Whispers of a new album from Guns N’ Roses‘ reunited lineup have now become, well, screams.
A source close to the band has told Music Feeds that the current GNR lineup — that’s Axl Rose, Slash, Duff McKagan, rhythm guitarist Richard Fortus, drummer Frank Ferrer and keyboardists Melissa Reese and Dizzy Reed — have been busy writing new material together while on the road, and have plans to record a brand new album this year.
What’s more, despite recently wrapping up their huge Not In This Lifetime world tour, the partly-reunited original GNR lineup have now signalled on more than one occasion that they’re far from over.
Case in point: After jetting off from Australia, the band told local fans in no uncertain terms that “they’ll be back” to tour the country again, and Slash has since mysteriously teased that “there’s more to come”.
I want to say thanks to all the fans who made the GNR reunion such a big event. It's been a fucking blast. & there's more to come! iiii]; )'
— Slash (@Slash) April 2, 2017
Slash was recently snapped in the studio tracking guitars for some mysterious new material. It’s not yet known what kind of riffs the perpetually-hatted Les Paul slinger is working on, but gums are flapping that they could be GNR-related.
Putting his new 2555X Silver Jubilee to good use, here's @Slash in the studio #liveformusic pic.twitter.com/Hw4h0T88PS
— Marshall Amps (@marshallamps) April 21, 2017
Slash’s other main gig with Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators is currently on ice, while Myles is on tour with his flagship band Alter Bridge, so the timing doesn’t exactly match up for new Slash Feat. Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators material.
GNR, on the other hand, don’t have any shows booked until May, and it seems their downtime coincides perfectly with Slash’s studio shenanigans; he was first snapped at Florida’s Twiins Studio with producer Juan C. Llanes a few weeks back.
Speaking with Music Feeds, Guns N’ Roses’ former manager Vicky Hamilton — who recently dropped her memoir Appetite For Dysfunction: A Cautionary Tale — also says that she thinks a new album from the band’s reunited lineup is “likely”, although admits she’s not directly “in the know”.
“The guys are not allowed to speak with anyone from their past while on this tour and they are not doing any press,” she says.
This follows on from Axl’s comments in June last year when he said (in a very rare interview) that he’d been working on new Gunners material.
“We [Guns N’ Roses] are working on new stuff,” he said at the time. “I’ve got a lot of stuff together, and I played some stuff for Slash and Duff and they liked it.”
Meanwhile, Andrew Ong, the manager of Aussie Guns N’ Roses fan page ‘GUNS OVER OZ’, reckons his crew have also heard whispers about GNR cooking up some brand spankin’ new tunes while on the road.
“From our understanding, the band have been sharing ideas for a while now and even from last year’s touring,” he says.
“In terms of a new album being recorded, it’s clearly evident the band would like to record an album after the tour ends, however, we believe it really depends on Angus Young’s plans for AC/DC, of which Axl is keen to do.” (Rose is rumoured to be working on a new AC/DC album with the band’s Angus Young.)
“We’re confident a new GNR album will be [coming], it’s just a question of when,” Ong says.
“I think more will be revealed mid-year when the the other rumour about a special 30th Anniversary of Appetite For Dysfunction could potentially be celebrated.”
So could the raging nostalgia-fest that was Gunners’ Not In This Lifetime Tour potentially mark the beginning of a brand new chapter, and the follow-up to 2008’s Chinese Democracy?
Chances are we’ll find out soon — all we need is a little patience.
