Appetite for Destruction

Appetite for Destruction is the debut studio album by American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, released by Geffen Records on July 21, 1987. It initially received little mainstream attention, and it was not until the following year that Appetite for Destruction became a commercial success, after the band had toured and received significant airplay with the singles "Welcome to the Jungle", "Paradise City", and "Sweet Child o' Mine". The album went on to peak at number one on the US Billboard 200, and it became the seventh best-selling album of all time in the United States, as well as the best-selling debut album. With over 30 million copies sold worldwide, it is also one of the best-selling albums globally. Although critics were originally ambivalent toward the album, Appetite for Destruction has received retrospective acclaim and been viewed as one of the greatest albums of all time. In 2018, it was re-released as a remastered box set to similar universal acclaim. Background Guns N' Roses' first recordings were for a planned EP in March 1985, shortly after the band formed, with "Don't Cry", a cover of "Heartbreak Hotel", "Think About You" and "Anything Goes". However, plans for the release fell through, as original guitarist Tracii Guns left the band, being replaced by Slash. Shortly afterward, the classic lineup of Axl Rose, Duff McKagan, Slash, Steven Adler, and Izzy Stradlin was finalized. After heavy touring of the Los Angeles club scene, the group signed with Geffen Records in March 1986. In December of that year, the group released the four-song EP Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide, which was designed to keep interest in the band alive while the group withdrew from the club scene to work in the studio. The EP release was also designed to soothe the label, which believed the band did not have enough songs to record a full-length album.