In the dynamic landscape of the 1980s music scene, Guns N’ Roses emerged as a force of nature, hurtling down the track like an unstoppable freight train. Beyond their explosive performances on the Sunset Strip, reminiscent of the energy exuded by Van Halen, the band’s off-stage escapades were equally as intense, with each member diving headlong into their vices while on the road. Amidst the chaos and mayhem, Guns N’ Roses poured their perfection into their records, leaving an indelible mark on the era.
During the creation of their initial demos, the band aimed for a raw and untamed sound, distinct from the prevailing rock scene. Slash, driven by the spirit of blues rock that fueled his musical passion, relentlessly pursued his signature guitar sound for “Appetite for Destruction.” This quest reached an iconic moment when frustrated, he thrust one of his guitars through the van’s windshield, neck first.
However, the acquisition of a sunburst Les Paul proved to be the catalyst that propelled Slash to capture the essence he sought, leading to the rapid creation of songs like ‘Paradise City’ and ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ in a matter of days.
Despite the challenges in the studio, the band’s debut album materialized swiftly, with ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ emerging from a jam session in less than half an hour. As the band’s singles hit the airwaves, a cultural shift occurred, with audiences abandoning the sound of hair bands in favor of something more rebellious. Although their debut stood as a classic rock landmark, the band faced a daunting task in surpassing its success.
Eager to surpass their previous achievements, frontman Axl Rose envisioned a grandiose project that eventually burgeoned into the double-album experience known as “Use Your Illusion.” As the band’s sound evolved beyond street-level hard rock, Slash believed he had crafted one of his defining compositions at the end of the first disc.
Amidst the extravagance of colossal ballads like ‘November Rain,’ ‘Coma’ brought the first side of “Use Your Illusion” to a compelling close, spanning over ten minutes with a looping chord progression. While Rose later added his signature touch, Slash considered the song one of his proudest performances.
Reflecting on the band’s catalog, Slash singled out ‘Coma’ as a personal favorite, stating, “That’s a song that I’m still proud of. There’s not a lot of ‘technique’ – it’s a pretty straight-up kinda Slash approach. But the thing that’s really interesting was the vamp-out, which was this circular rotating chord progression that never ended: the same chord progression every time, but it just kept changing key. That was my mathematical musical discovery.”
Leveraging this warped chord progression, Rose penned lyrics inspired by a near-death experience during an overdose, even incorporating snippets of spoken word from the doctors who aided in his revival into the song’s outro. While Slash took pride in witnessing one of his musical brainchildren etched onto vinyl, the dark subject matter could have served as an ominous foreshadowing of the challenges that lay ahead for the band.