Duff McKagan releases “Heroes” cover & new song “True to the Death Rock N’ Roll Ballad”

Duff McKagan has released a cover of the David Bowie classic “Heroes” and a new original solo song called “True to the Death Rock N’ Roll Ballad.”

The tracks follow the Guns N’ Roses and Velvet Revolver bassist’s latest solo album, 2023’s Lighthouse.

“We thought it was good idea to put out a couple of fresh songs right here on the eve of the Lighthouse tour,” McKagan says. “Choosing David Bowie’s ‘Heroes’ seemed to be a natural subject matter for me (I am of course, a massive history nerd)…star-crossed lovers in the shadow of the mid-’70s cold-war era Berlin Wall.”

He adds, “To try and compliment this era, I chose a sort of ’70s glam-rock song that I wrote some time last year, ‘True to the Death Rock N’ Roll Ballad,’ another lyric where love and lust and time are the central figures.”

You can listen to both songs now via digital outlets.

McKagan’s tour launches with a European leg beginning Sept. 30 in Dublin. A U.S. leg kicks off in November.