Use Your Illusion and Ænima: September 17, Five Years Apart, and What Rock Did in Between

Thu, 17 Sep 2026 01:02:54 +0000

On September 17, 1991, Guns N’ Roses released two albums at midnight and sold about 1.45 million copies in a week. On September 17, 1996, Tool released one album with a painting on the cover and a comedian at the center of the title track. It is the same date on the calendar, and the gap between them is the story of 1990s rock.

Midnight, September 17, 1991

Guns N’ Roses released two albums that Tuesday. Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II went on sale at midnight, on Geffen, and record shops stayed open to sell them. Thirty songs across the pair. Illusion I alone runs 16 tracks and 76 minutes and 9 seconds, which is roughly as much music as a CD could physically hold at the time.

Bill Hicks on Real Rock Lab

Use Your Illusion and Ænima: September 17, Five Years Apart, and What Rock Did in Between

Midnight, September 17, 1991