USE YOUR ILLUSION I & II by Guns n Roses

Ed Seith said:

Ahh, man, what a way to end the year. Guns was the only concert I saw this year, and it was a great show, with Wolfie Van Halen opening (Wolf and his band were super-impressive).

I was late to the Hype Train (Night Train??) for Appetite, but I was all over UYI 1&2. I remember when You Could be Mine premiered on MTV with footage from the movie it would be featured in - Terminator 2: Judgment Day, one of the biggest blockbusters of the 90s. You couldn't NOT hear that amazing deep-clean thunder of Duff's bass coming in. It was like, "whoa, they used some of the money from Appetite to buy new gear, cool!"

I remember the first time I saw the Seize the Day video, with Syn taking his solo on top of the coffin, and I had no doubt who he was paying tribute to, and it was awesome.

There are so many amazing melodies all over this record, musically and vocally. It is an absolute FEAST. It sounds huge and clean, sweeping, epic, and progressive - way different from the quick and dirty Appetite, and some of the songs were so much deeper than my young brain was used to from all that hairspray metal. Progressive Blues Rock. Hoodathunkit?

14 Years is one of my favorite songs to play along to, and I've actually got a fair bit of my own version of the main solo written just by playing the song so much.

I tend to like the longer songs on these records - November Rain, Estranged, Coma, and the coda/outro on Locomotive (Complicity) is one of my favorite ever.

Civil War is the reason I saw "Cool Hand Luke" (the clip in the beginning, "What we've got here is failure to communicate..." is from the movie)

I love Matt's drum sound on this record, especially his snare, not too much or too little of any of the colors, and Axl doing a lot more experimentation with the stereo soundfield and vocal effects that I feel really influenced Shadows a lot.

This was the album that proved there was genius to Axl's insanity, but I will admit that, to me - it's overstuffed. Making it two full records was indulgent (which is kind of their calling card, I know), and I think if they'd pulled the best of both into one single album it would have been among the biggest albums of all time.

But then, who decides what's the best stuff to make that single album? In the end, looking back 30 years on it, it's cool that I can just build my own "Use Your Illusion" playlist and just call it one of the all-time greatest records.

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TreSavedge said:

I might be in the minority because I’ve heard shade tossed over this song on more than one occasion (still don’t know why) but I forgot to add:
Live and Let Die.
Great cover of the Wings song from the 1st Roger Moore Bond movie with the ragtime interlude. Impossible to cover live and sound like them.
Also shout out to “You Could be Mine” which was also on the Terminator 2 soundtrack in 91. John Connor listens to it on his dirt bike as he rebels away from his foster parents. I can’t go to Los Angeles without visiting that house and the observatory. Classic locations in cinema.

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Iris said:

Just watched the video for November Rain for the first time in a long time and I got some serious "Seize the Day" video vibes. @Syn Gates Was that a coincidence or did Avenged plan to give the video a GnR feel.

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Matt Wildcat said:

These albums are incredible. I honestly don't quite know where to start, other than I have seriously, seriously underappreciated these albums+I wish I'd given them the deep dive treatment they deserve so much sooner. It's actually left me quite emotional for several reasons. It's just so damn good, it's so damn beautiful. Apologies for the essay!


Dust N' Bones - Panning on the low+high vocals,+lead guitar are incredible. It's not all muddled in the middle, every element gets it's own space+it's super effective. This is a recurring production theme that I love.

Don't Cry - I can't decide which version is my fav. They're both just so powerful. That intro touches my soul in ways I didn't know a song could. It's fucking beautiful. Against the song's instruction, I am bawling. That progression is my fav, the clean tone is heavenly. It's always crazy to hear Axl's voice go from crazy raw power to this gentle, soothing, heartfelt tone. Best ballad ever. This is one I wish I had really appreciated more with mum. Fuck...

Bad Obsession - COWBELL! Plus heavy af guitar+harmonicas. Where is this album going?! Nobody knows! But it's so well done I can't complain in the slightest. I love the inclusion of all these different instruments, it really breaks the idea that rock can only be cranked up guitars, huge drums+harsh vocals. Take influence from EVERYWHERE!

Back Off Bitch - I adore this, both musically and lyrically. I'm making this my new anthem. The solo is kickass+the tone of the drums is perfect. Have I talked about how good the snare, kick+ride sound yet for the whole album? I love the lower growl-like vocal to emphasise "Bitch!" in the chorus.

