Heavy Metal/Hard Rock: “Appetite For Destruction” by Guns N’ Roses (1987)

“Appetite For Destruction” was Guns N’ Roses’ debut album, and it is the best-selling American debut album with over 30 million copies sold. What I don’t understand is why it is so popular. While it does have three of their most famous songs on it, the rest of the songs on the album are all so similar that I was bored by the end.

The songs “Welcome To The Jungle,” “Paradise City,” and “Sweet Child O’ Mine” are the most popular songs on the album and stand out the most from the other songs, with the exception of “My Michelle.” However, although “My Michelle” starts differently, by the end, it sounds just like every other track on this album.

All of the songs feature the same three elements: Axl Rose’s often screechy vocals, Slash’s heavily distorted guitar sound, and a driving rhythm. Although these elements sound similar on every track, it is interesting to note that the band uses the vocals and guitar solos like Led Zeppelin does; they both seem to have an equal presence in the songs and often have a conversation, of sorts, throughout the songs.

Guns N’ Roses is the epitome of “sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll” and they don’t fail to live up to that stereotype as a heavy metal band on this album. If their songs aren’t about sex (which most of them are), then they are about drugs or alcohol, or sometimes the rock star lifestyle. However, I didn’t need twelve songs to illustrate that image for me. Four or five would’ve sufficed.

Overall, the album seemed to fall short for me, leaving me bored and falling short of my high expectations. I did enjoy a few of the songs on the album, but rest failed to excite me.