For years, talk of a new Guns N’ Roses album has been almost an endurance sport for fans. Now, for the first time in a long time, the promise sounds concrete. Slash has confirmed that the **next major Guns N’ Roses release will be an album composed entirely of original material, something that hasn’t happened since the long-ago Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II.
The guitarist explained this in a recent interview with Las Vegas radio station KOMP 92.3, in which he hinted that the band might be working on two parallel projects: on the one hand, a definitive compilation of re-recorded old songs and, on the other hand, the long-awaited new album that would mark a new creative stage for the group.
From the archive to the future: two open roads
Slash explained that the band’s latest singles– “Atlas” and “Nothin'”, released in December – are part of that “archive-cleansing” process. They are songs born from Axl Rose‘s old ideas, which Slash and Duff McKagan have given new life to by re-recording guitars and basses from scratch.
According to the guitarist, this cycle is coming to an end:
“There’s no more old material left to remake. The idea is to put all those songs together and release them as a package. Then the next album will be all new, all original. A real album.
The statement is not minor: it would be the first Guns N’ Roses LP with Slash and Duff since the early ’90s and, at the same time, the true spiritual successor to Chinese Democracy, an album marked by legendary delays and a chaotic gestation.
A slow… but conscious process
Slash was also honest about the pace of the band. The recording sessions have stretched out over long periods, something that, far from frustrating him, has allowed him to think through each part calmly. “It’s fun to get back in the studio like this,” he explained, acknowledging that the unpredictable nature of Guns N’ Roses makes it impossible to set rigid schedules.
It is not the first time that the guitarist fuels this expectation. Already in 2021 he admitted that, after years of reunion, the band had not yet started writing completely new material. More recently, in statements to Guitar Player, he acknowledged that the main challenge is not the lack of songs, but to sit down and finish them:
“There’s a lot of material. It all comes down to having the discipline to dive right in.”
The new products will also be played live
While the album simmers, Slash confirmed that “Atlas” and “Nothin'” will be part of Guns N’ Roses’ 2026 world tour repertoire, a way to integrate past and present as the future takes shape.
After more than three decades of history, endless silences and improbable comebacks, Guns N’ Roses is once again promising something that seemed unattainable: a real new album. This time, with Slash making it clear that these are not reissues or patches, but songs designed to mark a new chapter.
