Interview: Vince Neil Discusses the Future of Motley Crue

On Friday, April 26, Motley Crue released their first new song since 2019’s “The Dirt (Est. 1981),” the anthemic “Dogs of War.” With John 5 on guitar for the first time with Crue and an utterly crazy music video to accompany it, there was plenty for fans to get excited about with the new song.

But for fans who were hoping “Dogs of War” might be pointing to Motley Crue’s next studio album — what would be their first since 2008’s Saints of Los Angeles — frontman Vince Neil had some sobering news.

“I don’t think you’re going to see a full-length at any time,” Neil revealed to Chuck Armstrong on Friday’s edition of Loudwire Nights.

“It’s easier now just to do a few songs at a time and release them in the right ways. Albums don’t exist anymore. With the MTV generation, you go to a record store and you find your favorite songs on your album and you buy the album and you watch it on MTV and you can see your favorite bands. Now, there’s a billion ways, streaming services and other things — it’s just, geez, I don’t know.”

When Chuck asked Neil if it’s weird for him to admit that, the Crue singer didn’t seem too phased by it.

“It just seems like a lot of work to put 10 songs together on an album when they all won’t be heard,” he said.

“At least you know when somebody buys [an album], they’re going to listen to it. They’re going to listen to the songs. Now we just write the songs to be listened to, to be heard, and that’s what ‘Dogs of War’ was — a song to be heard. And we’re really proud of it.”

Fans Should Still Expect New Music From Motley Crue

If “Dogs of War” isn’t pointing to a Motley Crue album, Neil did say fans should still expect more new music from them.

“More individual songs,” he said. “We got one in the can right now and we don’t know when we’ll put it out. It might be the end of the year, it might be early ’25, but you’ll definitely hear some new music from Motley in the future.”

As Neil said that, he also admitted he’s the type of guy who keeps looking forward to the future — he doesn’t revel much in reflecting on what he’s done in the past.

“I hear it and I’m like, ‘Wow, that’s a long time,'” Neil said when Chuck mentioned 2024 marks the 35th anniversary of Dr. Feelgood. “It seems like yesterday we recorded that record.”

Even though Neil said he isn’t the type of guy to reflect on his past, he did seem to enjoy talking about the making of Dr. Feelgood.

“It was fun recording that record,” Neil said. “It was one of the things we had that we did when we were all sober … Those are fun days, but yeah, those days are kind of over now.”

If He’s Not Making Records, What Keeps Vince Neil Excited About Motley Crue?

While Neil enjoyed making records in the past, it’s clear he’s come to terms with some of the reality of the music industry in the 21st century.

Without the joy of recording albums like Shout at the Devil or Dr. Feelgood, Chuck was curious what kept Neil excited about the future of Motley Crue.

“I love touring,” Neil answered quickly.

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“I love being on stage and playing with these guys. It’s a lot of fun, so I’m looking forward to go on tour.”

Fortunately, Neil said Motley Crue have plans to keep touring until 2026.

“After that, you never know. You put together plans and sometimes they happen, sometimes they don’t, but hopefully we’ll be out there and still bringing it.”

What Else Did Motley Crue’s Vince Neil Discuss on Loudwire Nights?

• Why he enjoys working with John 5: “We recorded [‘Dogs of War’] a long time ago, so we re-recorded with John on guitar … He’s the new guy in the band but he’s a very creative, crazy guitar player. He’s amazing. I think a lot of it has his sound, the John 5 sound. We’re really fortunate to have him in the band.”
• What it’s like still working with Bob Rock: “It feels pretty natural because he’s always been a friend of ours.”
• Why he loves seeing new generations of fans discover Motley Crue’s music: “It all kind of spiked with The Dirt movie, because that brought a lot of fans to say, ‘Well, I wonder what the story is.'”

Listen to the Full Interview in the Podcast Player Below

Vince Neil joined Loudwire Nights on Friday, April 26; the show replays online here, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on-demand.

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