"The General" is a song by the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses. It was first released as a B or "R-side" to their single "Perhaps", and as a standalone single on December 8, 2023. It was also conceived during the Chinese Democracy recording sessions from the late '90s to 2000s.

Background

The name for The General came from when former drummer Brain named it so when the band was eating General Tso's chicken "but when [he] turned it in to Axl he thought it was called ‘The General’ because [he] was kind of making fun of Tommy [Stinson] as Tommy was, the band, you know, kind of like the MD [...] and he thought, like, you know, I was like poking fun at Tommy as being, like, you know, like a general, [... and I was like, ‘No, dude, it was because we ate general's chicken.’^[3]

"The General" was recorded during the sessions for Chinese Democracy and was a track that never made the track listing. Orchestral arrangements in the song were played as an intro at the band's shows during the 2000s. The song features former Guns N’ Roses members Brain and Chris Pitman as well as composer Marco Beltrami and guitarist Marc Haggard.^[4] Before the song was released, the band performed it live for the first time at the Hollywood Bowl on November 2, 2023.^[5] It was later released on streaming platforms on December 8, 2023,^[6] and a partially AI-generated music video for the track was released on January 24, 2024.^[7] Of the song, Sebastian Bach said:

"I was at a Christmas party at [Axl Rose]'s house last year and he played me all of Chinese Democracy - Four Albums - worth of material. The heaviest song is called The General. It’s so demonic and evil. I’ve never heard Axl sing as high as he does on that - except for maybe on my record."^[8]

Bach also said that Rose told him the song is a sequel to Use Your Illusion II's "Estranged", and so part of the group consisting of November Rain, Don't Cry and Estranged. The meaning of the lyrics is speculated by fans as being memories from Axl Rose's childhood and the music video also features themes of abuse and traumatic childhood experiences.

Reception

Billboard described it as "bombastic".^[9] NME described it as "slow-burning [and] soaring".^[10] Louder Sound called it "epic" and described it as "a slow-burner" featuring "one of Axl Rose's more anguished vocals"^[11]

Personnel

• Axl Rose – vocals, production
• Slash – guitar
• Duff McKagan – bass
• Chris Pitman – keyboards
• Marc Haggard – guitar
• Brain – drums

Additional credits

• Marco Beltrami - strings, composition
• Caram Costanzo – keyboards, production, engineer
• Eric Caudieux, Sean Beavan – additional engineering
• Joe Barresi – mixer
• Bob Ludwig – mastering engineer

References