Velvet Revolver
Velvet Revolver was an American hard rock supergroup consisting of Guns N' Roses members Slash (lead guitar), Duff McKagan (bass, backing vocals) and Matt Sorum (drums, backing vocals), alongside Dave Kushner (rhythm guitar) formerly of punk band Wasted Youth, and Scott Weiland (lead vocalist) formerly of Stone Temple Pilots. The band formed in 2002 and was active until 2008, when Weiland left the band abruptly to rejoin Stone Temple Pilots.
Velvet Revolver
In 2004, the band achieved commercial success with their debut album, Contraband. Despite positive reviews, some critics initially described Velvet Revolver as a mere combination of Stone Temple Pilots and Guns N' Roses, and criticized them for a "disconnection" between Weiland and the rest of the band. With their single "Slither", they won the 2005 Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance. The band released Libertad in 2007, driven by the release of the single "She Builds Quick Machines", and embarked on a tour with Alice in Chains.
In April 2008, Weiland was fired from Velvet Revolver and reunited with Stone Temple Pilots. Velvet Revolver was put on indefinite hiatus and in November of that year, requested to be released by their record label RCA Records to allow themselves "complete freedom to go through whatever process it would take to accomplish" replacing Weiland.
Although Velvet Revolver worked on new material and auditioned new singers following Scott Weiland's departure, the band has not released any new material and only performed publicly once since 2008, when they reunited with Weiland for a one-off reunion show on January 12, 2012, at a benefit concert. This proved to be their last performance together before Weiland's death on December 3, 2015. Slash and McKagan rejoined Guns N' Roses in 2016.
History[edit]
Foundations (2001–2002)[edit]
Slash, Duff McKagan, and Matt Sorum were members of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses. However, disagreements with singer Axl Rose resulted in Slash leaving the band in 1996 and McKagan departing in 1997 shortly before Sorum was fired.[1] Following their departures the trio focused on separate projects, with Slash reforming Slash's Snakepit[2] and McKagan reforming 10 Minute Warning[3][4] as well as recording his second solo album,[3] while Sorum rejoined the Cult.[5]
By 2001, Slash's Snakepit had disbanded for the second time.[6] Slash began working with the Black Crowes drummer Steve Gorman and an unnamed bassist on a new project:[7] writing the music for what would become "Fall to Pieces".[8] McKagan reformed Loaded,[9] previously his band for the tour in support of Beautiful Disease,[10] with Geoff Reading. McKagan also added both Mike Squires and Jeff Rouse to the lineup.[11] Following a tour of Japan in 2002,[12] former Zilch, Wasted Youth, Electric Love Hogs, and Dave Navarro guitarist Dave Kushner joined Loaded in place of Mike Squires.[13]
Formation (2002–2003)[edit]
When musician Randy Castillo died from cancer in 2002, Slash, McKagan, and Sorum performed at a benefit concert to raise money and commemorate Castillo,[14][15] with Josh Todd and Keith Nelson of Buckcherry as well as B-Real and Sen Dog of Cypress Hill.[16] Recognizing that their musical relationship was still intact,[17] the trio began rehearsing with Todd[17] and Nelson, working on material that would become "Dirty Little Thing",[18] but eventually decided against forming a group with them.[19][20] During a Loaded show at West Hollywood's Viper Room,[20] McKagan re-introduced Dave Kushner to Slash, who were previously friends in junior high and high school.[13][21] Kushner was invited to jam with the group and was soon invited to join with Slash, stating that "Dave brought a cool vibe to what [they] were doing. There was no deliberation; that was it, it was a perfect fit."[21] Their former Guns N' Roses bandmate Izzy Stradlin also joined them for two weeks,[22] eventually suggesting that "Duff and [Stradlin] will sing and [they] will just do a club tour in a van." Slash states in his autobiography that it was hard to tell if Stradlin was serious or kidding.[23] After auditioning Kelly Shaefer of Atheist and Neurotica,[17] Stradlin left the group.[23]
Musical style[edit]
Velvet Revolver's first album, Contraband, was described by Johnny Loftus of AllMusic as an "updated version of Guns N' Roses swagger behind Scott Weiland's glammy, elastic vocals."[47] David Browne of Entertainment Weekly stated that "[a]nyone expecting Use Your Illusion III, though, will be in for a slight buzzkill" and that "[t]he songs suggest the pop grunge of Weiland's old band more than the careening overdrive of GN'R."[53] A number of reviewers made some comparisons to the members' previous bands,[113][114] with PopMatters reviewer David Powell stating that "Contraband is a pretty good record of unpretentious rock and roll that suffers from inevitable comparison with the best efforts of its parent bands." He went on to state that while Velvet Revolver's "heritage is evident on most of the songs", Contraband "improves with repeat listening, which is encouraging."[115] Velvet Revolver's second album, Libertad, saw the band's style change with the presence of producer Brendan O'Brien, noted by AllMusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine.[66] Erlewine also stated that "too often, there are concessions between Weiland and the others during the course of a song."[66] Tom Sinclair of Entertainment Weekly stated that Libertad "feels both comfortingly familiar and vaguely exotic."[68] Songs such as "Let it Roll" and "She Mine" have seen some comparisons to the Doors, the Rolling Stones and the Stooges, as noted by San Francisco Chronicle reviewer Jaan Uhelszki.[70] The New York Post commented that "Slash's guitar riffs throughout this new record are as aggressive as a caged cat" and "singer Scott Weiland's vocals are crisp and controlled yet passionate."[69]
Awards and nominations
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