Claim: Slash is a guitarist in Guns N' Roses.

Guns N ' Roses , often abbreviated as GnR , is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles formed in 1985 . The lineup , when first signed to Geffen Records in 1986 , consisted of vocalist Axl Rose , lead guitarist Slash , rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin , bassist Duff McKagan , and drummer Steven Adler . Guns N ' Roses have released six studio albums , accumulating sales of more than 100 million records worldwide , including shipments of 45 million in the United States , making them one of the world 's best-selling bands of all time .   Guns N ' Roses ' debut album , Appetite for Destruction -LRB- 1987 -RRB- , reached number one on the Billboard 200 a year after its release , on the strength of `` Sweet Child o ' Mine '' , the band 's only single to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 . The album has sold approximately 30 million copies worldwide , including 18 million units in the United States , making it the best-selling debut album of all time in the US , as well as the eleventh best-selling album in the United States . The success of the debut was followed by the eight-song album G N ' R Lies -LRB- 1988 -RRB- which reached number two on the Billboard 200 . The twin albums Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II -LRB- 1991 -RRB- debuted at number two and number one on the Billboard 200 respectively and have sold a combined 35 million copies worldwide , including 14 million units in the United States . The cover album `` The Spaghetti Incident ? '' -LRB- 1993 -RRB- was the band 's last studio album to feature Slash and McKagan .   After more than a decade of work and several lineup changes , Guns N ' Roses released the long-awaited album Chinese Democracy -LRB- 2008 -RRB- which , at an estimated $ 14 million in production costs , is the most expensive rock album to ever be produced in music history . It debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 but undersold industry expectations , despite mostly positive critical reception . Former members Slash and McKagan both rejoined the band in 2016 , embarking on the Not in This Lifetime ... Tour .   Guns N ' Roses has been credited with reviving the mainstream popularity of rock 'n' roll , at a time when popular music was dominated by dance music and glam metal . Its late 1980s and early 1990s years have been described as the period in which the group brought forth a `` hedonistic rebelliousness '' reminiscent of the early Rolling Stones , a reputation that had earned the group the nickname `` the most dangerous band in the world '' . The band 's classic lineup , along with later members keyboardist Dizzy Reed and drummer Matt Sorum , was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 in its first year of eligibility .   The band 's membership has changed many times since the early 1990 's , with Rose and keyboardist Dizzy Reed as the only two constant members since 1990 . The current lineup consists of Rose , Slash , McKagan , Reed , guitarist Richard Fortus , drummer Frank Ferrer and keyboardist Melissa Reese .