2007.04.11 - Kerrang! - Liberty, Equality, Fraternity (Duff)

LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY

Velvet Revolver - the rock n' roll supergroup featuring ex-Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash, bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Matt Sorum as well as ex-Stone Temple pilots frontman Scott Weiland and former Wasted Youth guitarist Dave Kushner - have just completed work on the follow up to 2004's 2.9 million selling 'Contraband'. The new album is tentatively titled 'Libertad' and is due for release in June.

Drawing on the experiences of three years on the road Velvet Revolver believe that this new record will be their strongest material to date. Speaking to Kerrang! bassist Duff McKagan explains how VR's much publicised personal struggles took their toll on the band and how, even with the best intentions, heavy metal never goes entirely to plan... "We went through a lot of crap the last year and a half," says the bassist candidly. "We'd been touring for 15 months, Matt had broken his hand and we were at each others throats because we were so tired. Then when you add in the pressures of being in the public light its going to get [to] you," he explains. "When we finally got done touring we didn't want to see each other." Taking a much needed few months break from each others company, and from a band that McKagan openly admits has "a lot of ego" within it, the members went their separate ways. However when the group finally reconvened co-operation was more of a struggle than they imagined.

"It was really, really tough getting us back together into a place where our headspace was right to be able to start a new record," says the bassist. "We were all pretty fragmented, writing off in different camps but what we do best is write together. It took us a while to get back to where we were feeling good, and we finally got that back last July and August." It was at this point in the records story that the group were approached by legendary metal producer Rick Rubin. Rubin expressed a strong interest in working with the five-piece and after a few discussions the producer was let into the VR camp to start the ball rolling. However although Velvet Revolver already had 30 songs written and ready for consideration the producer told the band to head back into the rehearsal room. "We were ready to start recording but Rick just doesn't work that way," explains McKagan. "We needed to keep going forward and so we wrote some more but by this point we had 50 songs. We were like 'Y'know were gonna get back to a point where we're gonna kill each other if we're just hear writing. for our own survival we've got to get into the studio, we've got to get a record out!"

The band got in touch with producer Brenden O'Brien (Pearl Jam/Incubus/Audioslave) who Duff describes fondly as being "a very musical guy". "he put us into an area where it was just pure music, and that's what we're all really good at," the guitarist explains. "It really helped us out personally and pretty soon everything that was happening in the last year was forgotten and I think we made sort of a silent pact to let everything in the past go and move forward. It's been an amazing experience."

Although the title of the record 'Libertad' (meaning freedom) actually comes from a Mexican t-shirt that Duff was spotted wearing a year ago, the bassist now believes that the band has grown into the meaning behind it. "If we'd come up with the title during the making of the record it would still have made perfect sense," he reveals. "There was all this shit and we got through it. Now it's [the album] beyond what I'd hoped for in terms of songs and performances." "We've grown into Velvet Revolver," the bassist believes. "We've now got used to the chemistry of this band. I think 'Contraband' was a great indicator of who we were at that time but now we're not afraid to bring in something different. I am really happy with the record."

Velvet Revolver now have 18 tracks ready to be mixed, 13 of which will go on the final album. Once those last stages have been completed the group will do a South American tour, followed by a string of US dates in May and then over to Europe for 17 shows, including a performance at the K1 sponsored Download festival. "The UK's a special place for this band," says Duff. "It really grabbed onto this band at the beginning and its a great feeling for me to come to the UK. Its definitely like a second home. Also Download is a good festival for us. The last time we played there was [2005] with Black Sabbath and it was an Ozzfest sort of audience with a bunch of guys with black shirts on crossing their arms. Our own audience is mainly people coming to get fucked up, get in a fight or whatever and listen to rock n' roll! It'll be great!"