"Next Album" rumor / speculation thread *UPDATE AUG 22/2023*

[Wooody]

If black sabbath can do it, so can GNR.

[zombux]

thing is, Chinese Democracy didn't reached the too high expectations for a Guns N'Roses LP and it understandably didn't
give that much confidence to go on with the second part of it. we're now pretty close to ten years without new material.
ten years. we had what, 15 years between Spaghetti and Chinese? not so different.

they have to maintain the interest of the fanbase by keeping the narrative "we worked on some songs" or "there's some
great material here" but the thing is, they will tour 'til the cash stop to flow.

and after that, from their perspective, what's the point to make some new music?
albums doesn't sell well, tracks will be immediately compared to Appetite, and we all know it can't top that.
so from a legacy perspective, it's not a good option either.

I always thought they'll do another last album, but it was before this partial reunion thing. now the configuration is
different, and the time is passing. and maybe it's already too late.

probably this is as close to reality as it can be, me thinks.

[sofine11]

If black sabbath can do it, so can GNR.

I dunno. Axl seemingly makes everything infinitely more difficult than it needs to be when it comes to putting out new music.   

[WAR41]

thing is, Chinese Democracy didn't reached the too high expectations for a Guns N'Roses LP and it understandably didn't
give that much confidence to go on with the second part of it. we're now pretty close to ten years without new material.
ten years. we had what, 15 years between Spaghetti and Chinese? not so different.

they have to maintain the interest of the fanbase by keeping the narrative "we worked on some songs" or "there's some
great material here" but the thing is, they will tour 'til the cash stop to flow.

and after that, from their perspective, what's the point to make some new music?
albums doesn't sell well, tracks will be immediately compared to Appetite, and we all know it can't top that.
so from a legacy perspective, it's not a good option either.

I always thought they'll do another last album, but it was before this partial reunion thing. now the configuration is
different, and the time is passing. and maybe it's already too late.

Ouch.  That was cold hard truth slapping us in the face.  Hard to believe that the CD release has been almost 9 years now.  If you had told me on November 23, 2008 that it would be at least another 9 years before I'd see another GNR release I would have shaken my head in disgust.  I don't even think I need another album of music from Axl/Slash/Duff, just a couple of singles and I'd be satisfied.  I get the feeling a full LP is way too much for these guys to handle these days and it would drive them nuts. 

[D-GenerationX]

What confirmation do we even have these guys spend any time in each other's company EXCEPT on stage?

Are there pics of them hanging out after the show?  Are there stories about where they were, together?

The point being that this reeks of a strict business arrangement.  And if they aren't even hanging out, are they really going to "dive in and find the monkey"?

Nope.

[Spirit]

What confirmation do we even have these guys spend any time in each other's company EXCEPT on stage?

Are there pics of them hanging out after the show?  Are there stories about where they were, together?

The point being that this reeks of a strict business arrangement.  And if they aren't even hanging out, are they really going to "dive in and find the monkey"?

Nope.

Depends, do you mean Axl and the guys?

We've seen pictures of Slash and Duff together with the rest of the band.

Axl still keeps to himself it seems, at least when there are cameras around.

[rebelhipi]

thing is, Chinese Democracy didn't reached the too high expectations for a Guns N'Roses LP and it understandably didn't
give that much confidence to go on with the second part of it. we're now pretty close to ten years without new material.
ten years. we had what, 15 years between Spaghetti and Chinese? not so different.

they have to maintain the interest of the fanbase by keeping the narrative "we worked on some songs" or "there's some
great material here" but the thing is, they will tour 'til the cash stop to flow.

and after that, from their perspective, what's the point to make some new music?
albums doesn't sell well, tracks will be immediately compared to Appetite, and we all know it can't top that.
so from a legacy perspective, it's not a good option either.

I always thought they'll do another last album, but it was before this partial reunion thing. now the configuration is
different, and the time is passing. and maybe it's already too late.

This is probably the case.

Unfortunately it dosent make much sense to release ''the second part of chinese'' either anymore. Unless it comes in a deluxe version of the original Chinese Democracy, or something more low key.

