another factor in the different sound compared to the band's earlier work is the addition of former the cult drummer matt sorum, who replaced steven adler. adler was fired from the group due to heroin addiction. guitarist izzy stradlin said: "adler's sense of swing was the push and pull that give the songs their feel. when that was gone, it was just... unbelievable, weird. nothing worked. i would have preferred to continue with steve, but we'd had two years off and we couldn't wait any longer."