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

[Gavgnr]

On the "next album" front... after catching a couple of the locker leaks I had missed the first time around (Devious Bastard, D-Tune, Nothing with scratch vocals), I honestly do believe there's a really solid album already out there, probably more complete than we realize.

Quick Song (sure to be renamed)
Devious Bastard (these two go great together)
The General
Atlas Shrugged
State of Grace
Oklahoma
Ides of March (which I don't think has ever leaked, but was reportedly recorded during CD sessions)
Hard Skool (assuming it's on the album)
Elvis Presley and the Monster of Soul (I honestly love the full title)
Perhaps
D Tune (sure to be renamed)
One cover (Back in Black is my current pick)

 Eye On You (if it's not scrapped since bits appeared in Hard Skool), Absurd and Going Down (Tommy) as B-Sides.

Even if that’s true, until it sees the light of day it may as well not exist 

[DAVE ROCK]

If they end up releasing an album, which I really want, I hope there are a few songs written by this lineup. I want Slash and Duff writting contributions and not only Chinese era songs reworked by them

[Oliver]

It will be a triple album:

Album 1: 12 CD-era songs re-recorded with the current lineup
Album 2: 12 new songs written by the current band
Album 3: 12 studio versions of covers played live in the last few years + some others

 

[DAVE ROCK]

It will be a triple album:

Album 1: 12 CD-era songs re-recorded with the current lineup
Album 2: 12 new songs written by the current band
Album 3: 12 studio versions of covers played live in the last few years + some others

 

[Gavgnr]

It will be a triple album:

Album 1: 12 CD-era songs re-recorded with the current lineup
Album 2: 12 new songs written by the current band
Album 3: 12 studio versions of covers played live in the last few years + some others

 

  Let me have some of that grass bro

[SkeletorSerpent]

Are GNR over thinking their album? Shouldn't they just rely on their bread and butter formula? Shouldn't they stop worrying about being "heavy" and "cutting edge" and innovative? Shouldn't they stop worrying about Axl's highest register vocals and just trust in his mid range rasp and deep bass and crooning baritone register? GNR's bread and butter was not heavy songs. Their bread and butter and winning formula was melodic and catchy songs with a harder edge.
Let's be honest, GNR were never fully welcome in the heavy metal and hard rock worlds. They had too much groove, swing, and pop sensibility to be straight forward metal. That's why they never placed hits in active rock and mainstream rock; they were too busy placing hits on the Top 100.
GNR should just stick to their winning formula and release an album-
1.Mesmerizing and catchy intros and unforgettable, epic codas.
2. Interesting bridges and breakdowns in the middle of their songs that break the predictable formulas (Where do we go now, So far away, etc.)
3. Groove and swing in their harder songs. Their "groove" was always way cooler and set apart from the typical hard rock and metal bands of the day, (by the way, that's why they appealed so much to hip hop and gangster rap fans) e.g. Quiet Riot, Twisted Sister, Judas Priest, Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Iron Maiden, etc.). Remember, GNR's groove made all these bands seem safe, stiff, and stale.
4. Melody and soul in their ballads- their biggest hits had more in common with classic blues rock, southern rock, and honky tonk Outlaw country than they did with hard rock and heavy metal.
5. Duff's "honky tonk" and "punk" bass lines- Duff's blend of punk and honky tonk (honky punk) was a driving force that was the glue to their "sound"
6. Axl's vocals were always more intimate, baritone butter, grit, whiskey warmth, and "country" than other rock bands (I've said this many times on this board, Axl's lower register vocals have more in common with George Jones, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Hank Williams Jr., Kris Kristofferson, Bob Dylan, etc. than they do with Rob Halford, Bruce Dickinson, Dio, Sebastian Bach, Vince Neil, etc. Additionally, his higher register screams/grit/screech/rasp have more in common with Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Rod Stewart, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Big Mama Thornton, Bon Scott, Robert Plant, etc. than they do with Halford, Dickinson, Dio, etc. Axl was always too gritty and soulful to be grouped in with traditional hard rock and metal vocalists.. He never had that clean, operatic heavy metal sound like those other vocalists.
6. Stick to their pop sensibility- GNR always had a catchy pop sensibility like the Beatles and Stones
7. Stick to their classic country/tonk sensibility (Patience, Don't Cry, Dead Horse, Yesterdays, You Ain't the First, SCOM, Heaven's Door, November Rain, etc.). Their biggest hits appealed to classic rock fans and Harley riders because they had an Outlaw country vibe. Slash's sweeping and weeping solos were melodic and country driven. They sounded more like a steel guitar solo from Jones or Haggard song than they did a generic hair band solo. Also, Slash sounded more like Lynyrd Skynyrd and Pink Floyd than heavy metal bands. They need to rely on a melodic Slash solo to drive the rhythm of the song.


