The trio is releasing a reissue of their first album this week in honor of its 10th anniversary..
by Bryan Rolli
October 27, 2017, 12:45pm EDT
Nikki Sixx’s truth is more harrowing than most fiction.
Any Mötley Crüe fan at least peripherally familiar with the band’s debauched history knows about the bassist’s well-documented -- and temporarily fatal -- drug habit. By 1987, Crüe had reached new commercial highs, notching a No. 2 record on the Billboard 200 albums chart with their fourth release, Girls, Girls, Girls, and embarking on a massive North American tour through the end of the year. But their success was marred by in-fighting and personal demons, with Sixx caught in the throes of an all-consuming heroin addiction that culminated in his overdose on Dec. 23, 1987.
Sixx was pronounced legally dead for two minutes. Paramedics revived him with two shots of adrenaline, at which point he staggered home, injected more heroin and passed out. But cheating death inspired the bassist to eventually get sober, whereupon Mötley Crüe enjoyed their greatest success with 1989’s chart-topping Dr. Feelgood.
The Heroin Diaries gave Ashba and Michael their greatest taste of mainstream success yet, and it jumpstarted Sixx’s career after Mötley Crüe’s latest album, 2000’s New Tattoo, stalled at No. 41 on the Billboard 200. Sixx:A.M. have since released four additional studio albums, and this week they celebrated The Heroin Diaries’ 10th anniversary by re-releasing the book and soundtrack with new photos, chapters, album art, liner notes and reimagined versions of old songs. But nobody anticipated the project would be such a resounding commercial success or inspire fans grappling with similar issues -- they hadn’t even planned on becoming a band…..
Read More here….
https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/8014825/sixxam-the-heroin-diaries-10th-anniversary-reissue-interview