Slash felt like he cheated death earlier this year after revealing that his past “hardcore partying” nearly cost him his life. In his mid‑30s, during the height of Guns N’ Roses fame and a spiral of alcohol and drug addiction, the rock icon was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, a serious form of congestive heart failure. He ultimately had a defibrillator implanted to regulate his heart rhythms—a move that saved him, according to his own recounting to The Sunday Times .
As Slash nears his 60th birthday, the scars from those turbulent years echo in his reflections. He told Radio X he recently received a note from his tour manager about “one of the times I died back in 2001,” underscoring just how close to collapse he came . He credits his sober lifestyle—felled by self‑destructive habits in Guns N’ Roses’ early days—as the turning point that allowed both his health and music to recover. He celebrated this survival, noting that “getting older is an accomplishment” and that he intends to keep playing “as long as I physically can” .
Adding context, reports indicate Slash’s heart had been dangerously enlarged from years of substance abuse—“swelling to the point of rupture”—before corrective procedures were performed . His recovery included months of physical therapy, after which he resumed touring. This included playing at the notorious Michael Jackson 40th birthday show in 2001—an appearance marked by shocks from the defibrillator, which struck mid‑performance . Nonetheless, he soldiered on, resilient even under duress.
Today, Slash remains active on Guns N’ Roses’ 2025 world tour—Because What You Want & What You Get Are Two Completely Different Things—which kicked off on May 1 in South Korea and stretches through November, including North American and European dates . The tour marks not only a musical milestone but a testament to Slash’s resilience. He’s also balancing solo projects, including his latest album, Orgy of the Damned, while he and the band work toward a new Guns N’ Roses record .
In sum, Slash’s candid acknowledgment of his heart condition—and survival—offers both a warning and inspiration. He turned away from a life that nearly destroyed him and emerged determined, preferring to “jump into spending all my time doing music,” rather than succumb to the empty void of fame without purpose . As 2025 unfolds, fans can witness not only his guitar prowess on stage but also a man who faced down mortality—and lived to tell the tale
Leave a Reply