10 Massive Albums That Never Lived Up To The Hype
2. Use Your Illusions - Guns N Roses
Towards the end of the ‘80s, Guns N Roses was the perfect storm for all things hair metal. Even though their debut Appetite for Destruction was one of the most badass things to ever come out of the Sunset Strip, it also played a big role in killing the entire scene it was a part of, with no one wanting to go back to the likes of Poison and Motley Crue when they could jam out to songs like Welcome to the Jungle. When the hype started rolling for the next album, we got word that the next GNR album was going to be a double album, and so began the most bloated experience in rock and roll.
Compared to how punchy their debut was, both Illusion records feel like they’re trying to be the be all and end all for what Guns N Roses stood for, taking the basic punk/hard rock sound and bringing in pianos and synths to make everything sound larger than life. Though some songs like November Rain go over insanely well, you can also see the cracks forming in the studio for this iteration of the band, with classic rock jams like Double Talkin Jive and The Garden competing with Axl’s weird agendas like Breakdown and calling out different music journalists on Get In The Ring.
It’s not like the tension stopped on tour either, going on one of the biggest rock and roll road shows imaginable and undercut with Axl leaving shows, riots in the stands, and Izzy Stradlin quitting halfway through after not being able to put up with Axl’s antics. Appetite may have been a snapshot of the World’s Most Dangerous Band, but the Illusion records are that same band heading towards a brick wall as fast as possible.