Given that it took a decade and a half after 1993’s The Spaghetti Incident for Guns N’ Roses to come out with Chinese Democracy, it’s probably worth taking everything they say about new material with a large pinch of salt, but...Slash has been talking about new G'N'R material.
Talking to Detroit’s 101 WRIF radio station, the 53-year-old guitar legend confirmed that the band will be touring in the fall and have have been working on new material, all while explaining why he doesn’t really like talking about those things.
“The thing is, we haven't really done anything yet,” he says, “and I don't like to say anything. You know how people used to promote shit and lie through their teeth? So I just wanted to be honest about it, and so there was really no telling what we were gonna do at that point. But at this point, I do know that we are gonna do this run [of autumn gigs], and we've already started working on stuff. So, there you go.”
There you go indeed. And while Slash says he’s enthusiastic about what’s in the material, he’s less keen on the prevalence of internet culture and the assumptions it makes -- citing the photo of his guitar rig that was circulated online and all the speculation that he’d been on his way to Axl Rose’s house to start working on new G'N'R material.
“There was a rumor that I was over there, and it was before I had even been there,” he said. “So, I was, like, ‘Jesus Christ.’ And that's just a pain in the ass and annoying. But I am excited about what we've got going on and everything, so it's gonna be cool.”
Having finished their Not In This Lifetime Tour in December last year, Guns N’ Roses will play a few festival dates this summer: Louder Than Life in September and Austin City Limits and Exit 111 in October.
You can listen to the whole interview below.