According to MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist John 5, the band’s new material is certainly something to be excited for
MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist John 5 spoke to Meltdown of Detroit’s WRIF radio station about the three new songs the band recorded earlier this year with producer Bob Rock, including “Dogs Of War” and a cover of BEASTIE BOYS‘ “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!)”.
John said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I don’t know when it’s gonna come out, but everything is a plan. Everything is mapped out and structured, and everything is, ‘We’re gonna do it here and there,’ and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So the songs are recorded, mixed, mastered. And they’re so good. I can’t wait for them to come out. They’re so good. I’m really excited about ’em.”
He continued: “Who knows what’s going to happen? I don’t know if we’ll just release singles or an album. It’s up to those guys, so I don’t know. We just record and see what happens. But these songs that we recorded are so good; they’re heavy and the melodies and everybody’s just killing it on these songs.”
When John was asked how much he contributed to the songwriting sessions for thew new material, he replied: “We all sat in a room and did it together. ‘Cause me and Nikki [Sixx, MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist] have written for years and years and years together. So it was nothing new. And me and Tommy [Lee, MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer] worked in the studio together many times as well. So it was nothing new being in the studio, but it was new with Bob Rock.
“What was so wild was we got in a room… It was like total old school, man,” he explained. “You get in the live room and there’s my amp and there’s Nikki‘s amp and there’s Tommy‘s drums, there’s a mic… ‘Cause I’m so used to just playing in the control room. And it’s, like, ‘Oh no, no, no. We’re all gonna get in this room and we’re gonna play.’ And that’s how we recorded.
“It was incredible. I’ve never recorded that way. And it was maybe one of the best experiences I had recording. It was so fun. It was a blast. I had to, like, make notes and all this stuff, and we just played through it. It was incredible.”
MÖTLEY CRÜE introduced their rendition of “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!)” during an exclusive performance on June 30th, discreetly held at the Underworld club in London, England. The event was attended by 450 fortunate fans.
In the autumn of the previous year, John 5 joined MÖTLEY CRÜE, stepping in as the replacement for the band’s founding guitarist, Mick Mars. Mick had officially declared his retirement from touring with MÖTLEY CRÜE in October due to deteriorating health issues.
Mick Mars grapples with Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS), a chronic and inflammatory type of arthritis primarily affecting the spine and pelvis. After enduring years of performing despite the pain, he communicated to his fellow MÖTLEY CRÜE members in the summer of 2022 that he could no longer embark on tours but remained open to recording new music or participating in residencies that did not demand extensive travel.
Initially, when Mars declared his retirement from touring, he affirmed his continued membership in the band, with John 5 assuming his role on the road. However, in early April, the now 72-year-old musician initiated a lawsuit against CRÜE in Los Angeles County’s Superior Court, alleging that, following his announcement, the rest of the CRÜE attempted to diminish his significance as a stakeholder in the group’s corporation and business assets via a shareholders’ meeting.