15.06.2023 Guns N' Roses

Graspop Metal Meeting

Dessel (Belgium)

From the Swedish rockers of Ghost over to the American hard rock legends Guns N’ Roses, who can now look back on a 40‑year band history filled with many highs and even more lows. The area in front of the stage was well filled, and everyone was waiting for the show to begin. But the older gentlemen took their time. With a five‑minute delay, a three‑hour ride through all their released albums finally began. After the intro from tape and once all band members had taken their positions, “It’s So Easy” from their 1987 debut “Appetite For Destruction” kicked off an emotional rollercoaster.
Slash delivered his usual outstanding performance, shredding through each song as if time had passed him by completely. Alongside him were bassist Duff McKagan, who repeatedly handled backing vocals, and Dizzy Reed on keyboards and percussion, forming the older core of the band. They were joined by Richard Fortus on rhythm guitar, Melissa Reese on keyboards, and Isaac Carpenter on drums. And then there was the voice of the band, though it had aged the worst. Axl Rose had visibly put on weight, and it was clear how much the sprints across the stage exhausted him. Still, he couldn’t resist doing them, so McKagan and Slash repeatedly gave him breathing room with extended solos. It was also noticeably harder for him to hit the high passages and falsetto parts. At times, it would have been better to sing them in a lower register.
From the oldest album, they jumped straight to their most recent one, “Chinese Democracy” (already from 2008), playing the title track. They worked their way through several lesser‑known but not necessarily bad songs from various albums and included numerous cover versions in the setlist such as “Walk All Over You” by AC/DC, which even celebrated its tour premiere on the fields of Dessel. Or the more familiar Wings cover and Bond theme “Live And Let Die”. Fans have long been waiting for a new album since the band’s 2016 reunion, but aside from the 2022 EP “Hard Skool”, represented by the songs “Hard Skool” and “Absurd”, nothing new has appeared on the horizon. The crowd sang loudly along to the more famous tracks, and every solo was celebrated. Otherwise, the band kept things simple in terms of stage production. Apart from videos matching the songs, there was nothing else. Guns N’ Roses wanted the music to take center stage and it worked. Mid‑set, Axl Rose received another break when Duff McKagan took over the mic for “T.V. Eye” and delivered a very solid performance. The only truly remarkable moment afterward was a political statement during “Civil War”, when the Ukrainian flag appeared in the background video. The following Slash solo once again showed why he is rightfully considered one of, if not the best guitarists on the planet. Watching his musicality and finger work was pure joy.
This seemed to open the door to the furious finale, where the band’s absolute mega‑hits came one after another. It began with “Sweet Child O’ Mine”, which transitioned into the anthemic “November Rain” from the successful Use Your Illusion I. This brought the crowd to a boil once more, and the band also turned things up a notch. By the time they reached the Bob Dylan cover “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door”, the biggest choir of the weekend had formed to support Guns N’ Roses at full volume. After “Nightrain”, fitting for the late hour, the band briefly left the stage, only to return with the gentle “Patience”, leading into the grand finale: “Paradise City”. This anthem was celebrated in full epic fashion by everyone before the band finally left the stage.
I had been very excited to see Guns N’ Roses and had read quite a bit beforehand about the band’s current form. Unfortunately, much of it proved true. Axl Rose is a shadow of his former self, and his voice’s best days are long gone. Add to that the contradictory behavior of constantly running around the stage to project youth and energy, only to be saved by his bandmates because he’s out of breath and can’t sing. Duff and Slash, however, were truly convincing, and especially the wizard on the guitar strings seemed frozen in time. That made up for a lot. I was initially impressed by the three‑hour slot. But I soon regretted it, as the band filled the set with a lot of insignificant and lesser‑known material. A more compact two‑hour set with fewer fillers would likely have been far more convincing. But “woulda, coulda, shoulda”: the band continues to play their shows this way and still attracts large crowds. Still, I must say this was the only band, and especially the only headliner, where I witnessed the area in front of the stage becoming emptier by the minute. Thankfully, there were parallel bands playing, so one didn’t have to endure the dreariness all the way to the end. My conclusion: fantastic that I got to hear the truly iconic songs live. Even better that I got to admire Slash at work. But everything else is something best left unspoken. At this point, I can only recommend Guns N’ Roses live to absolute mega‑fans who can overlook all the shortcomings. Everyone else should give their live shows a wide berth and listen to the band again on LP, CD, or maybe even cassette. That’s far more rewarding.

Setlist:

Intro
It's So Easy
Bad Obsession
Chinese Democracy
Slither (Velvet Revolver Cover)
Reckless Life
Walk All Over You (AC/DC Cover)
Welcome To The Jungle
Estranged
Double Talkin' Jive
Hard Skool
Pretty Tied Up
Live And Let Die (Wings Cover)
Down On The Farm (UK Subs Cover)
You Could Be Mine
T.V. Eye (The Stooges Cover with Dull McKagan On Lead Vocals)
Anything Goes
Absurd
Rocket Queen
This I Love
Civil War (Followed By Band Intros and Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Child" Outro)
Slash Guitar Solo
Sweet Child O' Mine
November Rain
Locomotive
Knockin'On Heaven's Door (Bob Dylan Cover)
Nighttrain

Encore:

Patience
Paradise City

Weblinks:

	Guns N' Roses Homepage of the US American band Guns N' Roses.
	Graspop Metal Meeting Homepage of the Graspop Metal Meeting Festival at Dessel (Belgium).