Appetite For Destruction

Let's go back to the 80's on this day to celebrate the birth of one of the best albums of all time: Appetite For Destruction. This album is Guns N' Roses debut studio album, which was released in 1987. The original line-up of the group consisted of Axl Rose, Slash, Izzy Stradlin, Duff McKagan and Steven Adler. When the album was released, it achieved great commercial success. Guns N' Roses were competing against big names like Bon Jovi and Def Leppard at that time (the era of Hair Bands), but were able to break into the scene with Appetite For Destruction, ultimately selling 18 million copies. The album has an arsenal of 12 impressive hard rock songs. Love or hate Axl, his vocal style is the most remarkable and distinctive in rock history. Even though he always almost turn up for gigs hours later (or sometimes not at all), he has a knack for writing lyrics fast and fantastic.

Let's break down the album and analyse why this album is just too good:

'Welcome To The Jungle' is the first track in this album. Fun-fact: Axl wrote this song under three hours, which was a good use of time because it's ranked one of the best hard rock songs by VH1 in 2009. Slash describes the song as "high-velocity, high-impact, aggressive delivery". The song, in a way, is an honest truth about the life in Los Angeles and the struggle of living there. 'Welcome To The Jungle' has a fantastic breakdown, in which Axl screams "You know where you are? You’re in the jungle, baby! You’re gonna die!" 'It's So Easy' basically tells you about how easy life is when you're famous. The vocal starts out pretty monotonous until Axl's high notes come in. 'Nightrain' is actually a tribute to a cheap wine brand, which was infamously associated with the band in their early days. The fast-paced song gives you a vibe that makes you want to go crazy as soon as it starts. All aboard the Nightrain!

'Out Ta Get Me' talks about how GNR used to get a lot of opposition from everyone and everywhere, especially in its beginning years. The song instantly became an anarchy anthem for teens who felt like they were always bossed around, either by parents, teachers, you name it. 'Out Ta Get Me' has a paranoid-like intro, which definitely fits with the message of the song. 'Mr Brownstone' is essentially a song about drugs. When this song came out, some of the members in the band were deeply involved in drugs. Axl wanted to tell people that it's your responsibility to wake up the next morning, as stated a few times in the lyrics. Slash felt that the song was directed at him and it was "one of the things that made him hate Axl more than anything". Whatever the politics were, the almost sleazy song was one of their best songs as Axl sung over sharp riffs.

'Paradise City' feels like home already. The song starts out with a nice acoustic tune before a heavy guitar riff takes over which drives the remainder of the song. In the last two minutes of the song, the pace of the song is doubled and the chorus is repeated several times. Aren't you glad they stuck with the lyrics "Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty"? 'My Michelle' is a song written about Michelle Young, who was Slash's friend. Originally, the song was supposed to be a sweet, romantic song but Axl decided to change it to a darker theme. Thankfully, Michelle preferred the darker theme and so do we.

'Think About You' is a song sandwiched in between 'My Michelle' and the band's biggest hit 'Sweet Child O' Mine'. It was easy to have skipped this song because of its lightweight tone as compared to the other songs. The underrated song, written by Izzy, could very well be a love song with its sweet lyrics. Hearing Axl sing the lyrics could get a little cringey over time because it was just not his character. 'Sweet Child O' Mine' is the album's biggest hit and perhaps the most well-known song of the band. The song has one of the most iconic guitar riffs in rock history, accompanied by Axl's doe-eyed lyrics. Axl dedicated this song to his then-girlfriend. Just when you thought the song couldn't get any better, the ending gets you excited again as you repeat the words "Where do we go now?"

'You're Crazy' starts off wild. The eccentric song is bound to make you go crazy as you sing along to Axl's "You don't want my love, you want satisfaction". The bridge of the song has insane guitar riffs, to which Slash admits that sometimes he didn't know what he was playing. 'Anything Goes' was originally titled 'My Way, Your Way'. Whatever the title is, the loud and almost aggressive song catches your attention immediately. 'Rocket Queen' is the last track on the album. Putting aside the moans, the groove of the song makes it a wild ride from start to finish (no pun intended).

Guns N' Roses are far from saints. Almost every song talked about sex, drugs and rock and roll, with a dash of profanities. However, behind each song, there's always a story to tell. GNR did a good job with writing the lyrics, record the songs and getting it across to the audience. Having a debut album as one of the best albums to ever be recorded is a huge achievement and something to be proud of. If you weren't a fan of GNR before, you should be now. Haven't listened to any of these songs? Play the entire album below:

[Tags: #music #album #band #rock #gunsnroses #GNR #axlrose #slash]