Slash Attributes ’90s Split With Axl Rose to Management Issues, Says Band Gets Along Now

Slash blamed management problems for the rift that drove him and Axl Rose apart and led to his 1996 departure from Guns N' Roses. The guitarist talked with Guitar World earlier this year about what caused the split and why the reunited band works well now. He said that the band members were motivated to improve. 

According to Guitar World, Slash said, "Everybody has been constantly working this whole time and growing as musicians." He left in 1996. Years of mounting tension preceded his exit, and he was one of the last members from the Appetite for Destruction lineup to leave.

Duff McKagan followed the next year. Their exits left Rose as the only original member until the 2016 reunion. Slash also talked about the possibility of Izzy Stradlin joining the Not in This Lifetime reunion tour. The guitarist admitted he was unsure how Stradlin would have fit into the band. Stradlin met with the band when the reunion first took shape, but he turned down the chance to participate. Richard Fortus took the second guitar spot alongside Slash.

Slash praised his partnership with Fortus, and the two have performed together since the 2016 reunion that brought the core members back together after 20 years apart. For 2026, the band announced performances at Brazil's Monsters of Rock festival and the U.K.'s Download Festival. Tickets are available on Guns N' Roses' website.