Bottom line, stop trying to be "heavy" and fit into mainstream active rock (All these bands suck anyway- Shinedown, Five Finger Death Punch, Three Days Grace, Avenged Sevenfold, Ghost, etc. They are niche rock bands who are irrelevant to mainstream pop culture). Stop worrying about being "fresh" and cutting edge and innovative and "welcomed" by the mainstream, active rock fan base. GNR are in the pantheon of rock bands because the wrote great, memorable songs. Go back to the basics. Go back to the songs. Great songs are their legacy.

Also, Axl could use his deep, silk and honey baritone to be a crooner like Sinatra and Crosby. I would love to hear Axl release a crooner ballad and just fucking shock the world. That's another part of the winning GNR formula- just fucking shock people with their amazing talent and give them something unexpected.

[Spirit]

That's….. a magnificent post!

[Wooody]

They should add Sailing to any album they ever release. 

[PermissionToLand]

Although I think you're highly overstating any country influences, I generally agree.

They should add Sailing to any album they ever release. 

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2te95m

[SkeletorSerpent]

Although I think you're highly overstating any country influences, I generally agree.

They should add Sailing to any album they ever release.  

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2te95m

Thank you for your response. I appreciate your general agreement with my opinion.
Regarding your point of disagreement with my post, I think that if I was talking about a direct musical and vocal influence to classic country then you would be correct in saying that I am "highly overstating  . . . country influences." However, I wasn't talking so much about a direct vocal and musical influence to classic country (although I do think there are some similarities) as I was the "soul" and "spirit" of classic outlaw country. Classic country was essentially about "touching the heart and soul" of the listeners. Making the audience really feel an emotional punch, deep in their core being, was the goal of real country. Axl does this in the same way as classic country singers were able to do. It's a rare gift. Additionally, classic country lyrics were often autobiographical (or semi-autobiographical) and about real, hard living. Axl's lyrics are in the same vein. He puts his heart on his sleeve and talks about hard living, love and loss, existential nausea, nihilistic rage, suicide, self-destruction, etc. Also, the vocal timbre was intimate, warm, and hit your soul like whiskey. My point was that Axl's vocals (and hence their vast success and mass appeal) possessed that warmth and intimacy that "touched the soul" unlike the vast majority of metal and hard rock singers. Axl's vocals have a way of hitting the heart hard. They touch the soul at a deep, visceral, and primal level, just like Jones, Cash, David Allan Coe, Waylon, Hank Jr. etc. were able to do. Also worth noting, Axl just covered "Wichita Lineman" and obviously loves Carrie Underwood, a country soul singer.

Axl touched my soul more in just one song, "Estranged," than the entire AC/DC and Iron Maiden catalogue combined. Most metal and hard rock singers can "rock," (I love Dio, Dickinson, Halford, etc.), but they don't hit my heart like Axl does. It's not just nostalgia that made the GNR Not in this Life Time reunion tour the third biggest of ALL TIME.

So, it's the intimacy and soul and grit of Axl that sets him apart from his metal and hard rock colleagues.

[PermissionToLand]

Thank you for your response. I appreciate your general agreement with my opinion.
Regarding your point of disagreement with my post, I think that if I was talking about a direct musical and vocal influence to classic country then you would be correct in saying that I am "highly overstating  . . . country influences." However, I wasn't talking so much about a direct vocal and musical influence to classic country (although I do think there are some similarities) as I was the "soul" and "spirit" of classic outlaw country. Classic country was essentially about "touching the heart and soul" of the listeners. Making the audience really feel an emotional punch, deep in their core being, was the goal of real country. Axl does this in the same way as classic country singers were able to do. It's a rare gift. Additionally, classic country lyrics were often autobiographical (or semi-autobiographical) and about real, hard living. Axl's lyrics are in the same vein. He puts his heart on his sleeve and talks about hard living, love and loss, existential nausea, nihilistic rage, suicide, self-destruction, etc. Also, the vocal timbre was intimate, warm, and hit your soul like whiskey. My point was that Axl's vocals (and hence their vast success and mass appeal) possessed that warmth and intimacy that "touched the soul" unlike the vast majority of metal and hard rock singers. Axl's vocals have a way of hitting the heart hard. They touch the soul at a deep, visceral, and primal level, just like Jones, Cash, David Allan Coe, Waylon, Hank Jr. etc. were able to do. Also worth noting, Axl just covered "Wichita Lineman" and obviously loves Carrie Underwood, a country soul singer.

Axl touched my soul more in just one song, "Estranged," than the entire AC/DC and Iron Maiden catalogue combined. Most metal and hard rock singers can "rock," (I love Dio, Dickinson, Halford, etc.), but they don't hit my heart like Axl does. It's not just nostalgia that made the GNR Not in this Life Time reunion tour the third biggest of ALL TIME.

So, it's the intimacy and soul and grit of Axl that sets him apart from his metal and hard rock colleagues.

I see the similarities, but I think it's more coincidental than anything. Both country music and GNR's influence grew out of blues, which is the real common thread if there is one, IMO. "Evoking the soul" is something that's said about many genres, obviously Soul being one, as well as folk, blues, R&B and so on. Lyrics about life and the human condition... also pretty common across genres. But regardless, I agree that Axl has deep and wide influences that tend toward the emotional end of the spectrum rather than technical.

