L.A. Guns

Stalwart California rock outfit L.A. Guns draws upon a sound steeped in the excess and grit of Hollywood's Sunset Strip, reflecting their background as survivors of the 1980s glam metal era. The group also carries distinction as one of two acts, paired with Hollywood Rose, whose mid-1980s merger produced the earliest version of Guns N' Roses. Their self-titled 1988 debut and the 1989 successor Cocked and Loaded each earned gold certification, yet repeated lineup flux combined with the arrival of grunge and alternative eventually displaced them from broader commercial favor. By the 2000s, two competing ensembles performed under the L.A. Guns banner. Even so, the band sustained consistent output across the years, delivering their 14th studio album, Black Diamonds, in 2023.

Established in 1983, the original roster featured Tracii Guns alongside vocalist Axl Rose, who later departed to assemble his own project with childhood companion Izzy Stradlin. In 1985, Rose and Guns elected to fuse their respective groups, thereby forming the first incarnation of Guns N' Roses. Tracii Guns occupied the lead guitar position for several months until Slash assumed the role; left without a band, Guns promptly rejoined his former L.A. Guns colleagues, who had persisted with live performances under vocalist Paul Black during his absence.

Once Guns rejoined and Black contributed the majority of songwriting, the ensemble secured an agreement with Polygram Records and prepared to track a debut release. Before entering the studio, however, Black yielded the frontman slot to former Girl singer Phil Lewis, prompting further adjustments that ultimately stabilized the lineup around Guns, Lewis, drummer Nickey Alexander, bassist Kelly Nickels, and guitarist Mick Cripps.

L.A. Guns issued their self-titled debut album in 1988, showcasing a gritty, Aerosmith-inspired approach along with several tracks originally penned by departed member Paul Black. During the ensuing tour, ex-W.A.S.P. drummer Steve Riley entered the fold, allowing the band to return swiftly to the studio for a follow-up, Cocked and Loaded. Issued in 1989 and driven by the Top 40 hit "The Ballad of Jayne," the record attained gold status and positioned L.A. Guns within the hair metal surge that Guns N' Roses had helped ignite. Two years afterward, Hollywood Vampires sustained audience interest by reaching number 42 on the charts. Nevertheless, the members remained largely inactive for four years while awaiting the subsidence of grunge.

Upon unveiling their fourth album, Vicious Circle, in early 1995, L.A. Guns retained a dedicated core audience yet failed to regain mainstream traction. The release marked their poorest commercial performance to date and triggered successive personnel shifts, including Johnny Crypt on bass, Chris Van Dahl as vocalist, and Guns as sole guitarist. Polygram parted ways with the group following the sluggish sales of Vicious Circle, after which 1996's American Hardcore introduced the revised lineup but achieved similarly limited results.

Greatest Hits & Black Beauties, comprising re-recorded classics alongside fresh material, arrived in 1999 following a string of new vocalists that included Ralph Saenz on the 1998 Wasted EP and Love/Hate frontman Jizzy Pearl. That summer the band also put out a Gilby Clarke-produced set of original songs titled Shrinking Violet, again with Pearl handling lead vocals. For 2001's Man in the Moon, likewise produced by Clarke, Phil Lewis and Mick Cripps rejoined the roster alongside Guns, Riley, former Pretty Boy Floyd member Keff Ratcliffe, and bassist Muddy. Waking the Dead appeared the next year, after which founder Tracii Guns exited to launch Brides of Destruction with Nikki Sixx.

After Guns' departure, Phil Lewis assumed lead vocal duties for L.A. Guns. This configuration subsequently released four studio albums: Rips the Covers Off (2004), Tales from the Strip (2005), Covered in Guns (2010), and Hollywood Forever (2012). Meanwhile, Tracii Guns operated as the Tracii Guns Band with former L.A. Guns associates Paul Black and Nickey Alexander plus Brides of Destruction live bassist Jeremy Guns. Because Tracii Guns controlled the rights to the L.A. Guns name, two separate bands toured under that moniker between 2006 and 2012.

In 2016, Guns and Lewis reconciled and shared a stage for the first time in 14 years. Their reunion performances led to the appropriately titled The Missing Peace, L.A. Guns' 11th studio album, issued by Frontiers Records. The record's reception encouraged Lewis to end all affiliations with the Riley lineup, prompting him and Guns to continue onward with an appearance at the Frontiers Rock Festival in Milan that produced the 2018 live document Made in Milan. The partnership persisted into 2019 with another studio effort, The Devil You Know, maintaining a comparable metal direction. The following year the Riley-led version delivered the album Renegades, while the Guns- and Lewis-fronted iteration issued Checkered Past in 2021. Both lineups released new material in 2023, with Riley's ensemble offering The Dark Horse and L.A. Guns proper unveiling Black Diamonds. Drummer Steve Riley passed away on October 24, 2023, at age 67.