Guns 'N' Roses front man Axl Rose giving his two cents on Iron Maiden.
Axl Rose is now a different front man than he once was. He was once an arrogant, bandanna-clad, fist fight-starting singer, who all but thought he was God's gift to rock. He's now a more mellow, down to earth singer, who can still rattle off "Welcome to the Jungle" and more. Back in the 1980s, however, it's surprising to know that he didn't exactly have a lot of kind words for the band known for "Up the Irons!", Iron Maiden
On a 1988 documentary on heavy metal, Axl gave the world his two cents for this documentary. It was aired as part of a special night devoted to playing heavy metal. It featured interviews from Metallica's Lars Ulrich, Ozzy Osbourne, Jimmy Page and even Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson, who showed off his Olympic-level fencing skills. Axl's interview took place at the previous year's Monsters of Rock festival. Just as Guns 'N' Roses career was careening toward the heavens, the interviewer asked Rose about some of the other bands sharing the bill, including Kiss and Iron Maiden.
"I liked Kiss in their early days. I think the only thing we have in common with Kiss now is they like to make money they like girls...but basically their music is second fiddle to their other desires. Our music comes first."
The singer saves most of his acidic, almost offensive opinions for that year's headliners, legendary British metallers Iron Maiden. When asked if GNR had anything in common with Maiden, Rose remarked "I hope not." He continued on. "I mean, they're nice guys, but it's like all political organizations... your band's like a political thing. And your music or your album is kind of like your political stance. Theirs is completely different to ours and I think theirs doesn't have anything to do with rock n roll as far as I'm concerned. We're a rock n roll band, and what they do: I don't know what it is and I hope to never be like that. I hope it's not catching"
The bad blood started back in the 1980s, when the LA-based band claimed Maiden didn't allow them a sound check in Canada a few years prior. To make matters worse, Axl mocked the French-speaking audience. Bruce Dickinson himself confirmed Axl's "bad boy" behavior in a 2015 interview with Le Journal de Montreal.
"I should have come on-stage and given him a punch. How could he dare speak to my audience in that way? I always regretted not having done so." Axl rose may have mellowed out in years past, but he still does have that tendency to stir the pot, so to speak
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