Guns N Roses Hard school Live

September 27, 2021

GUNS N' ROSES played its new song "Hard Skool" live for the first time during last night's (Sunday, September 26) concert at Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, Maryland. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below.

"This is something about lower education," frontman Axl Rose told the audience before launching into the track.

Written by Rose and co-produced by Rose and Caram Costanzo, the track "Hard Skool", which had the working title "Jackie Chan", was originally recorded during GN'R's "Chinese Democracy" era but was eventually omitted from that album. Short clips of the song were later posted online and a full version was leaked in August 2019.

More recently, the partially reunited classic lineup of GUNS N' ROSES rehearsed the track during soundcheck at several concerts on the band's summer 2021 tour but has yet to perform it live.

Rumors of the new song's imminent release began to circulate earlier in the month after a fan was reportedly told about it by Rose when they met backstage at a recent show in Atlantic City.

On "Hard Skool", Axl sings: "But you had to play it cool, had to do it your way/Had to be a fool, had to throw it all away/Too hard school and you thought you were here to stay/ If that were true, it wouldn't matter anyway."

"Hard Skool" is the title track of a new GUNS N' ROSES four-song EP which will be released on February 25, 2022. The effort, which is exclusive to the GUNS N' ROSESofficial store, contains the two new songs the band released in the last two months — "Hard Skool" and "Absurd" (stylized as "ABSUЯD") — as well as live versions of "Don't Cry" and "You're Crazy".

"Hard Skool" EP track listing:

01. Hard Skool
02. ABSUЯD
03. Don't Cry (Live)
04. You're Crazy (Live)

"Absurd", a reworked version of a previously unreleased track called "Silkworms", came out on August 6, three days after the band performed the tune live for the first time during its concert at Boston's Fenway Park.

GUNS N' ROSES last performed "Silkworms", which was also reportedly written during the "Chinese Democracy" sessions, in 2001.

The band is now said to be working on a new studio album — the first under the GUNS banner since "Chinese Democracy" and the first to feature Rose, guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan since 1993.

Guns N' Roses played their new song "Hard Skool" live for the first time during a tour stop at Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore. You can see fan shot footage from the concert below.

"This is something about lower education," frontman Axl Rose proclaimed before launching into the track for the first time.

The performance of "Hard Skool" follows the live debut and subsequent release of "Absurd," the first Guns N' Roses track to feature Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan since their 1994 cover of the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil."

Much like "Absurd" -- which is a reworked version of the previously unreleased song "Silkworms" -- "Hard Skool" dates back to the Chinese Democracy sessions. The latter track arguably has a more "vintage" GN’R sound, boasting swaggering guitar riffs and a catchy chorus that features Rose wailing in his upper register. A snippet of the track was leaked in 2006, and the full song was leaked in 2019 after GNR superfan Rick Dunsford purchased a storage unit full of unreleased digital recordings owned by former A&R executive Tom Zutaut, who signed Guns N’ Roses to Geffen Records.

The band’s management quickly bought the recordings back from Dunsford, but the material still leaked online. Dunsford claims he did not leak the material but said he has still been banned from Guns N' Roses shows "pretty much for the rest of my life." GNR ultimately released their updated studio version of "Hard Skool" earlier this week.

Watch Guns N' Roses Play 'Hard Skool'

Prior to its live debut, several videos of Guns N' Roses sound-checking "Hard Skool" surfaced online, most recently before the band's Aug. 16 show in Chicago.

While "Hard Skool" and "Absurd" can both be streamed now, they will also receive physical distribution. Guns N' Roses announced the tracks will be part of their upcoming CD, vinyl and cassette releases. Though fans are undoubtedly happy to have any material from the band, there is still no word on a new full-length album. In April 2020, Duff McKagan's wife, Susan Holmes McKagan, said that Guns N' Roses had been "working fastidiously on some killer new stuff." A few months earlier Slash also said, "Stuff is happening [with new music], but there are no specifics."

Listen to the Studio Version of 'Hard Skool'

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