SydLexia.com - The Forums :: View topic - Guns N' Roses

Joined: Dec 06 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 11244

We have a thread that is specifically about "if it is coming out".

This thread is for the music that is released and what everyone thinks of it.

So far I have heard two songs:

Shackler's Revenge - in low streaming quality

Chinese Democracy - in low streaming quality (Radio Rip)

The song is streaming for free on http://www.gunsnroses.com in a higher quality stream..

Chinese Democracy is getting a lot of play time on the air as a single:

Blabbermouth wrote:

According to Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems, between 5:00 a.m. EST on October 22 and 5:00 a.m. EST on 23, GUNS N' ROSES new single, "Chinese Democracy", was played 683 times on all BDS-monitored terrestrial and satellite radio stations. WAAF-FM in Boston and WHJY-FM in Providence both played it 18 times during that time period. WBSX-FM in Wilkes-Barre was next with 17 spins. By comparison, the #1 song on the Billboard Mainstream Rock radio chart was spun 322 times on October 22, with 526 spins overall.

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=107607

Both songs are much more industrial sounding than past GNR tunes, but I enjoyed both very much. I look forward to having them blasting on a real stereo in high quality.

So with two good singles what else am I excited about? The album is going to be offered for $12. Yeah... not some stupid high price. For those who argue that CD's destroyed the quality of rock... Axl agrees. An LP version is being released. The LP will include free digital download instructions for MP3s of the songs.

Posted: Oct 29 2008 05:32 pm

I haven't heard them yet, and I'm at work so I can't listen now.

But I'm intrigued by the fact that the article mentions the songs are "more industrial" than older GNR tunes. It just seems to me that it hardly makes sense to compare the new album to past GNR, being that A) GNR hasn't released any new material in about 17 years, and B) It's not GNR.....it's Axel and a bunch of new guys.

EDIT: LOL.....wow.....just realized it wasn't the article that says the "more industrial thing," it was the thread starter. Better stop reading/posting while trying to wrap up the day at work.

Joined: Aug 13 2008 Location: Watertown, NY Posts: 131

Sorry, Axl, but EPIC FUCKING FAIL. I'll have to hear the whole album, but seriously, lame.

Why the fuck did this take so long to put together? Except for the few good bits where the old snarling, shrieking Axl manages to rear his sleazy little head this sounds like something Nickleback would put out for Chrissakes.

Buckethead (as well as the rest of the band) is clearly on auto pilot, which I guess isn't such a bad thing. He's an astonishingly dextrous player, but a little of that dissonant, atonal noodling goes a long way. It's a shame too, because he's a fucking amazingly melodic soloist when he feels like it.

Expectations for this album were bound to be unreasonably high. I tried not to expect too much, and I KNOW it's not going to be the same Gn'R we all know and love. But, by the same token, this is the perfect time for Gn'R to come back. The music industry is finally stepping away from the altar of Cobain, hard-hitting and proficient rock music is becoming a cultural force again, and Guitar Hero has people interested in music at a level our generation has never seen. This was a great opportunity for one of the masters to return and show all the kiddies how it's done. It's a fucking shame. It really is.

Joined: Dec 06 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 11244

As a huge Guns N' Roses fan, I have come to realize that the new GNR is a band. They are just not the same band as the original GNR.

Much like Velvet Revolver is not GNR.

Expectations for a new Appetite for Destruction would be foolish.

Instead of waiting for a repeat of the past or something similar, take the new and judge it for what it is.

Axl, Slash, Izzy, Duff, and Steven Adler made what I consider the best music of all time. It isn't the only music of all time though.

Remember, you can always put an old album into a stereo.

Joined: Aug 13 2008 Location: Watertown, NY Posts: 131

I wasn't expecting another Appetite, nor was I expecting much from the album other than that it not be lifeless and dull. It's especially inexcusable after all this time, and all the bullshit. This is like all of those "supergroup" albums, the musicianship is there and the songs are okay, but it sounds like it was written in a weekend.

Posted: Oct 30 2008 02:06 am

If the leaks are what appear on the album, I've heard 'Chinese Democracy', 'Shackler's Revenge', 'Better', 'Street of Dreams' (formerly called 'The Blues'), 'If The World', 'Riad and the Bedouins', 'Madagascar', and 'This I Love'...actually there's only three songs I haven't heard, but these are the ones I can remember. The only one I'm not so fond of is 'Riad'...all the others are pretty solid tunes!

I'm stoked. My parents are pissed that I'm going to 'waste' my money on it, but I have OCD...if I have all their other albums, I gotta have this one lol. That isn't why I'm buying it, but that's reason enough Razz

Posted: Oct 30 2008 08:46 am

I agree these are more industrial sounding, but I definitely dig both of those songs, particularly Shackler's Revenge.

Joined: Dec 06 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 11244

Chinese Democracy has a great intro, a fantastic beat and decent guitar soloing throughout the entire song.

No, Axl doesn't hit those peak octaves we know he can, but that was a choice for that song. Personally I thought it was good the way it was done. High pitched falsetto is nice, but gets old if every song is the same.

I would say that the weakest link is the lyrics themselves. The seem more politically charged and less personal. Axl used to really focus on how he felt. Which made some songs lyrical content amazing... while others were totally fucked up. Either way, I always felt like he was really trying to express himself through GNR songs.

In contrast, Shackler's Revenge has much more meaningful lyrics and Axl brings in the high octave falsetto.

Joined: Aug 26 2007 Posts: 2752

Okay Shackler's Revenge is cool, it's kind of like NIN and GNR had a devil child. Chinese Democarcy just doesn't grab me. I'm hoping to find a few songs i can say "Now that's f-in awesome." Hell, some times i like the lesser played of the songs on a hit album more then the major it. Crossing fingers!

