Appetite for Destruction is the debut studio album by Guns N’ Roses, released by Geffen Records on July 21, 1987. It initially received little mainstream attention, and it was not until the following year that Appetite for Destruction became a commercial success, after the band had toured and received significant airplay with the singles Welcome to the Jungle, Paradise City, and Sweet Child o’ Mine. The album went on to peak at number one on the US Billboard 200, and it became the seventh best-selling album of all time in the United States, as well as the best-selling debut album. With over 30 million copies sold worldwide, it is also one of the best-selling albums globally. Although critics were originally ambivalent toward the album, Appetite for Destruction has received retrospective acclaim and been viewed as one of the greatest albums of all time. In 2018, it was re-released as a remastered box set to similar universal acclaim.
Guns N’ Roses‘ first recordings were for a planned EP in March 1985, shortly after the band formed, with Don’t Cry, a cover of Heartbreak Hotel, Think About You and Anything Goes. However, plans for the release fell through, as original guitarist Tracii Guns left the band, being replaced by Slash. Shortly afterward, the classic lineup of Axl Rose, Duff McKagan, Slash, Steven Adler, and Izzy Stradlin was finalized.
After heavy touring of the Los Angeles club scene, the group signed with Geffen Records in March 1986. In December of that year, the group released the four-song EP Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide, which was designed to keep interest in the band alive while the group withdrew from the club scene to work in the studio. The EP release was also designed to soothe the label, which believed the band did not have enough songs to record a full-length album.
The album’s original cover art was based on Robert Williams‘ painting Appetite for Destruction. It depicted a robotic rapist about to be punished by a metal avenger. After several music retailers refused to stock the album, the label compromised and put the controversial cover art inside, replacing it with an image depicting a Celtic cross and skulls representing each of the five band members (top skull: Izzy Stradlin, left skull: Steven Adler, center skull: Axl Rose, right skull: Duff McKagan, and bottom skull: Slash). In a 2016 interview, Billy White Jr., who designed the tattoo with the cross and skulls upon which the album artwork was based, explained:
“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.”
The original cover was supposed to be on the 2008 vinyl reissue of the album, though the record label replaced it with the “skulls” art at the last minute. The photographs used for the back of the album and liner notes were taken by Robert John, Marc Canter, Jack Lue, Leonard McCardie, and Greg Freeman.
The band stated the original artwork was “a symbolic social statement, with the robot representing the industrial system that’s raping and polluting our environment.” In albums which were issued on double sided media (vinyl records and audio cassettes), the two sides were labeled “G” and “R”, rather than the conventional “A” and “B”. Tracks 1–6, which compose side “G”, all deal with drugs and hard life in the big city (“Guns” side). The remaining tracks, which compose side “R”, all deal with love, sex, and relationships (“Roses” side). In an interview with That Metal Show in 2011, Rose stated his initial idea was for the cover art to be the photo of the Space Shuttle Challenger exploding that was on the cover of Time magazine in 1986, but Geffen rejected the idea, saying it was “in bad taste”.
Tracklist:
- Welcome to the Jungle
- It’s So Easy (writers: Guns N’ Roses, West Arkeen)
- Nightrain
- Out ta Get Me
- Mr. Brownstone
- Paradise City
- My Michelle
- Think About You
- Sweet Child o’ Mine
- You’re Crazy
- Anything Goes (writers: Guns N’ Roses, Chris Weber)
- Rocket Queen
Guns N’ Roses
W. Axl Rose: lead vocals, synthesizer on “Paradise City”, percussion
Slash: lead guitar, acoustic guitar, slide guitar, talk box, backing vocals
Izzy Stradlin: rhythm guitar, lead guitar, backing vocals, percussion
Duff McKagan: bass guitar, backing vocals
Steven Adler: drums
Production
Mike Clink: production, engineering
Steve Thompson: mixing
Michael Barbiero: mixing
George Marino: LP, cassette mastering
Barry Diament: CD mastering
Dave Reitzas: assistant engineer
Micajah Ryan: assistant engineer
Andy Udoff: assistant engineer
Jeff Poe: assistant engineer
Julian Stoll: assistant engineer
Victor Deyglio: assistant engineer
Adriana Smith; background vocals on “Rocket Queen” (uncredited)
Ted Jensen: boxed set mastering at Sterling Sound, New York City
Design
Robert Williams: “Appetite for Destruction” painting
Michael Hodgson: art direction and design
Robert John: photography
Jack Lue: photography
Greg Freeman: photography
Marc Canter: photography
Leonard McCardie: photography
Bill White Jr.: cross tattoo design
Andy Engell: cross tattoo redrawing
