Appetite for Destruction

Artist: Guns N’ Roses

            Although initial sales were slow, MTV airplay of “Welcome to the Jungle” nearly a year after its July 1987 release would propel Appetite for Destruction to become the bestselling debut album of all time. It would go on to reach the number one position on Billboard charts. Featuring five singles, “It’s So Easy,” “Sweet Child O' Mine,” “Welcome to the Jungle,” “Nightrain,” and “Paradise City,” Guns N’ Roses would ride on the wave of success created by this album through the early nineties.

            The initial pressing featured album artwork depicting a surrealist scene in which a dagger-toothed monster vengefully attacks a robot rapist who stands over his half-clothed victim. However, several large record stores refused to handle the album purely because of its grotesque cover, and so the label changed it to the now familiar cross with all five members’ faces. 

            Additionally, vinyl and cassette copies of the album are labeled “G” and “R” in place of conventional “A” and “B” side denotations. All of the songs on the “G,” or guns, side deal with drugs and hard life in the big city, and those on the opposite “R,” or roses, side deal with love, sex, and relationships.

            As Appetite for Destruction gained in popularity, the band began headlining larger and larger concerts in support of the record. They were invited to play at the renowned Monsters of Rock Festival at Castle Donington in England. Shortly after the band began their set, the crowd rushed forward, and despite singer Axl Rose’s requests for the crowd to move back, two fans were trampled to death. Subsequent media coverage of the incident incorrectly placed blame on the group, earning them the reputation of being “the world's most dangerous band.”

            The band’s “bad-boy” image was furthered by frequent public appearances made by intoxicated members; including at the 1990 American Music Awards, where Slash (lead guitar) and Duff McKagan (bass) accepted their awards while visibly intoxicated using repeated obscenities on the nationally televised broadcast.

            Despite all of the personal problems surrounding Guns N’ Roses, Appetite for Destruction remains one of the best, and most solid hard-rock records ever pressed, and has sold in excess of 28 million copies worldwide.

Rating: 5/5