Album Anniversary – Appetite for Destruction by Guns n’ Roses

Album: Appetite for Destruction

Artist: Guns N’ Roses

Release Date: July 21, 1987

This week we are celebrating the 30th anniversary of the album Appetite for Destruction, the debut album from American rock band Guns N’ Roses.  The album has gone on to be one of the highest selling albums of all time, selling approximately 30 million copies.

Appetite for Destruction took a lot of effort from the band due to Axl Rose insisting he recorded the vocals for each song one line at a time.  Slash and producer Mike Clink would often work 18 hour days at the studio in search of the perfect mix for the album.  After trying out many different guitar and amp combinations, Slash finally decided to choose a Gibson Les Paul plugged into a Marshall amp.  This lead to the signature guitar sounds in “Welcome to the Jungle” and “Sweet Child o’ Mine”.  

The original artwork for the album was based off the Robert Williams’ painting Appetite for Destruction, but was changed due to the sexually explicit nature of the art.  It was replaced with a celtic cross and five skulls with each skull representing each band member.  Billy White Jr, the designer for the cover stated, “The cross and skulls that looked like the band was Axl’s idea, the rest was me. The knot work in the cross was a reference to Thin Lizzy, a band Axl and I both loved.”

Guns n’ Roses will be performing at New Era Field on August 16 during their North American Tour.  Tickets can be found on their website.

Track Listing:

-Mark Goodwin, Music Correspondent