The “Nightmarish Obsession” That Gave Slash (And Some Strangers) a Terrifying Story to Tell

Behind the glamor of the “sex, drugs, and rock and roll” lifestyle, there is the far bleaker reality of addiction and excess—including the “nightmarish obsession” that gave Slash and a few strangers a terrifying story to tell one fateful day at an Arizona resort. In fact, the incident was so disastrous that friends and family of the Guns N’ Roses guitarist staged an intervention the very next day.

The unwelcome meeting only happened because band manager Doug Goldstein and a high-profile Phoenix promoter, Danny Zelisko, successfully bargained with local police to keep the rockstar out of jail for drug possession, public intoxication, and public indecency.

Chaos Ensued After Slash Arrived in Arizona

At the height of their fame, with plenty of drugs, women, and “get out of jail free” cards to spare, Guns N’ Roses developed a reputation for their hedonistic lifestyle. Eventually, guitarist Slash and drummer Steve Adler’s drug use became a point of contention with the rest of the band. When manager Doug Goldstein took Adler to a lavish Arizona resort for a “soft intervention,” Slash declined Goldstein’s invitation to tag along. However, he later changed his mind and headed east to the desert, drugs in tow.

In his memoir Slash: The Autobiography, the guitarist details arriving at the resort after his colleagues. He spent the first night shooting up a volatile mix of c*** and h*****, which eventually led to intense hallucinations of shadowy monsters hiding in the curtains of his room. “I decided to shower to straighten up a bit,” Slash wrote. “But before that, I opted for one last shot of c***. I felt great when I got under the big, rain-style luxury showerhead. And as I was there under the nice warm water, the c*** hallucinations hit me harder than they had that night or ever before: full daylight was coming in through the skylight, but I watched as long shadows emerged from the corners.”

Slash wrote: “[The hallucinations] always looked like the creature in Predator to me, but a fraction of the size and translucent blue-gray. They were wiry and muscular with the same pointed heads and rubbery-looking dreadlocks. They’d always been a welcome, carefree distraction, but this hallucination was sinister. I could see them gathering in the doorway. There was an army of them, holding tiny machine guns and weapons that looked like harpoons.”

Slash’s Terrifying Story Of His “Nightmarish Obsession”

What happened next would certainly stick with the staff and residents of the Phoenician luxury resort forever. As Slash’s hallucinations became increasingly terrifying, he punched straight through the glass shower door, slicing his hand as he sent glass shards flying everywhere. He cut his feet open trying to escape, which only added to his overall panic. Eventually, Slash ran onto the golf course naked.

“When I ran out of the bungalow, the bright sunlight, the shocking green of the grass, and the colors of the sky were overwhelming. Everything was jarring and vivid to me,” he wrote. Slash ran from the golf course to a nearby bungalow, where he attempted to use a resort maid as a human shield. He then ran to the resort lobby, using a guest as his next shield. Finally, Slash found refuge in a utility closet, where his bandmate, Steven Adler, and the police found him.

Thanks to some skillful negotiating from manager Doug Goldstein and promoter Danny Zalisko, Slash avoided going to jail after police found drug residue in his room. Goldstein and Zalisko put Slash on a plane back to Los Angeles, and the next day, the guitarist’s friends and family staged their intervention.

Although Slash did go to rehab after the intervention, he didn’t stay long and began using immediately after leaving. Slash continued to struggle with addiction until the early 2000s following a diagnosis of congestive heart failure at the age of 35. He’s been sober since 2006, leaving the terrifying story of his time at the Phoenician in the past with the rest of rock and roll’s wildest tales of debauchery.

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