Nothin'". When they were made available in December, the tracks marked the first new GN'R music since the 2023 singles "The General" and "Perhaps". Both "Atlas" and "Nothin'" were produced by GUNS N' ROSES singer Axl Rose and Caram Costanzo (Janet Jackson, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE); Costanzo co-produced GUNS N' ROSES' latest album, 2008's "Chinese Democracy", alongside Rose.

Slash said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's good to have a couple of songs that we're promoting and then a tour that's really a long tour. It's gonna go from the end of March until the end of December. And it's exciting, 'cause we're coming back to the U.S., which is the first time we've been in the U.S. in a while."

Asked if releasing standalone singles is how GUNS N' ROSES plans to make new music available going forward or if there are still plans to release a new full-length album, Slash said: "I think in this instance it's what we're doing, because we only re-recorded those songs — like a couple of songs here, a couple of songs there. These were the last two that are left to do, and we actually did them not even back to back. 'Nothin'' was one, and 'Atlas' was at a different time, but they hadn't been released yet. So, we're releasing 'em now. And then there's really no more of that sort of old rehash stuff to release. But I think what we're gonna do, we're gonna take all those songs and put them on something and release that as a package. And then the next record that we're gonna do is gonna be all new original stuff, and that'll be an actual album."

Slash added: "It's a really weird time for especially rock and roll and how it works in this industry and how it works for fans. I think most die-hard rock and roll fans would like to get an album and they love vinyl, but they would want a package of songs. But some of the younger kids who are sort of raised in this new fancy kind of digital era that we're in don't know about albums, really, being released as a whole. So it's a strange time. It's harder to navigate. But to me, it's a no-brainer. Make a record. You can do all the digital stuff in any configuration you want. But make sure that there's an album. Yeah."

Regarding the fact that all the recently released GUNS N' ROSES songs had existed in the GUNS sphere in the past, with "Atlas" having once gone under the working title "Atlas Shrugged", Slash said: "Well, we took a bunch of material that Axl had, and we all sat down and listened to it. And so we sort of picked out all the different songs that we wanted to do and what Axl wanted to do. And we just sort of took all the guitars and the bass off and redid it. And it was fun. And it was the kind of thing where we did one song at a time. We did one or maybe two in the same week. But for the most part it was spread out over a long period of time. So it was just something fun to do and go, 'Okay, what's gonna be my approach for it?' So each one of 'em has been an interesting sort of little project."

On the topic of what his approach was for recording "Atlas" and "Nothin'", Slash said: "'Atlas' has some really cool chord changes and time signatures, so that was interesting in itself. And then coming up with the right voicings for that. With 'Nothin'', it was a very spontaneous, very sort of simple, bare-bones approach. Not much thought went into it at all. It was just improvising."

Slash went on to say that he is looking forward to performing "Atlas" and "Nothin'" when GUNS N' ROSES returns to the road in March.

"Well, we were gonna [play] 'em [live] both — I guess it was a couple of years ago, or a little over a year ago," he explained. "And we were gonna do 'em both, and we actually rehearsed them and they sound great live and it was really fun. But then we decided that we didn't know when we were gonna release these songs and we didn't end up releasing them then. So we had to take them out of the set and wait. So we're excited to go to play 'em now finally the songs are released."

"Nothin'" and "Atlas" find GUNS N' ROSES showcasing two different sides of the band's personality. "Atlas" is GN'R in full surging rock mode, while "Nothin'" grows more introspective over floaty keys and an emotive guitar.

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".

The legendary hard rock outfit has not released a full-length effort since "Chinese Democracy", which included only Rose from the band's classic lineup. Bassist Duff McKagan and Slash reunited with Axl in 2016 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.

In June 2024, Duff was asked during an appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" if he thinks GUNS N' ROSES will ever release more "newly written music" again as opposed to continuing to rework and put out previously composed songs. The GN'R bassist responded: "Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. There's new material. I don't know how we're gona put it out. I think that's a question too. Like, do you put out a record? Do you just keep putting out singles? I don't know what the right answer is there in this day and age."

If and when it happens, the new GUNS N' ROSES studio album will be the first under the GUNS banner since "Chinese Democracy" and the first to feature Slash, Rose and bassist Duff McKagan since 1993.

Written by Rose and co-produced by Rose and Caram Costanzo, "Hard Skool", which had the working title "Jackie Chan", was originally recorded during GN'R's "Chinese Democracy" era but was eventually omitted from that album. Short clips of the song were later posted online and a full version was leaked in August 2019.

"Absurd" came out on August 6, 2021, three days after GUNS N' ROSES performed the tune live for the first time during its concert at Boston's Fenway Park.

GUNS N' ROSES last performed "Silkworms", which was also reportedly written during the "Chinese Democracy" sessions, in 2001.

"The General" was the B-side of GUNS N' ROSES' limited-edition seven-inch vinyl single titled "Perhaps", which was made available for pre-order in August 2023.

Like "Perhaps", "Hard Skool" and "Absurd", "The General" was written during the sessions for the "Chinese Democracy" album. It was previously talked about by ex-GN'R drummer Bryan "Brain" Mantia, who reportedly wrote some of the song's music and gave it its title, and former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach.

GUNS N' ROSES will hit the road again in the spring and summer 2026. This tour will see GUNS N' ROSES visit Mexico and Brazil, before headlining additional European markets, as well as stadiums across the U.S. and Canada. The upcoming run includes a special performance at Los Angeles's Rose Bowl, marking a historic return to the venue for the first time in over 30 years.

The tour announcement came days after GUNS N' ROSES released their deluxe "Live Era '87-'93" boxset, a limited pressing with remastered audio and revamped art.

Embedded in popular culture, GUNS N' ROSES' landmark diamond-selling 1987 opus "Appetite For Destruction" stands out as "the best-selling U.S. debut album ever" and "the 11th best-selling U.S. album of all time." Following its release, GUNS N' ROSES shook the world with the one-two punch of the over seven-times-platinum "Use Your Illusion I" and "Use Your Illusion II", clinching the top two spots on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart upon arrival. With total sales of 100 million units thus far, their catalog also consists of "GN'R Lies" (five times platinum),"The Spaghetti Incident?" (platinum),"Greatest Hits" (five times platinum),and "Chinese Democracy" (over six million worldwide). Not to mention, they are one of the most-streamed rock bands in the world with an average of 27 million monthly listeners on Spotify and in May 2024 were inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame for their 1987 debut album, "Appetite For Destruction".

On the touring front, GUNS N' ROSES' legendary three-hour-plus shows encompass sought-after fan favorites in addition to newly dusted-off gems from their back catalog, leaving ardent audiences in awe. Their blockbuster 2024 world tour sold 1.3 million tickets around the world and marked the band's largest run to date. Consisting of acclaimed performances in stadiums and arenas alike, the tour included headlining festival dates at Glastonbury and London's Hyde Park, while the North American leg included sold-out performances at historic venues such as the Hollywood Bowl and MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, as well as a co-headlining performance at Power Trip in Indio, California with AC/DC and METALLICA. GUNS N' ROSES' previous world tour, "Not In This Lifetime…", notably ranked as the "fourth-highest grossing concert tour of all time", selling more than five million tickets and included a headline performance at Coachella. The band's massive 2025 tour saw the powerhouse band hit stadiums and arenas in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America throughout the year.

GUNS N' ROSES are Axl Rose (vocals, keyboards),Duff McKagan (bass),Slash (lead guitar),Dizzy Reed (keyboard),Richard Fortus (rhythm guitar),Isaac Carpenter (drums) and Melissa Reese (keyboard).