This summer, rock fans will be able to bear witness to a new blend of intense rock as the newly-formed “Velvet Revolver” launches their first studio album “Contraband.”
The group combines the classic musical talent of former Guns N’ Roses’ members Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum, guitarist Dave Kushner, as well as the lyrical intensity of former Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland.
In a release provided by the Mitch Schneider Organization, the public relations firm for Velvet Revolver, Weiland said that the members of the band were just looking for a rebirth.
“We’re looking to get back that same feeling we had when we started making music — the sense of doing it for the pure joy of making music,” Weiland said. “As it turns out, the only way we could get it all back was to start it all new.”
Soon following their formation, Weiland and company recorded their first song “Set Me Free” in 2003 for a soundtrack to “The Hulk.”
In June of 2003, Velvet Revolver played their first show at a club in Los Angeles and, according to Weiland, the performance “answered every question.”
The road to this new opportunity at success has not been a pleasant one for Scott Weiland. He is joining the band after a significant bout with drugs and alcohol addiction, as well as a painful divorce.
With years of combined experience and talent under their belt, along with much passion and ambition, the band completed “Contraband” in late 2003, released their first single “Slither” on April 20 in stores and announced a handful of tour dates beginning in St. Louis in early May.
“This music is just vicious,” Weiland said. “[The music is] very aggressive and forces you to lace your boots up and sort of get ready for the fight.”
While the band seems optimistic about their upcoming career, LSU students do not share their sentiment.
“They’ll have a small pop,” said Darren Guthrie, a general studies senior. “But, they’ll die in two months.”
Kyle Moore, a mass communication sophomore, is even more pessimistic about Velvet Revolver’s debut on the music scene.
“It’s going to suck,” Moore said. “Guns N’ Roses is dead, and we need to go ahead and accept it.”
“Contraband” will debut in record stores on June 8.