Izzy had nothing to do with that song far as I know. By all means, Slash had some tunes he wrote just with Axl, among them Locomotive, Coma and Jungle (some of their absolute best work). So I'm no way denying his talent or importance, just that without either Axl or Izzy he just doesn't seem to come close to his old heights. That can be said for Axl too, but even if CD is uneven it still contains way more wow moments than Slash has made in all his post GNR collaborations. To me anyways.

Bringing back Estranged is the coolest thing they've done as a band, outside of new music obv. I'm pleasently surprised too by the peformance. Musically it's tighter than the old band ever was, although the absence of Slash' touch is felt. Axl is not in top form though. To be frank he doesn't do justice to the song here.

But it's the second show and he already shows signs of improving.

The beginning was fun but it started going bad our first gig opening for the Cult in Halifax between Slash and I. That’s when the ok I put up with all Axl’s and Izzy’s crap now I’m gonna be the man trip started with him runnin’ right out front on the ego ramp for the whole show. It was pretty funny.

They are both alpha males, but it's always been obvious who the bigger alpha male is. If the above quote is accurate Slash has resented that from the beginning. At some point it had to give.

Somebody who's been burnt like Axl has is liable to take that resentment as enemy aggression, especially if he hears about it through middle men and Slash is playing backdoor games. Not because he has a conscious plan to destroy Axl but simply to relieve some of his frustrations by belittling his superior status. Personally I see that shit all the time in social contexts. Games are always being played between the contenders for the group. I have "friends" like that.

Guns was always Axls band in that from the beginning nothing happened that he didn't approve of. He wasn't legally so at that point but he might as well have been in that his personality de facto made him so. He was always the last to cave and had the talent to back it up. In doing so the others gave their consent. That's not as sinister as it might sound. True leadership is always assumed.

Problem is Axl is such a volatile personality. One the hand I believe that that insane focus, energy and aggression is what was the deciding factor in propelling the band from mere great to Stones, Zeppelin esque heights. Guns was a great band in itself and Slash has always carried a big star factor, but in that category of aforementioned bands Axl is in a league totally on his own. He's not the most consistent or powerful of voices but he's distinctive like Jagger and even Tyler could dream of, and a range out of this world. Just think about it - SCOM, Patience, YCBM, KOHD, Jungle, I don't Care About You, The Blues, Coma, Estranged - who could do this? Maybe Plant but that's it (and I doubt it).

On the other hand that volatility caused the rest of band to cow their line too much in fear of what might happen. This creates resentment all across the board and the snivelery way it's being done creates resentment with Axl, which he sees as ploys.

In that way it had to end and you could make the argument that it was Axls "fault" in that it probably would have happened with anyone in his case while the rest of the band could have become a AC/DC type of band with a different, more stable singer. However, for better or worse Axl is driving GN'R forward. The others left with their tails between their legs when the going got rough. As a fan of a band and what it stands for that's what I care about.

The other thing is, Slash is a proven liar and a coward. In fact that's not really even a dig at him, cause most if not all the people I have met in my life have been both of those things. I like to style myself as being less so, but I can't deny that when it comes down to it I am too. But when the band needed to move foreward and he quit out of "musical differences" what did he do? Whore himself out to commercials and every hack to visit the top 40. It's about the music? Bullshit. His ego got the best of him, tried to make a bid for it but overplayed his hand. And because of that childish shit he hasn't been in the band for 15 years, neither looking to get there. As Keith said: "whatever you do, don't leave the band".

The correct thing to do is to commend Axl for sticking through it. That guy truly doesn't give a fuck. Even if he's the most recognizable face on the planet and there are cameras and witnesses around, a horribly inappropriate time for doing so, oh he'll take you on. He writes ballads and people think he's the soft spot, but he's always been the real rebel in the band. And imo, hard rock or soft rock, that's what original GN'R was all about. The day I see him embarrassing himself with some hack artist or being on Idol or whatever I'm done as a fan, but until then he's still the only artist who struck it big that hasn't sold out. That's fucking respect.

Lucas should be hanged, drawn and quartered for what he's done with these blurays. One of, if not the emotional moment of all the films and he takes a proper dump on it.