[izzyjim]

thing is, Chinese Democracy didn't reached the too high expectations for a Guns N'Roses LP and it understandably didn't
give that much confidence to go on with the second part of it. we're now pretty close to ten years without new material.
ten years. we had what, 15 years between Spaghetti and Chinese? not so different.

they have to maintain the interest of the fanbase by keeping the narrative "we worked on some songs" or "there's some
great material here" but the thing is, they will tour 'til the cash stop to flow.

and after that, from their perspective, what's the point to make some new music?
albums doesn't sell well, tracks will be immediately compared to Appetite, and we all know it can't top that.
so from a legacy perspective, it's not a good option either.

I always thought they'll do another last album, but it was before this partial reunion thing. now the configuration is
different, and the time is passing. and maybe it's already too late.

Yeah but..
Slash keep recording and releasing albums, so does Duff - in various forms and bands.
Hell, even Richard, Frank and Dizzy are making new music!

Sure, none of them are GN'R albums or treated as one, but I guess what I'm trying to say is that if there won't be a new album, that won't be the reason, IMO.

[allwaystired]

What confirmation do we even have these guys spend any time in each other's company EXCEPT on stage?

Are there pics of them hanging out after the show?  Are there stories about where they were, together?

The point being that this reeks of a strict business arrangement.  And if they aren't even hanging out, are they really going to "dive in and find the monkey"?

Nope.

I'm with this. Don't want to be, but creativity is a powerful process involving individuals to be all uniquely on the same wavelegnth. It's so rare, and really not just a case of writing together. I think we're way off that.

[Ginger King]

What confirmation do we even have these guys spend any time in each other's company EXCEPT on stage?

Are there pics of them hanging out after the show?  Are there stories about where they were, together?

The point being that this reeks of a strict business arrangement.  And if they aren't even hanging out, are they really going to "dive in and find the monkey"?

Nope.

I'm with this. Don't want to be, but creativity is a powerful process involving individuals to be all uniquely on the same wavelegnth. It's so rare, and really not just a case of writing together. I think we're way off that.

Yeah...but by all accounts, Axl wasn't really hanging with the gang back when UYI was recorded.  He kept to himself then.  Traveled separately, hung out with his own crew, etc.  Also, they weren't all in the studio at the same time to record UYI.  The only time that really happened was with Appetite. 

My point is that I don't think they need to be "Appetite friends" to make another album.  As you said, this is a business arrangement.  Right now, it does not make business sense to record an album.  It does make business sense to keep touring.  At some point, that will probably change, and maybe then they will start to look very seriously at what they're doing in that regard...

[pilferk]

What confirmation do we even have these guys spend any time in each other's company EXCEPT on stage?

Are there pics of them hanging out after the show?  Are there stories about where they were, together?

The point being that this reeks of a strict business arrangement.  And if they aren't even hanging out, are they really going to "dive in and find the monkey"?

Nope.

OK, but...since AFD was released, or at least circa 1990...how much evidence of that do we have?

Yet we have UYI I and II and SI.

I don't think they need to be bestest buddies hanging out and chilling to write music. I mean....honestly...look at other bands who are at this point in their career.  How many of them are still hanging out together when not on tour? Metallica? Nope (well, except the therapy sessions  ). Aerosmith (before all the craziness of the past couple years)? Nope. The Stones? Nope. AC/DC? Nope (well, other than the brothers).

I just don't think thats the metric.

Which isn't to say there aren't other metrics pointing away from a new album "soon".  I just don't think that's an overly compelling one.

I keep saying: Mid 2018. If we haven't heard anything by then......I'll be ready to assume there's no new music coming.  I'm with Ginger: New music isn't the best (business) use of their time right now.

[allwaystired]

What confirmation do we even have these guys spend any time in each other's company EXCEPT on stage?

Are there pics of them hanging out after the show?  Are there stories about where they were, together?

The point being that this reeks of a strict business arrangement.  And if they aren't even hanging out, are they really going to "dive in and find the monkey"?

