Steven Rosen at Ultimate-Guitar.com recently caught up with DUFF McKAGAN (ex-GUNS N' ROSES, VELVET REVOLVER, LOADED) for a career-spanning interview. An excerpt is available below:

UG: When Guns did break up did you think, “What am I going to do now?” or were you looking forward to the freedom?

McKagan: "Historically, I made the Believe In Me album while we were on the Illusions tour. But after I left I was sober and everything in life to me was brand new so there was no sort of, 'Oh, my god' shit. There was, 'Oh, what’s fuckin’ out there?' I was going to school; I was doing martial arts; and I had just met my wife and I was exploring what it’s like to be in a relationship where you’re actually fuckin’ there and present. You know? Having kids and moving on. Loaded happened in ’99 while I was goin’ to Seattle University and we would just kinda go out and play in Japan; like on my spring break, we played in Japan. One thing led to another and school, Loaded, and being a father … being a father, the band and school in that order happened. You never know what’s gonna happen in your professional life and especially mine; I had no plans and there was nothing in the cards. Like me and Slash and Matt [Sorum] are gonna get back together and play because there was that kind of stigma around us like, 'Oh, what are you gonna do? Go find another singer?' And when we played a benefit show in 2003 [a concert to commemorate the passing of drummer Randy Castillo], we kind of threw all that out the window. It was just that first moment of the three of us playing in the same rehearsal place … again. Sort of an anger, you know? We really knew at that point but not before. It was like, 'OK, well, this is kind of meant to be and let’s explore this some more.'

UG: You, Slash and Matt put together Velvet Revolver and recorded two really good records.

McKagan: "I’m glad we did and we made a couple really strong records. I don’t know if they really represent what we could be. Maybe the first record was, nah, I don’t know if either of those VR records are really representative and maybe we haven’t made that record yet and maybe one day we will."

UG: You moved on to once again pursue the Loaded project and now you’ve just released the third album, The Taking.

McKagan: These last two records from Loaded [Dark Days and Sick] are really representative of the growth of this band and I’m really proud of this new record."

Go to this location for the complete in-depth interview.

The Taking tracklisting:

'Lords Of Abaddon'

'Executioner's Song'

'Dead Skin'

'We Win'

'Easier Lying'

'She's An Anchor'

'Wrecking Ball'

'King Of The World'

'Cocaine'

'Your Name'

'Follow Me To Hell'

Fans have already been warmed up with tracks 'We Win' and 'Fight On', (currently available on all digital service providers). 'We Win' was played at Qwest Field, the home of the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, McKagan’s hometown. It was also heard during the World Series on the MLB Network. Proceeds from downloads of 'Fight On', a song inspired by America’s military veterans, were donated to the Puget Sound Healthcare System veterans administration.

Check out a stream of the new song 'Dead Skin' below. For more information, visit Duff-loaded.com.