Appetite for Destruction (1987)
Appetite for Destruction is a 1987 glam metal album by Guns N’ Roses.
Los Angeles sleaze, recorded raw and released in July 1987. Guns N' Roses cut their debut in barely five months with producer Mike Clink, and it shows in the live-wire energy: Slash's blues-soaked riffs, Axl Rose's shredded howl, and a rhythm section that never sits still. The songs draw on the band's own hard nights and dead-end days, the daily grind of scraping by young in the city. The famous cover art sets a Celtic cross against five skulls, one for each member. It arrived as a jolt of danger into a polished rock era.
Quick answers
What is Appetite for Destruction about?
Los Angeles sleaze, recorded raw and released in July 1987. Guns N' Roses cut their debut in barely five months with producer Mike Clink, and it shows in the live-wire energy: Slash's blues-soaked riffs, Axl Rose's shredded howl, and a rhythm section that never sits still. The songs draw on the band's own hard nights and dead-end days, the daily grind of scraping by young in the city. The famous cover art sets a Celtic cross against five skulls, one for each member. It arrived as a jolt of danger into a polished rock era.
When was Appetite for Destruction released?
Appetite for Destruction was released in 1987.
Who made Appetite for Destruction?
Appetite for Destruction is by Guns N’ Roses.
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A few thoughts on Appetite for Destruction
For more of that gutter-glamour rush, Motley Crue's memoir The Dirt captures the same Sunset Strip excess in print. Cameron Crowe's film Almost Famous romances the touring life from a quieter angle. And AC/DC's Back in Black offers the cleaner, harder cousin to this record's swagger, all riff and no apology.
Blues-soaked hard rock riffs that built the genre
Appetite for Destruction runs on Slash's blues-drenched riffs and a rhythm section that never sits still. These are the records that laid that groundwork, from AC/DC's stripped power chords and Led Zeppelin's heavy blues to the doom Black Sabbath invented and the animal snarl Pink Floyd let loose.
Debut and breakthrough albums that arrived like a jolt
Guns N' Roses cut Appetite in barely five months and it hit a polished rock era like danger walking in. These share that live-wire charge of a band announcing itself, from Led Zeppelin's first statement and Queen's operatic swing to Pearl Jam's grunge arrival and AC/DC roaring live to a stadium.