THE BEAST

Guns N' Roses guitarist Richard Fortus shared an update on the band's new material and plans regarding the follow-up to 2008's "Chinese Democracy."

The musician told STL Today:

"Slash is on tour right now. Once he gets back from that, we're gonna get some more recording done and hopefully get an album out soon. And then we'll get back to touring."

At the moment, Slash is touring Europe until mid-March. He will then hit Latin America in early May and then return to Europe and North America over summer. You can find the full itinerary on the official site.

Back in December, Richard told KSHE 95:

"The tour is done. Three years, done... We are going to try to do another record and get it out soon. We're hoping to get one out very soon.

"It will happen faster than you think. How could it not be good? The band's so great right now."

Could it be out by the end of 2019?

"It could definitely happen."

Do you already have the stuff?

"Maybe..."

Will you record the new album in California?

"I would think so."

During the KSHE 95 interview, Fortus also pointed out the band has no plans to tour until the new album is ready, saying:

"Slash is busy. We're not going to do any more dates for a little bit. It depends on whether or not we have a new record out. If we have something out, we can tour. I think Axl has got a lot to write about."

Back to the first interview, the source adds that in the meantime, Richard "is happy to try something as loose and spontaneous" as his side band Headtronics. The guitarist added:

“Generally, the stuff I do is all song-based, where there might be free sections [for soloing and jamming] here and there. But this is sort of the opposite of that. It'll be a cool collaboration, and I'm excited to do it." Via UltimateGuitar