After listening to the whole album a few times, I have to say I don't dislike it as much as the leaks suggested I would. Still, Axl's "everything including the kitchen sink" approach is annoying. The drawback to making an experimental album where every song has its own distinct flavor is that you run the risk of making an unfocused mish-mash of "look what I can do" tracks. To me, that's what this album is. Too often, it sounds like Axl is screeching and wailing simply to be heard over the swirling cacophony he's created around himself. Perhaps that was a deliberate sonic metaphor for the process of creating the album.

What was always great about Gn'R was their ability to make hard rock with a pop sensiblity. Even when they were in total radio-friendly mode, like on "November Rain," or "Sweet Child of Mine," they were building towards something. At the seven minute mark, "November Rain" starts to get a little tedious. Then, when you get to that outro, it takes what was a decent little rock ballad and transforms into into an epic rock anthem. It's the same with so many of the Gn'R hits, "Sweet Child" and "Paradise City" had great fucking outros. There's none of that to be found on this new album, there's never any climax.