Formation (1985–1986)

In 1983, guitarist Tracii Guns introduced Chris Weber to Izzy Stradlin, who soon formed a band with Stradlin's childhood friend, Axl Rose. After several lineup changes, the group became Hollywood Rose. Guitarist Slash replaced Weber in the group before the band dissolved in 1984. Rose later joined Guns's band L.A. Guns, recommended by Stradlin, who was living with Guns at the time. On January 1, 1985, Rose and Stradlin briefly reunited as Hollywood Rose for a one-off show with bassist Steve Darrow, Tracii Guns, and drummer Rob Gardner.

Guns N' Roses was formed in March 1985 by Rose, Stradlin, Guns, Gardner, and bassist Ole Beich. Guns recalled the formation of the band in a 2019 interview, stating: "Axl got into an argument with our manager and our manager fired Axl... So, that same night we started Guns N' Roses... I called Izzy the next day and said, 'Hey, we are gonna start this new band called Guns N' Roses, do you want in?'". The name combined their previous bands names and was initially intended for a record label. Rejected names included "Heads of Amazon" and "AIDS".

Background of new album

A new Guns N' Roses album had reportedly been in the works since 1994, with Rose the only original member still in the band. Several producers, including Youth, Moby, Mike Clink, Eric Caudieux & Sean Beaven worked with the band during the late 1990s, incorporating new electronic and industrial elements to the music. Rolling Stone stated that the label planned for the album to be released in late 1999. By August 1999, the band had recorded over 30 songs for the album, which was tentatively entitled 2000 Intentions.

In November 1999, during an interview with Kurt Loder for MTV, Rose said that he had re-recorded Appetite for Destruction with the then-new band, apart from two songs which he had replaced with "Patience" and "You Could Be Mine". During the interview, Rose announced the title of the upcoming album, Chinese Democracy. Rose explained:

There's a lot of Chinese democracy movements, and it's something that there's a lot of talk about, and it's something that will be nice to see. It could also just be like an ironic statement. I don't know, I just like the sound of it. (The album has) a lot of different sounds. There's some heavy songs, there's a lot of aggressive songs, but they're all in different styles and different sounds. It is truly a melting pot.

Legacy, style, influence, and controversies

Guns N' Roses signed with a major record label within eight months of the band's inception, and topped national sales charts weeks after garnering late-night airplay on MTV. Appetite for Destruction is the highest-selling debut album of all time in the United States. Apple Music said "Despite only releasing four album's worth of original material in their original incarnation, GNR had burned so brightly in such a short time that their legend remains stubbornly intact". Appetite for Destruction is credited with "(changing) hard rock's sensibilities at the time", and bringing a "danger, attitude and legitimacy" to rock, leading to a decline in the late-'80s glam metal craze. The band has been credited with helping re-popularize power ballads in heavy metal music.

Guns were five dudes with this shared vision. We met and it was the exact five right guys… The moment we got in a room and played the first three chords, we all knew it. We didn't have illusions that we were going to be huge or anything. But people started coming to our gigs and then labels started coming to our gigs and we made the record we wanted to make. And, all of a sudden, it hit, and it seems like a whole generation of the world had an affinity for that record. – Duff McKagan