Duff McKagan Confirms: New Guns N’ Roses Material Is on the Way!

Rock enthusiasts, brace yourselves! The iconic rock band Guns N’ Roses is set to release new music, as confirmed by bassist Duff McKagan during his appearance on the June 12 episode of SiriusXM’s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk.” McKagan assured fans that new material is indeed in the works. He shared, “Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. There’s new material. I don’t know how we’re gonna put it out. I think that’s a question too. Like, do you put out a record? Do you just keep putting out singles? I don’t know what the right answer is there in this day and age.”

This exciting news comes as a significant update for fans who have been eagerly awaiting a full-length album since the release of “Chinese Democracy” in 2008. The album, featuring only Axl Rose from the classic lineup, marked a considerable departure from the band’s earlier works. The reunion of McKagan and guitarist Slash with Rose in 2016 reignited hopes for more original content from the legendary group. Although they have since released several standalone singles such as “Absurd,” “Hard Skool,” “Perhaps,” and “The General,” there has been no announcement of a new LP until now.

In a recent interview with the Daily Star, Slash, who is currently promoting his blues-infused album “Orgy Of The Damned,” explained why his frequent collaborator Myles Kennedy and GN’R frontman Axl Rose are not featured on his new album. “It was my own side thing, so I wasn’t dragging my own guys in. GUNS N’ ROSES are trying to make their own record and I’m working with them in that capacity but this didn’t involve anyone else,” he clarified.

The band released the four-song EP “Hard Skool” in February 2022, featuring the tracks “Hard Skool” and “Absurd,” along with live versions of “Don’t Cry” and “You’re Crazy.” According to Slash, several older GN’R tracks were reworked during the pandemic, with some still awaiting release. He told “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk,” “There’s a handful of those songs that we actually fixed up and did when we were in lockdown. So those have yet to be released. They’re really good, too. So I’m excited for those.”

The upcoming releases are expected to include a mix of newly written songs and reworked tracks from the band’s extensive archive. Slash emphasized that the forthcoming songs might not carry the same historical weight as “Hard Skool,” which has roots going back many years, but promised that there are “a couple of epic ones coming out.”

If and when the new album materializes, it will be the first studio effort from GN’R featuring Slash, Duff McKagan, and Axl Rose since 1993. Slash has previously expressed his enthusiasm about the process of revisiting older tracks and infusing them with new energy. He mentioned that “Hard Skool,” one of the first songs he recorded with the band in over 25 years, was a straightforward and enjoyable project.

In October 2021, Slash shared with Audacy Check In that the band had not yet begun writing new material in earnest. Instead, they had been focusing on revamping older songs. This approach is evident in tracks like “Hard Skool” and “Absurd,” which have their origins in the “Chinese Democracy” era but were given new life by the current lineup.

The anticipation for new music from Guns N’ Roses is palpable, and fans can rest assured that the band is committed to delivering fresh content. Whether it will be released as a full album or a series of singles remains to be seen. One thing is certain: the rock world is eagerly awaiting the next chapter in the storied career of Guns N’ Roses.