Guns N’ Roses – Chinese Democracy

Review by Satyricon
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* Axl Rose – lead vocals, backing vocals
* Robin Finck – lead guitar, backing vocals
* Bumblefoot – lead guitar
* Richard Fortus – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
* Tommy Stinson – bass guitar, backing vocals
* Dizzy Reed – keyboard, piano, percussion, backing vocals
* Bryan Mantia – drums, percussion
* Frank Ferrer – drums, percussion
* Chris Pitman – synthesizer, programming

Track listing:

1. “Chinese Democracy” – 4:41
2. “Shackler’s Revenge” – 3:35
3. “Better” – 4:56
4. “Street of Dreams”
5. “If the World”
6. “There Was a Time”
7. “Catcher in the Rye”
8. “Scraped”
9. “Riad N’ the Bedouins”
10. “Sorry”
11. “I.R.S.”
12. “Madagascar”
13. “This I Love”
14. “Prostitute”

A decade since The Spaghetti Incident? was released and the new Guns N’ Roses has finally surfaced, after failed attempts, delays, law suits and scepticism about its conception.

But is it a true GN’R album?

The only recognisable element remaining from the original GN’R line up and sound is Axl Rose. No Slash.
To me, it just isn’t right. Slash’s recognisable guitar work on the Use Your Illusion 1 and 2
albums gave the very different sounding songs some sort of cohesion, linking their new sound to the earlier Appetite for Destruction album. This is missing from Chinese Democracy. The songs aren’t as catchy or iconic as is expected. 20 years on and i still remember every song and riff from Appetite for Destruction, those songs spawned many a guitarist eager to emulate the sheer awesomeness they listened to.

While the songs aren’t terrible, they just don’t have an instant appeal. The subject matter is a bit too introspective and the lyrics aren’t easily memorised, due to the general oddity of it all.
The simplicity and aggression of the old GN’R take on life is missing… in comparison to the following lyrics:

I used to love her
But I had to kill her
I used to love her, Mm, yeah
But I had to kill her
I had to put her six feet under
And I can still hear her complain

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Final word : its a Roses no Guns album.