Although I'm not sure how you ended up putting AC/DC on the technical end. They're the poster boys for blues based rock and roll. While recording this song, the producer remarked that Brian Johnson is a soul singer at heart:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6XcDftUwG4

[cineater]

Skydog, I wish he hadn't said that but I kind of figured that's where we were at.  You think that whole locker leaks ordeal was an attempt to repeat what pushed CD to be released?

[rizzo160]

I dont think a new album will come out anytime soon. GNR has toured extensively since 2016, with only 2 new songs. I feel they will tour next year in the Americans and then take an extended break of touring. If an album does not surface then we will never get a new album. Time will tell…dont hold your breaths.

[cineater]

I dont think a new album will come out anytime soon. GNR has toured extensively since 2016, with only 2 new songs. I feel they will tour next year in the Americans and then take an extended break of touring. If an album does not surface then we will never get a new album. Time will tell…dont hold your breaths.

I don't think bands care about albums like that.  I think they see albums as a means to keep them on the stage.  GNR has been drawing crowds without an album for years.  No reason not to tour if they want to, when they can still draw the crowds.  There's always the county fair circuit if they don't care about the size of the crowd.   

I think we got two new songs because GNR was trying to meet their obligation to the label if the label wanted to release the album.  Not sure what the releasing of the singles meant but I don't think it worked out.  The European leg is almost over and they didn't do a new single which would have been to support label efforts.  They stuck to the hits which keeps them on the stage.

I know I always paint the label as the bad guy.    They have their issues too.  But I feel like the music gets turned in by the band and the label sits on it for whatever reason.

[rizzo160]

GNR is not going to play at county fairs. We will get an album if it suits AXL’s whimes. I think they will tour next year and then take off a year. I think we have to look at GNR as a touring band if they do not release an album soon. As far as blaming the label, I think it is a no go by AXL hand.

[cineater]

GNR is not going to play at county fairs. We will get an album if it suits AXL’s whimes. I think they will tour next year and then take off a year. I think we have to look at GNR as a touring band if they do not release an album soon. As far as blaming the label, I think it is a no go by AXL hand.

So you think GNR hasn't turned in an album?  I think they turned one in as far back as when Slash said they were trying to figure out how to release music.

I don't think Axl has that much control over what the label does.  They work together towards a common goal but the final say is the labels and what they want to put their money behind.

[Gavgnr]

GNR is not going to play at county fairs. We will get an album if it suits AXL’s whimes. I think they will tour next year and then take off a year. I think we have to look at GNR as a touring band if they do not release an album soon. As far as blaming the label, I think it is a no go by AXL hand.

So you think GNR hasn't turned in an album?  I think they turned one in as far back as when Slash said they were trying to figure out how to release music.

I don't think Axl has that much control over what the label does.  They work together towards a common goal but the final say is the labels and what they want to put their money behind.

If the album has been turned in for that length of time then there must be an issue delaying it’s release. It’s been speculated that a disagreement regarding promotion has caused an impasse between the band and the label

[PermissionToLand]

So you think GNR hasn't turned in an album?  I think they turned one in as far back as when Slash said they were trying to figure out how to release music.

I don't think Axl has that much control over what the label does.  They work together towards a common goal but the final say is the labels and what they want to put their money behind.

I think that what they recorded was all CD leftovers that will be coming out one by one as they work on a truly new album.

[cineater]

GNR is not going to play at county fairs. We will get an album if it suits AXL’s whimes. I think they will tour next year and then take off a year. I think we have to look at GNR as a touring band if they do not release an album soon. As far as blaming the label, I think it is a no go by AXL hand.

So you think GNR hasn't turned in an album?  I think they turned one in as far back as when Slash said they were trying to figure out how to release music.

I don't think Axl has that much control over what the label does.  They work together towards a common goal but the final say is the labels and what they want to put their money behind.

If the album has been turned in for that length of time then there must be an issue delaying it’s release. It’s been speculated that a disagreement regarding promotion has caused an impasse between the band and the label

Don't rule out the whole pandemic issues back then.  But we're here today.  They released two singles, a good deal of time has passed since then along with a European leg and a movie featuring the back catalog.  I'm speculating the label doesn't think there's any money in it.

Axl mentioned long ago there was 2 more albums after CD.  I think the label has been sitting on stuff for a very long time.

We won't know about their label issues until the band confirms it, if ever.  All we can do is let the band and label know, we, the folks with the money to spend, are interested in making a purchase.

[DAVE ROCK]

So you think GNR hasn't turned in an album?  I think they turned one in as far back as when Slash said they were trying to figure out how to release music.

I don't think Axl has that much control over what the label does.  They work together towards a common goal but the final say is the labels and what they want to put their money behind.

I think that what they recorded was all CD leftovers that will be coming out one by one as they work on a truly new album.