Slash Explains Rift With Axl That Made Him Leave Guns N' Roses In 1996 (2025 In Review)

Slash Explains Rift With Axl That Made Him Leave Guns N' Roses In 1996 was a top 25 story of November 2025 in our look back at the Year In Rock. Here is the original report: Slash says that he and Axl Rose get along great now and revealed that it mainly management issues that caused him to originally leave Guns N' Roses in 1996.

With Slash's departure that left frontman Axl Rose as the only remaining original member from the "Appetite For Destruction" lineup in the band until Slash and Duff McKagan reunited with Rose in 2016.

While they get along great now, Slash explained the original rift with Axl during an interview with Guitar World. "I think a lot of the stuff that was an issue for Guns in the early days - especially in the '90s - had to do with management issues and stuff that pitted me and Axl against each other. And it worked, it definitely worked. But without that element, he and I get along great.

"Duff and I have always gotten along great and I love working with Richard Fortus. He and I make a really great guitar team, and he's just a good guy. We all get along really well, and we have a good time doing what we do."

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