following the success of the "dr. feelgood" and "decade of decadence" albums and tours, the members of mötley crüe were tired and needed to take a break from the non-stop pressures of the road. instead of being given a break, the band, then consisting of singer vince neil, bassist nikki sixx, guitarist mick mars, and drummer tommy lee, had returned to the studio to begin work on the follow-up album to their 1989 album "dr. feelgood" on a two-week-on, two-week-off schedule. while working on new material in the studio in early 1992, sixx, mars and lee had a falling out with neil that led to the singer quitting or being fired from the band, effectively leaving mötley crüe without a frontman.