In a recent interview with Janne Innanfors of Swedish radio station Rockklassiker, MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx discussed his recent tongue-in-cheek comment regarding the description of the band’s new music as “a powerful cross between country and hip-hop”.

Sixx, who is also the band’s chief songwriter, clarified (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):

“When we were doing some interviews, when we were getting ready to drop the [‘Dogs Of War’] single, I said to Tommy [Lee, MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer], I said, ‘You know…’ ‘Cause we kept getting asked that question [about the sound of the new CRÜE music]. And I said, ‘Man,’ I go… I’m the most sarcastic human being I know. And that sometimes doesn’t always come across in a tweet or something. And I said we got so much media because it was such a lark, such a weird thing that was a joke. And I’m, like, God, that’s really kind of messed up where we’re at today. No media checked, nobody called the office and said, ‘What’s going on? I hear they got new music. It sounds like country and hip-hop.’ I mean, everybody at the label and management company would have just started laughing. They would have gone, ‘You fell for one of Nikki’s jokes.’ But the irony is, isn’t that how people get pressed now? People just love negativity. And I find it interesting. I don’t wanna play in to it, to be honest with you, but that was a fun one… People run with whatever they think they can get some juice out of, and it’s okay. Hey, if you’re talking about our band, that’s a good thing, negative or positive.”

Reflecting on the varied response to “Dogs Of War” from MÖTLEY CRÜE fans, Nikki remarked:

“We appreciate the fact that there was a sort of immediate reaction, because it meant people were paying attention. It’s a very peculiar time now where, whether it’s the news cycle or social media, everyone has become a critic. And I always say, they’ve never built a statue of a critic. It’s never happened, right? It’s always the artist. But now everyone’s a critic. So in a short span of time, we hear, ‘We love it.’ ‘We hate it.’ ‘You’re finished.’ ‘You’ve reinvented yourselves.’ ‘It sounds like ‘Shout At The Devil’.’ ‘It’s terrible.’ And we just kind of sit there and go, ‘That’s cool, guys, but we didn’t exactly ask for your input.’ We’re simply artists creating music, and we’re pretty content with it. I’m happy with it. I like it.”