The General

ludurigan wrote:So is it one song or two?

Did they play both songs/parts or just the "General" song/part?

The Monsters song/part is quite listenable

It is two songs, and they only played The Monster. We don't really know why it is listed as The General and Monsters. I guess we will find out in December.

Soulmonster wrote:

ludurigan wrote:So is it one song or two?

Did they play both songs/parts or just the "General" song/part?

The Monsters song/part is quite listenable

It is two songs, and they only played The Monster. We don't really know why it is listed as The General and Monsters. I guess we will find out in December.

Thanks!

But I am a bit confused here now

I just saw a clip where Axl says "this is called The General"



So did they play "Monster"? Or "General"?

ludurigan wrote:

Soulmonster wrote:

ludurigan wrote:So is it one song or two?

Did they play both songs/parts or just the "General" song/part?

The Monsters song/part is quite listenable

It is two songs, and they only played The Monster. We don't really know why it is listed as The General and Monsters. I guess we will find out in December.

Thanks!

But I am a bit confused here now

I just saw a clip where Axl says "this is called The General"



So did they play "Monster"? Or "General"?

They played The General. Monsters is a different song. On the forthcoming release these two separate, individual songs might be connected somehow (hence why it is listed as The General and Monsters in a database).

ludurigan wrote:So is it one song or two?

Did they play both songs/parts or just the "General" song/part?

The Monsters song/part is quite listenable

It's two songs that must be somehow connected as they have been registered together and also leaked together. A theory is that they are (or were) going to be released together maybe with Monsters as a hidden track.

These look to be the correct lyrics of the chorus:

My only regret
Is that I never took the time to forget
All those unspoken feelings
That were never spared
At those who understand
Love deserves respect
And not disordered meaning

"Live Like A Suicide" at mygnrforum deciphered them from this live performance where Axl's vocals can be heard more clearly:

The 7-inch vinyl has also shipped.

That's good news

Must be an older mix/production then since Caram did it. What's the Haggard connection again? Friend of Brain?

Soulmonster wrote:Must be an older mix/production then since Caram did it. What's the Haggard connection again? Friend of Brain?

Yes, the mix must be from 2-3 years ago and Marc "Mirv" Haggard is Brain's friend - one of his two friends who he co-wrote The General (and Seven) with.

Updated the lyrics with the official lyrics from Apple Music.

Press release:
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LOS ANGELES, CA December 8, 2023-- Today, Guns N’ Roses debuted their new single titled, “The General” via Geffen Records.

LISTEN HERE: https://gunsnroses.lnk.to/TheGeneralPresave

“The General” stands out as the band’s second release of 2023, following their summer single “Perhaps”. Guns N’ Roses initially debuted “The General” to a sold-out hometown audience during their two-night stand at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, CA. Since then, fans have anxiously awaited the official arrival of “The General.”

Last month, Guns N’ Roses concluded their blockbuster 2023 world tour, which sold 1.3 million tickets around the world. The tour marked the band’s largest run to date and consisted of acclaimed performances across European stadiums and arenas. Their run included headlining festivals including Glastonbury and London’s Hyde Park. The band’s North American leg included sold-out performances at historic venues such as the Hollywood Bowl and MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, as well as a co-headlining performance at Power Trip in Indio with AC/DC & Metallica.

Around the world, the band’s shows have only gotten bigger and bolder. The group’s now-legendary three-hour-plus sets have evolved with sought-after fan favorites in addition to newly dusted-off gems from their back catalog, leaving ardent audiences in awe.

ABOUT GUNS N’ ROSES

Embedded in popular culture, Guns N’ Roses’ landmark diamond-selling 1987 opus, Appetite For Destruction, stands out as “the best-selling U.S. debut album ever” and “the 11th best-selling U.S. album of all time.” Following its release, Guns N’ Roses shook the world with the one-two punch of the over 7x-platinum Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II, clinching the top two spots on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums chart upon arrival. With total sales of 100 million units thus far, their catalog also consists of G N’ R Lies (5x-platinum), The Spaghetti Incident? (platinum), Greatest Hits (5x-platinum), and Chinese Democracy (over 6 million worldwide). Not to mention, they are one of the most-streamed rock bands in the world with an average of 27 million monthly listeners on Spotify. The band’s Not In This Lifetime… Tour ranked as the “fourth-highest grossing concert tour of all time,” selling 5 million-plus tickets and included a headline performance at Coachella. Guns N’ Roses never stop with more touring on the horizon and other surprises—the “Nightrain” keeps rolling at full speed.

Guns N’ Roses are Axl Rose (vocals, keyboards), Duff McKagan (bass), Slash (lead guitar), Dizzy Reed (keyboard), Richard Fortus (rhythm guitar), Frank Ferrer (drums), and Melissa Reese (keyboard).

