New York, Sep 25 (IANS): Just as Guns N' Roses' show hits the road, 'Hard Skool' is both a return to the school of hard knocks, and old-school Gunners, reports Billboard.com.
The band made the announcement on Instagram, "Hard Skool is Fn here!! Stream it now."
Originally bearing the working title 'Jackie Chan', 'Hard Skool' is a studio recording of a previously unreleased effort from the 2008 'Chinese Democracy' era.
It's a flat-out, no-mucking-around rock number, peppered with smoking guitar licks. On it, Axl Rose sings, "But you had to play it cool, had to do it your way/Had to be a fool, had to throw it all away/Too hard school and you thought you were here to stay/ If that were true, it wouldn't matter anyway."
For a band with a reputation of keeping their fans waiting, 'Hard Skool' is their second release in as many months, following the release of 'Absurd', also a revamp of an unreleased song from 'Chinese Democracy'.
On the latest record, Rose is listed as co-producer alongside 'Chinese Democracy' co-producer Caram Costanzo. Seven co-writers worked on the release, just the second since the return of original members Slash and Duff McKagan in 2016 for the group's long-running 'Not in This Lifetime' trek.
The new track coincides with the start of the band's North America tour starting on Thursday at Schottenstein Center in Columbus.
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKagan, and drummer Steven Adler. The current lineup consists of Rose, Slash, McKagan, guitarist Richard Fortus, drummer Frank Ferrer and keyboardists Dizzy Reed and Melissa Reese.