The following project is going to discuss an album of one of the most famous and significant music bands representing the hard rock scene. In particular, the paper is going to analyze Guns N’ Roses and one of their most famous records. To start with, it is necessary to state that the band was formed in 1985, in Los Angeles with its classic and famous lineup consisting of lead guitarist Slash, vocalist Axl Rose, Izzy Stradlin as the rhythm guitarist, bassist Duff McKagan and Steven Adler as the band’s drummer. Still, it is necessary to admit that the lineup of the band has been changing several times since then.
The band has successfully released six studio records, which have made the band one of the world’s best selling bands of all time. In fact, the band’s sales reached 45 million records in US only and even more across the Globe. Therefore, it is worth stating that the band’s music represents one of the greatest examples of commercially successful popular music (Hiatt).
In particular, the paper is going to discuss and analyze the band’s debut album “Appetite for Destruction”, which was released on July 21, 1987. The record label, Geffen Records, has certainly achieved colossal commercial success with the record due to the high sales rates of it. In fact, it has also become the 11th bestseller among the musical records in the US. In addition, despite the initial skepticism of the critics reviewing the record, they had to recognize and accept its importance and value on the music scene of late 1980s – early 1990s.
According to the words of the band members, the majority of songs have been composed and written down during their casual performances in Los Angeles; therefore, the majority of those have been expected to be released on their debut record. In particular, the famous songs “You could be mine”, “Don’t Cry”, “Sweet child ‘O mine” constituted the band’s debut record. However, the only exception was the song “November Rain”, as it has not been included in this record due to the fact that the band had already chosen “Sweet Child ‘O Mine” being the album’s ballad instead (Hiatt). Therefore, most of the album has been performed in an energetic and aggressive way, combining the harsh tunes of hard rock and the melodic riffs of glam rock. Such mixture has actually made the band one of the most significant both for hard rock and glam rock/metal genres.
Nevertheless, it is also worth accepting that the record’s success has also been defined as a result of social oppression against the principle of “sex, drugs and rock’n’roll” prevalent during those times. Still, it should be stated that the band’s music and their debut album, in particular, represent the classics of rock music, therefore, the music and the sounds of Guns N’ Roses remain actual nowadays not only for the American listeners, but for the worldwide audiences, as well.
Summarizing everything that has been stated, it is worth admitting that I am not a great fan of glam rock and glam metal music, which the band mostly plays. Still, despite this fact, the “Appetite for Destruction” appears to be one of my favorite albums of all the times and bands due to the reasons mentioned previously. I would definitely recommend it to anyone, who likes rock music and for the rest of listeners looking for something new to listen to.
Works Cited
Hiatt, Brian. "The Making Of 'Appetite For Destruction' : Rolling Stone". Web.archive.org. N.p., 2007. Web. 15 Feb. 2016.
