The band debuted ‘The General’ in a live performance on November 2 at the Hollywood Bowl. Axl Rose introduced the track as a new song they hadn’t performed previously, hinting that it ‘could be very interesting.’ The song originated from the recording sessions for the band’s ‘Chinese Democracy’ album.
‘The General’ is the fourth song released by Guns N’ Roses since Rose, Slash, and Duff McKagan got back together in 2016. It comes after ‘Absurd’ and ‘Hard Skool’ from 2021, and ‘Perhaps‘ from this year. The song was first planned to be out in October as the vinyl B-side for ‘Perhaps,’ but it was postponed.
Former Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach has previously mentioned ‘The General.’ He said in a 2007 interview with Metal Edge magazine:
“One of my favorite songs is this song called ‘The General,’ which is so… it’s by far the heaviest metal tune I think I’ve ever heard Axl do, this slow, grinding riff with these high, piercing vocals, screaming vocals. I was like, ‘When is this coming out?’ And he said, ‘2012.’ I was like, ‘Dude, you’re killin’ me!’ He goes, ‘Well, this comes out on the third record. It relates to this song; it’s a trilogy, and this goes with this lyrically.’ He’s got it all figured out; he’s just different than other people.”
In 2021, Slash revealed that the band was revising songs from the ‘Chinese’-era for an upcoming release. He later confirmed in 2022 that they were also working on additional new songs, telling Classic Rock:
“There’s new Guns material coming out as we speak, and we’ll probably keep putting it out until the entire record’s worth of stuff is done and then put it out solid. It’s cool. I’m enjoying working on the stuff and having a good time doing it.”
Last month marked the end of Guns N’ Roses’ 2023 world tour, during which they impressively sold 1.3 million tickets over the year. As of now, they have not scheduled any shows for 2024.
Photo: Getty Images North America