Watch Guns N’ Roses Offer Live Debut Of ‘New’ Song ‘The General’ At Hollywood Bowl

Guns N’ Roses brought their 2023 headlining tour to a close last night with their second of two hometown performances at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. A huge surprise came in the middle of the show as the band delivered the highly-anticipated live debut of original song “The General.”

“The General” dates back to the sessions that yielded GN’R’s 2008 album Chinese Democracy but was left off the record and fans have been pining for it ever since thanks to comments playing up the grandeur of the song by Sebastian Bach in 2007 and 2008 interviews. A studio version featuring the reunited lineup with frontman Axl Rose joined by Slash on guitar and bassist Duff McKagan is due out next month as the B-side to “Perhaps” on limited edition seven-inch vinyl.

Guns N’ Roses fit their premiere “The General” performance into the 10-slot on Thursday. Axl Rose informed the crowd the band would be unveiling a song they hadn’t played before. “This could be very interesting,” Rose said. “If there’s ever a better place to fall on your face, I think this counts,” Axl added along with, “This is called ‘The General.’”

Axl Rose, Slash, McKagan and their bandmates then romped through the sludgey, hard-nosed and trippy song. “The General” alternated between slow and throbbing and heavy crescendos. Slash took a bombastic solo towards the end of the tune.

Watch audience-captured video of the live debut below:

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“The General” was played directly after “Perhaps,” which also was written during the Chinese Democracy sessions. GN’R stuck to a similar script as other 2023 tour dates outside of “The General” last night at Hollywood Bowl. A festival appearance at the Hell And Heaven Metal Festival in Mexico City on Sunday will bring GN’R’s 2023 to a close.

Setlist

Source: JamBase.com