Stephen Thomas Erlewine (All Music Guide)

Guns N' Roses' debut Appetite for Destruction was a turning point for hard rock in the late '80s — it was a dirty, dangerous, and mean record in a time when heavy metal meant nothing but a good time. On the surface, Guns N' Roses may appear to celebrate the same things as their peers — namely, sex, liquor, drugs, and rock & roll — but there is a nasty edge to their songs, since Axl Rose doesn't see much fun in the urban sprawl of L.A. and its parade of heavy metal thugs, cheap women, booze, and crime. The music is as nasty as the lyrics, wallowing in a bluesy, metallic hard rock borrowed from Aerosmith, AC/DC, and countless faceless hard rock bands of the early '80s. It's a primal, sleazy sound that adds grit to already grim tales. It also makes Rose's misogyny, fear, and anger hard to dismiss as merely an artistic statment, this is music that sounds lived-in. And that's exactly why Appetite for Destruction is such a powerful record — not only does Axl have fears, but he also is vulnerable, particularly on the power-ballad "Sweet Child O' Mine." He also has a talent for conveying the fears and horrors of the decaying inner city, whether it's on the charging "Welcome to the Jungle," the heroin ode "Mr. Brownstone," or "Paradise City," which simply wants out. But as good as Axl's lyrics and screeching voice are, they wouldn't be nearly as effective without the twin-guitar interplay of Slash and Izzy Stradlin, who spit out riffs and solos better than any band since the Rolling Stones, and that's what makes Appetite for Destruction the best metal record of the late '80s.

Rickey Wright (Amazon.com)

A glimpse of the future, and not because of its huge influence and umpteen million sales. The poor-little-rich-boy protest "Out ta Get Me" intimates that Axl Rose's egotism and martyr complex were soon to grow bigger than his head; still, Appetite's night-train wreck of punk and metal sounds and sensibilities make it more than just an emblem of its time. Whether GN'R are dancing with Mr. Brownstone, penning a callow kiss-off letter to some chick named Michelle, or passing out on somebody else's sofa, this was and remains a savage journey to the heart of the American--or at least the Hollywood--dream.

(CD Universe)

Guns N' Roses: W. Axl Rose (vocals, synthesizer, percussion); Slash (acoustic & electric guitars); Izzy Stradlin' (guitar, background vocals, percussion); Duff "Rose" McKagan (bass, background vocals); Steven Adler (drums).
Recorded at Rumbo Studios, Canoga Park, California; Take One Studio, Burbank, California; Can Am Studio, Tarzana, California.

Already a legend in its own meagre lifetime, this startling debut shrouded itself in controversy, from its original Robert Williams artwork to Axl Rose's unblinking accounts of LA's underbelly. This mawkish storytelling, combined with a brattish collective swagger and a surprisingly mature approach to their songs, guaranteed Guns N'Roses a speedy notoriety that was to serve their legend brilliantly. From the laconic "Paradise City" to the achingly beautiful "Sweet Child O' Mine," or the furious "Welcome To The Jungle," the record brims with a brutal integrity. An album they could never surpass even if they had stayed together.

(CMJ New Music Report, Issue 123, July 31, 1987)

The hype emanating from Geffen's Sunset Blvd. digs is oppressive: "Guns N' Roses were the missing link between the sassiness of the Stones and early Aerosmith, the trashiness of the NY Dolls, and the danger and challenge the Sex Pistols had posed," the letter says. Bullshit, says us. Also says us: Guns N' Roses rocks hard, and Guns N' Roses rocks good. Very, very good. This is pure California hard rock, which means that there are tastes of all the above-mentioned bands (and Zeppelin and Bowie and Bolan and...), but no more so than, say, Motley Crue or Poison has. What separates Guns N' Roses from the pack is simply that they're better than the others, and seem to have more long-term potential-perhaps even enough to overcome the instinct to self-parody that enveloped the Crue and Poison as they hurtled over platinum. Appetite For Destruction will undoubtedly join those two bands at the platinum plateau (most likely, more sooner than later), but unlike those two, when it's over we'll want to hear more. We already do. Top cuts: "My Michelle," "Paradise City," "Think About you," "Night Train," "Child Of Mine" and "Anything Goes."

Simon P. Ward (DOT Music)

It starts as it means to go on - jagged, menacing chords acting like a clarion call to the disaffected, unwashed masses. 'Welcome To The Jungle', indeed, where your guide is one W. Axl Rose and his ragged ensemble of street ruffians. When Rose screams "You're gonna die" you know he's been there, seen it, and just about survived to tell the tale.

Second track 'It's So Easy' is Rose as all-conquering jungle master, lord of the streets. And when he sneers "I see you standing there/You think you're so cool/Why don't you just fuck off", before speeding off in a squeal of mangled fretboard, you know there's gonna be trouble.

And there is - heroin in the case of 'Mr Brownstone', the establishment in 'Out Ta Get Me'. The anthemic 'Paradise City', by contrast, is almost sedate - a classic ol' American rocker in the mould of Aerosmith, but still with a seedy undercurrent, Rose this time is the "urchin livin' under the street/I'm a hard case that's tough to beat".

The near throwaways 'My Michelle' and 'Think About You' are redeemed by virtue of the band's unflagging energy, while 'Sweet Child O' Mine' is nothing less than a love song with one of the all-time great rock guitar lines at the start.

It's back down to paranoia central as 'You're Crazy' recounts the tale of a disenfranchised relationship boiling over. By contrast, 'Anything Goes' portrays the free'n'easy life of the Sunset Strip - "My way, your way, anything goes tonight".

Closing track 'Rocket Queen' manages to cap this remarkable record by distilling all the themes of the album in one lengthy song. Sleaze, regret, the longing for that better day, it's all there. When Rose sings "Don't ever leave me/Say you'll always be there" it shows that this band can rock and shock but still evoke genuine emotions.

An album that set an awesome precedent that still hangs over them today. Yet one of the best debuts of all time.

(Rolling Stone, issue 541/542)

There is nothing like success in the face of extreme prejudice, and no other band this year, metal or otherwise, mocked the music establishment's utter lack of street cred and woeful misreading of fan psychology as well as Metallica and Guns n' Roses. . . "And Justice For All" went platinum within day of release, with virtually no commercial airplay. And while AOR pooh-bahs hemmed and hawed about putting "Sweet Child o' Mine" in rotation, Guns n' Roses T-shirts outnumbered Springsteen and Bon Jovi shirts at least two to one on Jersey boardwalks this summer. Programmers slept, critics yawned, but the kids voted with their allowances in the only interesting electing this year.

Some Metallica freaks complained that "Justice," even at nine tracks clocking in over sixty-five minutes, wasn't enough of a good thing - too much art, not enough aargh! But the fury of Metallica's speed 'n' slam is compounded by the complexity of the band's attack. And while most other metal bands were out there raving about the devil and their dicks, Metallic singer-lyricist James Hetfield addressed censorship ("The Shortest Straw"), our dying planet ("Dyers Eve") with the imagination the music demanded.


The Guns' appetite for sex and violence bears all the hallmarks of "Stick Fingers," Stones and mid-Seventies Aerosmith, jacked up with punk raunch that makes "Welcome to the Jungle" and "Out Ta Get Me" sound like the work of a late-model New York Dolls. A couple of songs like "Mr. Brownstone," have more attitude than ammo going for them, but the band's way with a good melody ("Sweet Child o' Mine") and the power they put in the posture of "It's So Easy" and "You're Crazy" are proof aplenty that they didn't hit the platinum bull's-eye by accident.