It’s rare to find a band as sharp as Guns N’ Roses at the launch of their career, but most people forget that their success didn’t happen overnight…
During the mid-80s, The five outlaws from all across the U.S. found each other in the belly of the beast: Los Angeles. It would soon become their territory along with the rest of the world.
After spending countless months on the road throughout the west coast, it was clear that North Hollywood was the mother’s nest for GNR‘s early notoriety. Venues like The Troubadour And The Roxy were swarmed with die-hard fans enjoying the first spark of the group’s chaotic live performances on and off stage.
The anarchic lifestyle of the band fueled by sex, drugs and rock n’ roll embodied their persona perfectly. It created the reputation that made them “The Most Dangerous Band In The World!”
Once they got signed to Geffen Records, they finally had the opportunity to enter a studio and create their debut album.
This is how the magic was made!
Everybody’s influences came into play from the punk rock vibe of Hollywood Rose to the blues elements inspired by bands like Aerosmith and AC/DC.
Slash was a crucial component, bringing pieces from Hanoi Rocks and Van Halen into the mix. Those two particular bands are also great examples of what GNR set out to be, the ultimate hard rock onslaught.
Grabbing people’s eyes with their early glam appearance and keeping them interested with their distinctive sound put them on the map as LA’s hottest group.
By July of 1987, Appetite For Destruction was released and initially reached number 182 on the Billboard 200. Surprisingly, it didn’t immediately send the band into super stardom and it was the singles that drove it further up the charts.
Welcome To The Jungle, the anthem of American culture and unavoidable in today’s day and age, didn’t get its proper treatment in the beginning. Originally being played once on MTV at 4 a.m. on a Sunday, they couldn’t have picked a worse time to show the world a first glimpse of what GNR had to offer.
However, a lot of metalheads and hard rockers saw that music video and made it a priority to know all about this new band on the scene.
Being the album’s opening track, it does the precise amount of damage to you the first time you hear it. From the iconic intro to the catchy lyrics, it’s a perfectly-paced masterpiece and sign of what’s in store for the remaining 49 minutes.
The main reason Appetite reached as many people as it did is thanks to Sweet Child O’ Mine. A combination of melodic poetry for the mainstream audience and mind-blowing lead guitar for the headbangers.
But this album has more than hit songs on it. Appetite was the start and peak of GNR‘s genius songwriting all in one.
From the party-themed Nightrain to the drug-inspired Mr. Brownstone, the band describes the pros and cons of life in L.A. told through personal experiences. They put everything they did and saw in music form whether its living on their own terms, enjoying the Sunset Strip and giving everyone else the finger or dealing with authority figures trying to bring them down.
Paradise City serves as the centerpiece for the overall context behind Appetite. The intro is arguably the greatest part, driving anticipation with its brilliantly paced guitar riffs and drumbeat. Repeating a chorus as often as they do usually annoys listeners, but here it is executed flawlessly. The song also represents all the best qualities about GNR: A melodic beginning, hard rock rhythm and a punk rock outro with blistering guitar.
Some of the heaviest material is found on tracks like My Michelle, a tragic story of a woman from a broken family holding the weight of the world on her shoulders. The main riff is simple yet effective and especially at the end of the bridge right before the solo, always knocks you on your ass!
You’re Crazy is nothing but pure adrenaline. A straight up punk number showing how in-your-face GNR can get in just 3 minutes.
And after all that it takes you to the crowning jewel of the entire album: Rocket Queen!
The capacity of GNR‘s songwriting is illustrated excellently in this six minute track. Starting as a decent hard rock tune quickly develops into an entirely different beast altogether. The last two minutes transcends into this beautiful melodic sequence featuring Axl Rose’s most heartfelt lyrics and Slash’s best guitar solo. It leaves an incredible last impression on the listener and ends Appetite on a major high note.
That’s why this album put GNR at the top of the priority ladder in 1988. It’s a reflection of the band at their finest moment and everyone bought into it.
What followed was the dawn of world domination. The band toured extensively throughout the U.S. while opening for their heroes, Aerosmith. You had these two groups on the road together who have remarkable similarities to each other.
In one corner you have the original all-American band who became the epiphany of hard rock. On the other side, you see this young super-group with promising potential reinventing the genre on all accounts. And both are considered the greatest band of all time.
GNR was a stroke of genius and they came in at the opportune moment. Glam metal was still living off its glory but slowly meeting its demise. Guns N’ Roses was dark enough to be the new face of rock after the collapse of hair bands. Despite coming from the heart of it all, their music and attitude did not reflect the outlook of the scene.
Appetite was the ultimate album for rock fans from every division. It became the staple for what aggressive American music should sound like. It’s been documented as the best selling debut album ever and sold 30 million copies worldwide.
To this day GNR is overplayed on the radio, internationally known and selling out stadiums. They branched out beyond Los Angeles and connected with the rest of American culture.
They’ve proven to be a modern day Led Zeppelin and the last classic rock group to come out of the 80s.
Appetite was the beginning and the rest is history…
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