Welcome to the jungle: Guns N' Roses return with 'Democracy'
Listen Up!
Brian Washburn
Issue date: 11/24/08 Section: Lifestyles
It has finally arrived. The moment people have been waiting for all of their lives - or for maybe half of their lives. After 14 years, $5 million and countless musicians, Axl Rose and his giant performing circus (a.k.a. Guns N' Roses) released Chinese Democracy.
In the short life I have already lived, there have been countless instances of moments and items I never thought I would see. There are those where I rejoiced (Barack Obama being elected president, "The Dark Knight," the St. Louis Cardinals finally winning a World Series, the iPhone, Brand New's Deja Entendu and the epic genius of Say Anything). However, I have also scowled and felt embarrassed at a few other things that I never thought I would see in my lifetime (the success of Nickelback and Hinder, the "Scary"/"Epic"/"Disaster"/"Date Movie" franchises, "Saw 2-5," Metro Station, the breakup of Blink 182, and the mind-blowing frenzy of the Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus).
Even though all of those items elicit talking points, nothing has been more anticipated over the past 15 years than GNR's Chinese Democracy. But I couldn't decide if this was something I was going to scowl at - because of my love for the original Guns N' Roses - or an album that would live up to the hype.
After one listen it was clear. This is not the original Guns N' Roses - this is Axl's new bunch of epic tunes. And while some do resemble classics off Appetite for Destruction and Use Your Illusion, they take on different sounds, influences and genres to combine into something completely unseen in music right now.
The opening and title track of the album gives listeners a more modern, grunge-esque guitar tone that you cannot believe at first is GNR … until you hear that familiar high-pitched scream you have only recently found in your old CD collection.
But this is not an old album, and this is definitely the new Guns N' Roses, as Axl goes deep with his vocals throughout the entire opening track, which is a bit of a letdown for fans who wanted more of an explosive vocal opening. But the guitar solos do save the track and highlight much of the album.
In the short life I have already lived, there have been countless instances of moments and items I never thought I would see. There are those where I rejoiced (Barack Obama being elected president, "The Dark Knight," the St. Louis Cardinals finally winning a World Series, the iPhone, Brand New's Deja Entendu and the epic genius of Say Anything). However, I have also scowled and felt embarrassed at a few other things that I never thought I would see in my lifetime (the success of Nickelback and Hinder, the "Scary"/"Epic"/"Disaster"/"Date Movie" franchises, "Saw 2-5," Metro Station, the breakup of Blink 182, and the mind-blowing frenzy of the Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus).
Even though all of those items elicit talking points, nothing has been more anticipated over the past 15 years than GNR's Chinese Democracy. But I couldn't decide if this was something I was going to scowl at - because of my love for the original Guns N' Roses - or an album that would live up to the hype.
After one listen it was clear. This is not the original Guns N' Roses - this is Axl's new bunch of epic tunes. And while some do resemble classics off Appetite for Destruction and Use Your Illusion, they take on different sounds, influences and genres to combine into something completely unseen in music right now.
The opening and title track of the album gives listeners a more modern, grunge-esque guitar tone that you cannot believe at first is GNR … until you hear that familiar high-pitched scream you have only recently found in your old CD collection.
But this is not an old album, and this is definitely the new Guns N' Roses, as Axl goes deep with his vocals throughout the entire opening track, which is a bit of a letdown for fans who wanted more of an explosive vocal opening. But the guitar solos do save the track and highlight much of the album.
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