Double Talkin' Jive - Super crunchy guitar lead on the right, a sick bassline+rhythm on the left. The effects on the vocals (Please describe that to me, I wanna say phaser+tremolo but I think I'm wrong.) are trippy as hell+I dig it so much. The fade out to the acoustic solo was not expected but I appreciate it so much. This riff works so well with both heavy distortion+clean, classical playing... beautiful.

November Rain - I cannot get through this song without crying. There are many songs I hold dear to my heart+carry so much meaning to me, but this one is always on top. It's extremely bittersweet. Backing vocals+harmony is on a whole new level. The orchestra is beautifully done.
"So nevermind the darkness, we still can find a way" gets me every time. The end of the song to me really represents that line. Mostly sombre+touching, but then you get the amped up ending that feels like someone picking themselves up, determined to keep fuckin going. I feel that.

The Garden - The switch from clean/acoustic (?) to distortion really shows the versatility of guitar+the licks/riffs you can produce with them. Different textures and timbres are really crucial to explore+this really demonstrates that. (On a dif. note, I saw this track+thought of the Welcome to the Jungle meme: Welcome to the Garden, please respect the rules LOL)

Don't Damn Me - DAMN! This riff is KILLER. I feel bad for anyone trying to sing this live though, I love how rapid it is but where do you even breathe until the bridge section? LOL. Great contrast though. I need a tone like that solo so badly. The bass+toms section is something I can feel in my bones. I love how much bass you can hear in this song.

Bad Apples - The guitar string scratching you can hear panned hard left in the intro is an awesome detail. Bass line is sick. Pretty much the definition of rock music imo, so many people have tried to replicate it because it's so damn good. Also applies to You Could Be Mine.

Dead Horse - The interesting use of the acoustic guitar with the aged, rattling, beaten up tone is one that many people probably would avoid for the most part, many might think it doesn't sound appealing. But used in this context, it's so fitting+sounds amazing, really conveys the down emotion for that section. Love the usage of spoken lines in the distance. That ending with the old rewinding sound is an awesome touch.

Coma - Heartbeat+massive drums w/ the chilling guitar tones is hauntingly perfect. This is what I would imagine danger to sound like, especially after the chorus with the heartrate monitor+added doctors voices. The overlapping really conveys a sense of urgency. "Somebody to tell me what the FUUUUUCK is going on! God damnit!" Is an eternal mood! Bass+clean+ride ending, damn! The rapid hammer/pulls+all the different crazy added effects, voices, everything. They could not have themed and written this song better! What a way to top off the album!

Knockin' On Heaven's Door - Another track I'm very familiar with. One of my favourite solos in this song, and I love hearing more of the piano! The way the phone call is incorporated around the 4min mark is cool, vocal range shown off is awesome. Love the tremolo effects that show up on the guitar.

Get In The Ring - Love those gritty dual vocals! This is another one of those anthem-sounding tracks to me. I LOVE the very angry rant midway thru the song LOL.

Breakdown - Intro is amazing, love the inclusion of whistling+banjo! The chord progression is great, it sounds so upbeat and positive (major key, is that you? Just don't ask me which one). I expected this song to be sadder/angrier because of the title, and yet it's the opposite. 4:44mins might just be my favourite bit ever, so upbeat, the piano and guitar combo works so well.

Locomotive - Sick intro letting the drums and bass shine for a moment! Really enjoy the palm-muting, creates a really cool gritty, aggressive sound. Solo at 4mins is fantastic. 6:30 onwards is AMAZING, I much prefer this section of the song. The long, drawn out vocals are really interesting+the string scratching and wahs are great. Reminded me of Sidewinder in a way!


...Holy shit that was a lot more than I thought. I had extra notes just on the production, styles and instruments of the album in general, but I think I've touched on most of it here+I kept breaking the character limit. TL;DR - These albums are FUCKING AMAZING. I'm defo a bigger fan of the first part than the second, but that's just me. Both parts are phenomenal+I feel terrible for neglecting them for so long.

So Syn... from the bottom of my heart, thank you for this great opportunity to appreciate such a wonderful moment in music. It's been very emotional for me, but in a good way. Thank you.


And Happy New Year to you all! I wish you a wonderful 2022!

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Ed Seith said:

Have you watched the 8 hour Peter Jackson Beatles special on Disney Plus? I’m halfway through the first episode and it’s fascinating!

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