Matt Sorum Recounts Split With Guns N' Roses

"When we went into the next particular record," he continued, "Axl really wanted to take it to another level, he wanted to experiment with electronics and stuff like that, and we were like, 'Oooh� Now we're getting into a little bit of a grey area.' He was really into Nine Inch Nails, and we were starting to get a little bit uncomfortable with the musical direction. And at that point, we had written a bunch of songs that were more like 'Appetite For Destruction' � stripped down, raw rock and roll; we almost wanted to go back to our roots. But Axl was really pushing to go someplace else. [He] was so obsessed with where the music was going."

"And I remember it was [after] about four or five years of rehearsals," Matt explained, "and Axl came in and said, 'I think we've got one good verse.' [Laughs] And we all looked at each other. And at that point, me and Slash had written a bunch of songs together, which became the first Slash's Snakepit album. Slash said, 'Matt, let's just go do a tour and make a record.' 'Cause Slash said, 'Axl doesn't like the songs.' So we made a record, we put it out, and Slash went on tour. And that was the straw that broke the camel's back."