Review in Louder/Classic Rock:
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Guns N' Roses release anguished yet epic new recording of The General

By Fraser Lewry

Last month Guns N' Roses surprised fans at their Los Angeles by casually dropping a previously unreleased song, The General, into their set. While the tune originally dates from from the band's Chinese Democracy sessions, it's now been released onto streaming platforms as a new studio track, having been recorded, mixed and mastered this summer.

The General is also available as a physical release, occupying the b-side of the limited edition Guns N' Roses single Perhaps, which is also released today. The pairing will also be available as a Japan-only SHM-CD, which is due for release next month.

The chorus of The General, a slow-burner that features one of Axl Rose's more anguished vocals, opens with the lines, "My only regret is that I never took the time to forgive all those unspoken feelings" while the pre-chorus finds a him singing, "Can anybody tell me why the pain, it just won't stop?"

The General was produced by Axl Rose, while the line-up of musicians featured on the song includes original members Duff McKagan (bass) and Slash (guitar). The rest of the lineup includes current touring members Richard Fortis (guitar) and Dizzy Reid (keyboards), and is rounded out by guitarist Marc Haggard, keyboardists Chris Pitman and Caram Costanzo, and drummer Bryan Mantia. Strings are provided by Marco Beltrami.

Availability of The General on streaming platforms in timezone-dependent, so it may not be available in all territories at the time of writing.

According to former Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach, The General dates back to 2007.

“It’s by far the heaviest metal tune I think I’ve ever heard Axl do,” he told Metal Edge magazine, “This slow, grinding riff with these high, piercing vocals, screaming vocals. I was like, ‘When is this coming out?’ And he said, ‘2012’.” The following year, Bach told Rolling Stone that Rose had written The General as a sequel to the Use Your Illusion-era classic Estranged.

https://www.loudersound.com/news/guns-n-roses-the-general

Revolver Magazine:
-----------------------

Hear GUNS N' ROSES' stormy, slow-burning new song "The General"
'Chinese Democracy' rarity finally released

Guns N' Roses just spent all summer touring, and then headlined the fall festivals Aftershock and Power Trip. Now, they're closing out the year with a new song.

The hard-rock titans have released a newly recorded version of a rarity called "The General," which was initially released as the vinyl-only B-side to August's soulful single "Perhaps." GN'R played "The General" live for the first time during their recent two-night stand at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.

Like "Perhaps," the stormy, slow-burning "The General" is one of several Chinese Democracy leftovers that GN'R have rolled out over the last couple years. In 2021, they dropped "ABSUЯD" and "Hard Skool," the latter of which allegedly dates back to 1999 and was leaked in 2006 under the name "Checkmate."

As Blabbermouth notes, former Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach once heard "The General" back in the mid-2000s, and described it to Metal Edge as "by far the heaviest metal tune I think I've ever heard Axl [Rose] do. This slow, grinding riff with these high, piercing, screaming vocals."

Now, you can hear "The General" for yourself. Listen above via YouTube.

https://www.revolvermag.com/music/hear-guns-n-roses-stormy-slow-burning-new-song-general

Ultimate Classic Rock:
----------------------------

Listen to Guns N’ Roses’ Stormy New Song ‘The General’

By Bryan Rolli

Guns N' Roses have released another long-awaited new song titled "The General," roughly one month after debuting it live in Los Angeles. You can listen to it below.

The mid-tempo track is a far cry from the band's signature hard rock sound, alternating between mellow trip-hop verses and grinding, doom-laden choruses. Axl Rose's lyrics are unflinching, as the frontman sings, "My only regret / Is that I never took the time to forget / All those unspoken feelings / That were never spared."

"The General" marks the fourth song Guns N' Roses have released since Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan reunited in 2016. It follows 2021's "Absurd" and "Hard Skool" and this year's "Perhaps." Just like those songs, "The General" dates back to the long-gestating and exorbitantly expensive Chinese Democracy sessions.

The song was initially supposed to arrive in October as the vinyl B-side to "Perhaps," but the release date was delayed. The "Perhaps" / "The General" vinyl is now set to ship today.
"The General" Has Been Part of GN'R Lore for Years

Hardcore Guns N' Roses fans have known about "The General" for decades. Rose reportedly recruited composer and pianist Marco Beltrami to add orchestral arrangements to the song in 2002. It was apparently intended to appear on the third installment of a planned Chinese Democracy trilogy, which has not yet come to fruition.

Former Skid Row singer and longtime Rose friend Sebastian Bach praised the song in a 2007 Metal Edge interview. "One of my favorite songs — I asked Axl if I could mention the song titles and he said, 'Fine' — and one of my favorite songs is this song called 'The General,'" Bach said. "It's by far the heaviest metal tune I think I’ve ever heard Axl do, this slow, grinding riff with these high, piercing vocals, screaming vocals.

