What 'Appetite for Destruction' Means to Me

Twenty-five years ago, Appetite For Destruction was released. Of course I have to write something about that. Something like ”It’s the best album ever made.” But where do I start? I have no clue. Why is it the world’s greatest album, according to me? No idea either.

But then I realized: Appetite is the reason why I listen to rock at all! I know that for some people, the release of Appetite For Destruction marks the beginning of the end for Glam. But apparently that’s not the whole truth. Without Guns N’ Roses there wouldn’t be any Mötley Crüe, Skid Row or Van Halen in my life. No Aerosmith, no Kiss, no nothing. So to answer my own question – Appetite For Destruction is the best album ever made simply because it opened the door to every other great album ever made. At least for me, and I will always be grateful.

And then there is of course the inevitable fact that the album is truly amazing. I could go on and on about that too. How Slash tells the story of how the songs ”Almost wrote themselves.” How producer Mike Clink, the brilliant mind, let Guns N’ Roses be Guns N’ Roses in the studio and nobody else. How the record went on the be one of the most successful and best-selling debut albums of all time. But you probably know that already. And you also know the result. Flawless, if you ask me.

So instead of going on and on about just how great I think the record is, I’ll try to sum it up real quick: If I could listen to only one album for the rest of my life, it would probably be Appetite. And if I could choose only one concert that I would get to see, it would be Guns N’ Roses live at The Ritz in New York, February 1988, performing almost the entire album.

It kills me to know that I will never be able to see the original lineup. The Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame spectacle proved that pretty clear. But maybe that’s the reason why this anniversary really calls for a celebration? When today the drama never seems to end (banning t-shirts, come on!) it’s nice to remember what Guns N’ Roses once were and sounded like. And even though I wasn’t born until two years after its release, that debut album changed my life. And 25 years later, I still can’t get enough of it.