Guns N' Roses' Duff McKagan Was 'So F---ed Up' on His First Solo Record You Can Hear the Cocaine in His Sinuses

Duff McKagan is opening up about the severity of his drug and alcohol abuse — and what caused it.

In an interview with The Guardian on Tuesday, the Guns 'N' Roses bassist, 59, detailed how "f---ed up" he was while making his 1993 solo debut Believe in Me.

“I was so f---ed up when I made my first solo record,” he told the publication “It’s a great snapshot of where I was at in 1992. I could still play. I played drums and all the s--- on there, but I couldn’t sing. I had so much cocaine in my throat, and you can hear it all in my sinuses."

Not long after its release, McKagan was hospitalized with alcohol-induced pancreatitis and "was weeks from death."

The "Just Not There" performer recently revealed he's been struggling with a panic disorder since he was 16 years old, which led to him self-medicating.

"You have safe people who can talk you through a panic attack. Slash [of Guns N' Roses] was, and still is [a safe person]. Having a few rips off a vodka bottle would also stop it. I drank so much in my 20s to self-medicate and that’s not the way to do it," he told the publication.

While artists have become more open about their mental health, McKagan says "it just wasn't talked about" 30 years ago.

“I don’t know who I would have told about it. I just thought I was going f---ing crazy. I’m a sensitive human," he said.

He added: “I didn’t really go through any of that macho rock star stuff. I wanted to be a great musician, and musicians are sensitive souls – even the gnarliest, like Mark Lanegan! Getting addicted to drugs and alcohol was never my intention. There’s nothing glamorous about it, and I was lucky to survive.”

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McKagan's third solo album Lighthouse — which features Slash, Jerry Cantrell and Iggy Pop — is due Oct. 20 via BFD/Orchard/Sony.

The Americana-meets-rock record features 10 songs from 60 that McKagan recorded during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The album title is not only a tribute to his wife, Susan Holmes-McKagan — whom he calls his "lighthouse" — but to the idea "we’re all searching. It’s about hope and wondering what’s next.”