Rock Recovery

Ep. 6 Slash - SURVIVING AN APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION

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A 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and one of the greatest guitar players of all time, Slash is internationally famous as the lead guitarist for Guns N’ Roses, “the most dangerous band in the world,” as well as a co-founder of Velvet Revolver and an accomplished solo artist.

In an industry known for excess, Guns n’ Roses seemed determined to set a new standard. And Slash admits that he overdosed and flatlined at least three times that he knows of. In 2001, at the age of only 35, he was diagnosed with a form of congestive heart failure known as cardiomyopathy and had to have a defibrillator implanted to protect against sudden cardiac death. Years of drinking had swollen his heart to the point of bursting. It reached the point where the doctors gave him between six days and six weeks to live.

Slash wrote about his battle with the bottle in his superb 2007 autobiography "Slash,” admitting he knew that he needed to change his path if he wanted to go on living. Early in the morning of July 3, 2006, he checked into rehab and fully surrendered…and he’s been sober, and healthier, ever since.