Nope.

OK, but...since AFD was released, or at least circa 1990...how much evidence of that do we have?

Yet we have UYI I and II and SI.

I don't think they need to be bestest buddies hanging out and chilling to write music. I mean....honestly...look at other bands who are at this point in their career.  How many of them are still hanging out together when not on tour? Metallica? Nope (well, except the therapy sessions  ). Aerosmith (before all the craziness of the past couple years)? Nope. The Stones? Nope. AC/DC? Nope (well, other than the brothers).

I just don't think thats the metric.

Which isn't to say there aren't other metrics pointing away from a new album "soon".  I just don't think that's an overly compelling one.

I keep saying: Mid 2018. If we haven't heard anything by then......I'll be ready to assume there's no new music coming.  I'm with Ginger: New music isn't the best (business) use of their time right now.

Difference with the bands you've mentioned though is that they have the relationships built up over years and years of touring together, and many albums. They're all well-oiled machines. That's got to make writing/recording easier. I think mid-2018 is a very eager estimate- they might not even have finished the NITL tour by then!

[Ginger King]

What confirmation do we even have these guys spend any time in each other's company EXCEPT on stage?

Are there pics of them hanging out after the show?  Are there stories about where they were, together?

The point being that this reeks of a strict business arrangement.  And if they aren't even hanging out, are they really going to "dive in and find the monkey"?

Nope.

OK, but...since AFD was released, or at least circa 1990...how much evidence of that do we have?

Yet we have UYI I and II and SI.

I don't think they need to be bestest buddies hanging out and chilling to write music. I mean....honestly...look at other bands who are at this point in their career.  How many of them are still hanging out together when not on tour? Metallica? Nope (well, except the therapy sessions  ). Aerosmith (before all the craziness of the past couple years)? Nope. The Stones? Nope. AC/DC? Nope (well, other than the brothers).

I just don't think thats the metric.

Which isn't to say there aren't other metrics pointing away from a new album "soon".  I just don't think that's an overly compelling one.

I keep saying: Mid 2018. If we haven't heard anything by then......I'll be ready to assume there's no new music coming.  I'm with Ginger: New music isn't the best (business) use of their time right now.

Difference with the bands you've mentioned though is that they have the relationships built up over years and years of touring together, and many albums. They're all well-oiled machines. That's got to make writing/recording easier. I think mid-2018 is a very eager estimate- they might not even have finished the NITL tour by then!

The definition of well-oiled machine is the NITL tour!  These guys could very easily put an album together...it's not lack of cohesiveness, or creativity, or friendship, or material that is holding them back (IMO).

[D-GenerationX]

Once this tour is over, they go their separate ways.

Slash back to Myles, Axl (and Duff?) back to AC/DC.

When is this recording going to be happening?

[allwaystired]

What confirmation do we even have these guys spend any time in each other's company EXCEPT on stage?

Are there pics of them hanging out after the show?  Are there stories about where they were, together?

The point being that this reeks of a strict business arrangement.  And if they aren't even hanging out, are they really going to "dive in and find the monkey"?

Nope.

OK, but...since AFD was released, or at least circa 1990...how much evidence of that do we have?

Yet we have UYI I and II and SI.

I don't think they need to be bestest buddies hanging out and chilling to write music. I mean....honestly...look at other bands who are at this point in their career.  How many of them are still hanging out together when not on tour? Metallica? Nope (well, except the therapy sessions  ). Aerosmith (before all the craziness of the past couple years)? Nope. The Stones? Nope. AC/DC? Nope (well, other than the brothers).

I just don't think thats the metric.

Which isn't to say there aren't other metrics pointing away from a new album "soon".  I just don't think that's an overly compelling one.

I keep saying: Mid 2018. If we haven't heard anything by then......I'll be ready to assume there's no new music coming.  I'm with Ginger: New music isn't the best (business) use of their time right now.

Difference with the bands you've mentioned though is that they have the relationships built up over years and years of touring together, and many albums. They're all well-oiled machines. That's got to make writing/recording easier. I think mid-2018 is a very eager estimate- they might not even have finished the NITL tour by then!

