It may seem hard to believe, but there was in fact a time at which hard rock and heavy metal ruled the charts. In the late '80s Guns N' Roses were the reigning kings of the Jack-Daniels-and-electric-guitar set, bringing their own blend of raw intensity and emotive songwriting to the genre. With the release of "Appetite for Destruction" in 1987, GNR realized rock star status, despite detractors who found their crude lyrics and hard-edged style none too easy to Following the initial success of the "Sweet Child O' Mine" video, Guns N' Roses made marked strides in redefining the hairsprayed histrionics of heavy metal.
"Appetite" is nothing short of a seminal effort that injected some much needed grit into the coiffed hedonism of their hard rock predecessors. The subsequent double album "Use Your Illusion I and II" was critically well-received and saw orchestral arrangements and ambition in spades. Alas, GNR could not escape the fast lifestyle that had long characterized the genre.
Drug use and skirmishes led to a number of lineup changes over the years and the band faded into obscurity as alternative rock gained strong footholds on the charts in the early '90s. Though the band's original members now include only front man Axl Rose, a long-awaited recorded return of Guns N' Roses has been talked about for years yet never emerged.
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