Joined: Jun 21 2008 Posts: 36

In the GERMANY we feel as though the G N R has lost touch because it is not just AXL that makes the band but it is ALL OF THEM. Now you have SLASH who is breaking up yet ANOTHER BAND and he needs to go back to Axl and they can reap in the money from LOSERS who pay for the shit. FUCK the RIAA.

Posted: Nov 07 2008 02:45 pm

Chinese Democracy is a great track, and I would hardly count it as industrial.

Shackler's Revenge is all right, definitely very industrial. It was kind of an awful choice to be included in the game because it's one of the least GNR-ish tracks on the album.

Other songs I've heard from the album:

Better - Decent rock track, sort of a ballad but not quite.
Catcher in the Rye - A really good ballad
Madagascar - An awesome ballad
Street of Dreams - I'm not sure, but I think this is the track that was leaked years ago as "The Blues". If it is, it's a great ballad. If not, boo to Axl for not including "The Blues".
IRS - Great fucking track. Hard rock all the way.
There Was A Time (TWAT) - Another ballad, also good.
Rhiad And The Bedouins - Another track in the same vein as Shackler's Revenge. Not terrible, not great.

I've heard one other leaked track which was labelled "Untitled" as is most likely either Sorry or Prostitute. It's another ballad, and it's decent.

I just preordered my copy on BestBuy.com today. I wasn't going to preorder, but BB is offering free shipping, so I figured there was no reason not to.[/b]

Joined: Dec 06 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 11244

Does BestBuy allow for in store pickup for a Pre-Order?

If so, I'll do that.

But otherwise they can't ship to you on a Sunday.

Posted: Nov 07 2008 04:05 pm

Yes, they do.

I'm gonna let them ship it. I've heard over the half the album, and I don't get it til 11/25 or 11/26, I'm sure I'll somehow live.

Joined: Dec 06 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 11244

Syd Lexia wrote:

Yes, they do.

I'm gonna let them ship it. I've heard over the half the album, and I don't get it til 11/25 or 11/26, I'm sure I'll somehow live.

I however, would not.

Posted: Nov 07 2008 06:05 pm

'Street of Dreams' is 'The Blues', and it is a great fucking song. I'm gonna buy it from Future Shop on Sunday.

Docinsano's Channel 63 · Posted: Nov 07 2008 06:05 pm

Seriously. That many ballads? Jeeze.

Joined: Dec 06 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 11244

That is a lot of ballads, but I'm willing to hold all reservation until I have the CD and can hear it exactly as it was intended to be heard.

2010 SLF Tag Champ Joined: Jun 07 2006 Posts: 12294

all Iv'eh eard were shackler's revenge and the title track.

I really liked shackler's revenge.

Title: Misanthrope Joined: May 18 2007 Posts: 78

I don't know about these two. Chinese Democracy seems to want to have a catchy chorus, but it fails by having an undiscernibly shitty one. That, coupled with the jarring, unrhythmic opening lyrics, really makes the piece seem like a random collection of melodies rather than one cohesive song.

Shackler's Revenge started out sounding a little bit like Locomotive off the Illusions 2 album, but then found a voice of its own. I it's a pretty catchy song all around. It's nothing special, though.

Better, of all the songs I've heard off the album, is easily my favorite.

Posted: Nov 08 2008 01:48 pm

Didn't feel like making a new thread because the song is so shitty so here it is. Anyone heard Sammy Hagar's new single Cosmic Universal Fashion? COSMIC UNIVERSAL FAILURE AMIRITE? *blech*

Posted: Nov 08 2008 09:06 pm

Cosmic Universal Fashion does suck, but the video is awesome.

Also, my cousin heard 'Shackler's' and though it was Korn at first. And I actually get what he means.

Joined: Aug 26 2007 Posts: 2752

Didn't Axl want to sound more NIN though? I think he should stick with straight up Hard Rock, not this splicing of Rock/Indy. He is an awesome artist and i applaud his efforts to try something new but still . . . i miss his old style.

Title: Misanthrope Joined: May 18 2007 Posts: 78

Anyone know when Sebastian Bach became Axl Rose's number one cheerleader and scrotum sucker?

Posted: Nov 08 2008 10:36 pm

They were friends for a long time. They started hanging out sometime after Skid Row got big and were BFFs for a long time after that, until GN'R broke up and Axl disappeared. They reconnected sometime between 2002-2004, when Axl suddenly called him out of the blue to hang out and they resumed their friendship. This led to Baz convincing Axl to come into Eddie Trunk's studio on Cinco de Mayo in 2006. Baz was there promoting Supergroup with Scott Ian. Chris Jericho was there too for some reason. Sebastian's phone went off, and the others starting making fun of him. Then he said it was Axl texting him, and he mentioned Axl was in NYC warming up for his gigs at the Hammerstein Ballroom and Eddie told him to try and get him on the phone on the air. That didn't work out so well, but somehow he convinced Axl to come down to the studio, and once he got there, the duration of the show was an extended interview with Axl with a couple random songs played in-between. It was the greatest thing ever. Axl and Baz shared a bunch of classic stories from the old days. Shortly thereafter, Baz showed up as a guest at the Hammerstein Ballroom show and has appeared at pretty much every GNR show since then, either as a guest or an opening act.

Joined: Sep 17 2007 Location: The Opium Trail Posts: 3475

Syd Lexia wrote:

Chris Jericho was there too for some reason.

Chris Jericho is a good friend of Trunk's, as is Mets player Mike Piazza.