The definition of well-oiled machine is the NITL tour!  These guys could very easily put an album together...it's not lack of cohesiveness, or creativity, or friendship, or material that is holding them back (IMO).

It's a well oiled machine, that can only do one thing though. Can you imagine them attempting anything like Metallica did with the setlist chosen by fans each night? They've got what they do absolutely down- but it takes years and years of constant playing together to be ready to do something like that. Writing material is more than the sum of it's parts- I honestly think they'd struggle with the push and pull that comes with writing as a group, as well as actually being able to come up with ideas that represent what they all want to sound like. Very, very few reformed bands manage it. I think it COULD happen, but if so, we'd be looking at many many months/years in studios together to reach a point where any material is where it would need to be to be released.
And where is the time for that to happen? As DX points out - if next year sees people going onto other bands/solo projects, I'd say we have a fairly clear answer right there that new material is not on anyone's agenda.

[allwaystired]

Once this tour is over, they go their separate ways.

Slash back to Myles, Axl (and Duff?) back to AC/DC.

When is this recording going to be happening?

Duff to AC/DC? Has that one been thrown out there yet?! That could happen....

[JAEBALL]

Once this tour is over, they go their separate ways.

Slash back to Myles, Axl (and Duff?) back to AC/DC.

When is this recording going to be happening?

I hope some more people will give the Conspirators a chance around here now that Slash is back in the mix.

They do some good stuff.

[allwaystired]

Once this tour is over, they go their separate ways.

Slash back to Myles, Axl (and Duff?) back to AC/DC.

When is this recording going to be happening?

I hope some more people will give the Conspirators a chance around here now that Slash is back in the mix.

They do some good stuff.

Never really heard them (other than the Slash featuring...albums of course). Best place to start?

[pilferk]

Once this tour is over, they go their separate ways.

Slash back to Myles, Axl (and Duff?) back to AC/DC.

When is this recording going to be happening?

We've heard very different stories, from very different people about Slash returning to the Conspirators.  They were also supposed to be back in the studio this past spring to record an album. Did that happen? I'm just sayin'....there's a lot of lip service, and then there's actual plans.  When it comes time to make plans...I haven't actually seen any made yet. And I've seen a lot of plans "broken".

As for Axl and AC/DC...we'll see. Brian Johnson recently performed live, again.  I know what's been said by both sides. But again, I'll believe Axl is going back on tour with them, or into the studio, when I actually see it.  Rumor du jours are just that.

So, I guess what I'm saying is: I'll believe it when I see it.  These guys are basically printing money, and seem to be having a pretty good time doing it (at least those that are commenting, instragraming, etc about it).  I think if a new album is presented as a way to continue to do what they're doing right now....I think you might find a little more motivation/movement in that direction.

[allwaystired]

Once this tour is over, they go their separate ways.

Slash back to Myles, Axl (and Duff?) back to AC/DC.

When is this recording going to be happening?

We've heard very different stories, from very different people about Slash returning to the Conspirators.  They were also supposed to be back in the studio this past spring to record an album. Did that happen? I'm just sayin'....there's a lot of lip service, and then there's actual plans.  When it comes time to make plans...I haven't actually seen any made yet. And I've seen a lot of plans "broken".

As for Axl and AC/DC...we'll see. Brian Johnson recently performed live, again.  I know what's been said by both sides. But again, I'll believe Axl is going back on tour with them, or into the studio, when I actually see it.  Rumor du jours are just that.

So, I guess what I'm saying is: I'll believe it when I see it.  These guys are basically printing money, and seem to be having a pretty good time doing it (at least those that are commenting, instragraming, etc about it).  I think if a new album is presented as a way to continue to do what they're doing right now....I think you might find a little more motivation/movement in that direction.

On the Brian note, it was singing 'Back In Black' with Muse. An odd combination, but most interestingly was his "fuck 'em all" comment at the end. Not sure what that referred to, but speculation is sure to ensue on the ACDC forums about that comment, given his current status.