"I was like, 'When is this coming out?' And he said, '2012.' I was like, 'Dude, you're killin' me!' He goes, 'Well, this comes out on the third record. It relates to this song, it's a trilogy, this goes with this lyrically.' He's got it all figured out, he's just different than other people."

https://ultimateclassicrock.com/guns-n-roses-the-general-listen/

Blackstar wrote:Updated the lyrics with the official lyrics from Apple Music.

Oh well, they're not official, just taken from crowd-sourced lyric databases. I guess we'll have to wait until the release of the Japan exclusive CD single for the official lyrics.

I wonder what happened to the "heaviest metal tune", to the "slow, grinding riffs" and to the "piercing vocals".

Can't see any of that on this song

ludurigan wrote:I wonder what happened to the "heaviest metal tune", to the "slow, grinding riffs" and to the "piercing vocals".

Can't see any of that on this song

I think it fits well with the chorus. Still, who knows what has happened to the song since Sebastian Bach heard it, and who knows if he exaggerated slightly.

Soulmonster wrote:

ludurigan wrote:I wonder what happened to the "heaviest metal tune", to the "slow, grinding riffs" and to the "piercing vocals".

Can't see any of that on this song

I think it fits well with the chorus. Still, who knows what has happened to the song since Sebastian Bach heard it, and who knows if he exaggerated slightly.

I am pretty sure he did!

Funny thing is that this kind of comment "oh it is the greatest thing ever etc" usually ends up working against the subject because it creates expectations and those are usually never fulfilled.

ludurigan wrote:

Soulmonster wrote:

ludurigan wrote:I wonder what happened to the "heaviest metal tune", to the "slow, grinding riffs" and to the "piercing vocals".

Can't see any of that on this song

I think it fits well with the chorus. Still, who knows what has happened to the song since Sebastian Bach heard it, and who knows if he exaggerated slightly.

I am pretty sure he did!  

Funny thing is that this kind of comment "oh it is the greatest thing ever etc" usually  ends up working against the subject because it creates expectations and those are usually never fulfilled.

Spot on!

Seems like a video is in the works for The General, to be released on January 24th:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2Tz8IfAhjj/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D

I am really happy Axl wanted a video for this song. I feared he had become more indifferent to it since it was released "only" as a B side, but obviously they wanted to make a proper video here. I wonder to what extent Axl has been involved in the storyline or imagery. Some obvious themes are innocence, children, decay, I guess all being topical to the lyrics.

From the studio that made the video:

creativeworkslondon

11m
**New Release from Guns N' Roses: "The General" Music Video**

Guns N' Roses have unveiled a new music video for their single "The General." This release marks a significant milestone for the band, as it introduces a pioneering use of AI in their video production.

The video masterfully combines live footage, motion graphics, hand-drawn elements, and AI-rendered content, offering an immersive, A.I.-infused visual experience.

It features a narrative that explores the subconscious of a young boy confronting his dark childhood memories, seamlessly blending different visual worlds. This approach continues Guns N' Roses' tradition of delivering bold and innovative visuals.

The project was brought to life in collaboration with London based Creative Works, and led by Creative Director and Co-Founder Dan Potter, the concert visuals director for Guns N' Roses.

Potter explains, "The decision to integrate AI into our storytelling process was inspired ultimately by the band management. Prior to combining the AI workflow, the team had been working on an animated cinematic in Unreal Engine. Incorporating this new AI workflow significantly impacted the project's direction and the unique visual style resulting from this blend aligns perfectly with the song's vibe. This showcases how using these new tools leads to successful collaborations between traditional and AI-driven art forms."

Link in Bio to the full music video or just check out the Guns N' Roses YouTube channel

#GunsNRoses #TheGeneral #MusicVideo #AIInnovation #AI #RockMusic #CreativeWorks #MakeItLive

And press release:

THE GENERAL

Guns N’ Roses unveiled the music video for their brand-new single, The General. The cinematic clip notably stands out as the band’s first-ever A.I.-powered music video.

The video for “The General” intercuts 20 live vignettes with an A.I.-animated psychedelic visual trip. Between the concert footage, it dives into the subconscious of a young boy who stares down the monsters of dark childhood memories, blurring worlds in the process. The result is unlike anything the band has done before and continues a longstanding historic tradition of bold visuals from Guns N’ Roses. To bring this vision to life, Guns N’ Roses collaborated with Dan Potter—Creative Director of London-based creative studio Creative Works. This was a collaboration between real designers and artificial designers, and the inspiration came from within the band.