Well that escalated quickly. One week after Axl Rose called his bandmate a liar during an interview, in reference to Slash's recounting of some events in his 2008 autobiography, the iconic guitarist has once again left the legendary L.A. rockers. When Axl reunited with Slash and Duff in 2016, we speculated that the arrangement would implode within weeks and we were glad to be proven wrong for so long. Unfortunately, it seems that some things were too good to be true...
What this means for the future of Guns N' Roses is uncertain at this point. They've committed to completing their world tour, including the Power Trip Festival that was just announced two days ago, and the London Hyde Park date with The Darkness and The Prestenders, but anything after that is up in the air. Will the band simply fold? Or carry on with rotating members, like it did between 2001 and 2016? What does that mean for Duff? So many questions right now...
UPDATE!
A laconic blurb release on the GN'R website reads simply:
"Due to internal matters, Slash will not be joining Guns N' Roses on their upcoming tour. A replacement will be announced shortly. Disappointed fans can get a refund from point of purchase.
Peace, Gn'F'nR's"
On his twitter account, Slash published this now-deleted message:
"It was good while it lasted. Some things never change. Fuck it! Catch you all down the road."
NEW UPDATE!
Derek Trucks has been named Guns N' Roses replacement guitarist for the upcoming tour. Of course, this means that all Tedeschi Trucks Band engagements are cancelled... While Derek Trucks is one of the most talented guitarists of the last 25 years (and one of our personal favorites), this is a little out of left field. Is Trucks really meant to reproduce another player's parts? Or will he be putting his own stamp on the material, perhaps play a lot more slide guitar than required? This is an interesting proposition...