The surprising reason why Slash turned down the opportunity to join Poison
The rock world is full of near-misses and pivotal “what if” moments—situations far more significant than missing a bus and grabbing a cab. These are the monumental occasions where musicians declined opportunities that could have reshaped the course of rock and metal history. Think of Dave Grohl turning down the chance to join Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Zakk Wylde passing on an offer from Guns N’ Roses, Jack Irons opting out of Pearl Jam, or Slash choosing not to join Poison.
While the debate over whether Guns N’ Roses should be considered a metal band may never be settled, Slash has always had a specific view of what the genre means. As he rose to fame, the music scene was filled with artists pushing the boundaries of metal in different ways. At the same time, hair metal was gaining popularity, while other acts were striving to keep the genre more traditional and straightforward.
For this reason, among others, Slash valued bands like Metallica over T Rex; he preferred artists who focused on delivering raw, world-class rock music without relying on flashy visuals or unnecessary gimmicks. In Slash’s view, bands that leaned too heavily into theatrical aesthetics likely compensated for a lack of real musical talent.
Slash nearly joined Poison early in his career, but even from the start, he stood out as an individualistic virtuoso in the rock and metal scenes, regardless of the bands he played with. His style was genuine, an authentic reflection of his personality, unlike the flashy image-driven acts he considered unnecessary, and ultimately, he wanted no part of hair or glam metal if it meant conforming to its superficial demands.
According to the musician, he came extremely close to joining the band, making it to the final two before his morality on the matter was tested. Apparently, the moment the group started talking about costume-related requirements like makeup, Slash vetoed the entire idea and removed himself from the process. His reservations and opinions about how rock should look and sound led to them choosing C.C. DeVille, but Slash wasn’t too disheartened about the whole thing, especially when his heart wasn’t really in it from the beginning.
“We had a definite difference of opinion as to what it was all about—image issues, clothing issues,” Slash recalled in 1985 to Music Aficionado. “I knew it wasn’t going to click. They asked me if I planned on wearing jeans and a T-shirt on stage, and I said, ‘Yeah.’ As I was walking out, C.C. DeVille was walking in,” he said. Noting the moment it clicked that DeVille would be a worthy replacement, he remembered he was “dressed to the nines” with “makeup on” and hair that was “all done up”.
It’s easy to speculate about what Slash would have been like within Poison. His individualistic and nuanced guitar playing, known for completely blowing out the walls of any stadium, would have likely helped the band to establish a grander, more established sound. However, in Slash’s view, it wouldn’t have even gotten this far, considering the fact he likely would have tapped out soon after being chosen anyway.
Clearly, Slash’s decision to opt-out wasn’t just another near-miss in the rock arena; it was merely an example of a musician sticking to his guns, not just for selfish reasons but for the band, too. In Slash’s view, joining the band would have been like saying yes to a role you know you’re not entirely suitable for, and that is never fair to either party. As he put it: “Had it worked out and I’d gotten the gig, it wouldn’t have lasted long. I wasn’t right for them”.
