Here's what Nikki Sixx has to say in response to criticism of Motley Crue's latest song "Dogs of War," which came out in late April.

The track is the first that Crue have released since their split with Mick Mars, and thus features John 5 on guitar. It's one of a handful of songs they've been working on since early 2023, and as usual, there was a mixed bag of reactions from fans online.

Sixx was featured on the Swedish radio station Rockklassiker back in June, and during that appearance he was asked a bit about the reaction to the song and the build-up leading up to it.

"We liked the fact that there was kind of a knee-jerk reaction because at least people were listening. It's a very strange time now, whether it's a news cycle or socials — everybody has turned into a critic. And I always say, 'They've never erected a statue of a critic.' It's never happened right? It's always the artists," Sixx said of the reactions to the track.

"But now, everybody's a critic, so within a short amount of time we get, 'We love it,' 'We hate it,' 'You're over,' 'You reinvented yourself,' 'It sounds like Shout at the Devil,' 'It sucks.' And we just kind of sit there and go, 'That's cool guys, but we didn't really ask for any input from you.'"

In early April, the rocker teased the song on social media and said that people who "heard it say it’s a powerful cross between country and hip hop." A few days later, he revealed that it was a joke and mocked fans and the media for taking it seriously.

Sixx explained during the interview that that was intended to be a sarcastic social media post, but it drew so much attention since artists are typically asked what their new music sounds like prior to its release.

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"I'm like, 'God, that's really kind of fucked up that that's where we're at today,'" he suggested, adding that no one tried to contact their label or management company to see if his description of the music was serious or not.

"The irony is, isn't that how people get press now? People just love negativity, and I find it interesting. I don't want to play into it, to be honest with you, but that was a fun one."

Listen to the full conversation at this location.

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