Fans were delighted when founding bassist Duff McKagan returned to Guns N’ Roses in the 2010s after spending years apart from the band. McKagan has also said that he is working on a new solo record as the band continues their tour schedule.
In the 1980s, McKagan joined “The World’s Most Dangerous Band” after performing in a number of Seattle-based bands. Before departing the group in the late ’90s, he contributed a number of co-writes to albums including Appetite for Destruction and Use Your Illusion.
With the unveiling of The Lighthouse, his third solo album, McKagan has made a comeback outside of previous bands like Velvet Revolver and Loaded. Tenderness, McKagan’s second solo album, was released in 2019 and featured a number of members of Shooter Jennings’ backing band.
McKagan spoke candidly about equating life to being sent out to sea when discussing the album, stating, “the cresting waves, the falling through of all that surrounds you. Life sometimes tosses us around, and we feel the want of comfort and the pull of home.” Some versions will also include additional lithograph drawings in addition to the album.
The record was released after McKagan spent time in 2019 putting together his own studio. This will be the first album to emerge from McKagan’s handmade studio, despite the fact that he shared the song “This is The Song” in May.
The Lighthouse will also have a stellar lineup of special guest musicians. Slash, a former member of Guns N’ Roses, and Abe Laboriel Jr., Paul McCartney’s drummer, may be heard on the album. Jerry Cantrell, formerly of Alice in Chains, can be heard on the song “I Just Don’t Know.”
McKagan waxed poetic about the romance of the lighthouse in the news announcement, going on to say, “I have my lighthouse….its beacon swirling in the darkness with her warmth and promise of nurture, love, laughter, and all that is true. Won’t you be my lighthouse, give me light,…and bring me home.”
There has been no announcement on when a new Guns N’ Roses album will be released, despite the upcoming new songs.
