Velvet Revolver: Libertad, Tours, Guns-n-Roses and Stone Temple Pilots

Being in a band can be consuming- just ask the guys from super group, Velvet Revolver. They've dealt with all the crap that comes with being in a successful rock band, and in the end, and with the focus on what really mattered, they've recorded a new album and scheduled some tour dates.

The follow-up to 2003's debut, Contraband, has yet to be given a release date, although "late June" has become the new new date. Libertad was rumored to be release on June 5, but that date was never confirmed.

The first single will be "She Builds Quick Machines".

While touring and promoting their debut album, the band admits that it eventually took its toll on the members and almost caused a split. Fortunately they held it together long enough to schedule a break to recharge their bodies and reset their minds.

Bassist Duff McKagan tells Kerrang Magazine, "We went through a lot of crap the last year and a half. We'd been touring for 15 months, Matt (Sorum - drummer) had broken his hand and we were at each other's throats because we were so tired. When we finally got done touring we didn't want to see each other."

After a nice long break, the band regrouped despite any difficulties.

"It was really, really tough getting us back together into a place where our headspace was right to be able to start a new record. We were all pretty fragmented, writing off in different camps but what we do best is write together. It took us a while to get back to where we were feeling good, and we finally got that back last July and August."

Vocalist Scott Weiland, who's most recently been getting press for marriage issues than VR, told Q magazine that the death of his brother Michael (cause = drug overdose) influenced the album while it was being recorded.

"Michael's death played a big part in the writing of this record. But the way I see it, he's finally free from pain. He's achieved final liberty," stated Weiland, who's no stranger to drug abuse and its powerful allure, but has been successfully sober since 2004.

As far as touring, the band is currently on a six-day tour in South America with an eleven-day romp of major U.S. cities beginning on May 4 at the House of Blues in Los Angeles.