Adler took road trip with Ulrich and John 5… and doesn’t remember

Memory loss: Steven Adler

Former Guns n’Roses drummer Steven Adler once took a road trip with Metallica’s Lars Ulrich and Rob Zombie axeman John 5 – and doesn’t remember.

Adler, who lost his GnR job through addiction issues, admits it’s a common problem for him. But he insists it’s all in his past, and he’s gearing up for a “big comeback”.

He tells Music Radar: “John and I and our wives went out to dinner and he told me the story that we knew each other and hung out in the 80s. I had no idea!

“I’ve been to Metallica concerts – I’ve stood behind Lars as he played drums, and I’ll tell you, I had no idea I’d ever been to a Metallica concert.

“But John says he, Lars and I drove to Arizona in John’s car. And I don’t remember that at all.”

Asked if he’s familiar with the experience of not knowing what he’s done, he admits: “Yes, it does, and I’m not proud of it. I’ve done more things and had a lot more fun than I thought I did.”

His new album, to be released under the band name Adler, is called Back From the Dead, which is a sentiment the drummer relates to after cleaning up following GnR’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame earlier this year.

“I am back from the dead,” he explains. “I’m not just feeling good; I’m feeling great. After the Hall of Fame I started a new chapter. I went into detox for drinking, and the last four months I’ve been sober, and it’s great.

“It’s the new chapter that will be the best part of my life. I’ve got a new attitude. The only thing that can stop me is me – and I won’t let that happen any more. I’ve got the album and the band so I’m in line for the big comeback.”

The record includes guest appearances from 5 and former bandmate Slash. Adler says: “With Slash and the whole world, I have to prove myself. It’s totally understandable, and I’m totally okay with it. In fact, it makes it more exciting.

“I’ve been wanting to work with Slash again for a long, long time. He came down to the studio and he threw me out of the room – he likes to do things with nobody around.

“But the magic went down. Making this whole record was magic. It was more fun than making Appetite For Destruction.”

But Adler is firm that GnR is part of history, not his future. He says: “I have this big poster of us from the first time we went to England. I have to walk by it to go to the bathroom. Before the Hall of Fame, I’d walk by it and go, ‘Someday… ‘

“But now I walk by it, and I say, ‘I’m so glad that was a part of my life.’ Once Axl Rose didn’t show, I realised I was blessed that it happened the first time – and let’s leave it at that. Now I have a new destiny.”

Back From the Dead is due for release on November 26.