Watch Guns N’ Roses Debut ‘The General’ at Final 2023 U.S. Show

When Guns N’ Roses announced they were releasing a seven-inch single for “Perhaps” in August, fans were surprised to learn that its b-side was a new song titled “The General.” The song, which was written during the Chinese Democracy sessions and has been the topic of discussion by fans online for nearly two decades, was finally unveiled on Thursday night at the band’s show at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. Introduced by Axl Rose as a song they hadn’t played before and that “it could be very interesting,” “The General” is a slow-building hard rocker.

“The General” is the fourth song to be performed by the reunited Guns N’ Roses lineup, following “Hard Skool,” “Absurd” and “Perhaps.”

Watch fan-shot footage of the song below.