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It has been suggested numerous times since the gritty hard-rock band Guns n' Roses broke up that the talented, yet moody front-man, Axl Rose, was to blame for said break-up. But is that really the case? I don't think so. Of course, no one can ever truly understand what caused this majorly successful band to call it quits without having been a member of the band, but we can certainly speculate.

The first thing that one must examine in order to determine whether or not Axl should take the blame for the break-up is Axl himself. Axl, a wildly unpredictable rocker who has always been regarded as danger personified, is truly a product of his experiences, both in Lafayette, Indiana, where he was raised, and Los Angeles, California, where he grew up. Axl claimed later in his career that he and his siblings had been abused by their parents. Axl mentioned in particular that his grandmother hated men and made him feel as though he was doing something wrong by being a man. All of this contributed to the problems he had later in life, both with his mood swings and with his inability have normal relationships. He and Erin Everly, daughter of Don Everly, were married briefly and split amid rumors of spousal abuse. He later dated a woman named Jane Seymour. He also tried to care for Jane's son, but things didn't go well and they eventually split.
So, why have I dug up Axl Rose's life story for you? Well, that is because his story demonstrates just the kind of baggage, not to mention the amount of it, with which he came. Right from the get go, he could not have been an easy person to work with, but he made up for it in talent. During the making and release of Use Your Illusion 1 and 2, Axl was in therapy trying to dig up repressed memories of the abuse he endured so he could be able to somehow move forward. He also, wanted to write more ballads, which was not a popular idea among the other members of the band. So besides the usual excuse of "creative differences", the band had to deal with Axl distancing himself in order to deal with his own issues, all of which could not have been easy on any of the parties involved. So, basically, Axl should not have to take the blame for the split of GNR because he was really just trying to make sense of his own life and, as they say, it takes two to tango. In this case it took the whole band to decide that they didn't want to do it anymore.
I guess that people really do just grow apart over the years, and while that may be a serious oversimplification on my part, it was certainly another contributing factor. I personally am really hoping that the band gets back together. Their talent was immense and their music was transcendent. They were one of the few bands that lived the way they rocked and practiced what they preached. They really were what they sang about and there isn't a single band today that possesses that same quality.

Learn more about this author, Sabrina Gladstone.
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