{"id":6000,"date":"2008-11-23T00:00:52","date_gmt":"2008-11-23T00:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=6000"},"modified":"2013-06-01T13:57:39","modified_gmt":"2013-06-01T13:57:39","slug":"album-review-guns-n-roses-chinese-democracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-guns-n-roses-chinese-democracy\/","title":{"rendered":"GUNS N\u2019 ROSES – Chinese Democracy (2008) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

GUNS N\u2019 ROSES
Chinese Democracy<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nGeffen (2008)<\/span>
Rating: 9\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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We have all heard the rhetoric. Axl Rose is the sole original member. The album cost 13 million US dollars to make. The album took more than a dozen years to complete. The band has imploded. This is an Axl Rose solo album. And so on. So let\u2019s focus on what most people said this album wouldn\u2019t be. They said it wouldn\u2019t sound like a band. They said it wouldn\u2019t even be good. They said it would never be released. They said Axl\u2019s voice was shot. They said it couldn\u2019t possibly sound like Guns N\u2019 Roses, let alone be worthy of the name. But they were wrong. <\/p>\n

Given the seemingly insurmountable weight leaning against him, Axl Rose has released his highly anticipated debut of what was and is the new line-up of Guns N\u2019 Roses. Chinese Democracy<\/em> features multiple line-ups of the band and the result is an album that puts everything released in the last decade, except Metallica\u2019s Death Magnetic<\/em> (2008), to shame in both production and songwriting. Not only does Chinese Democracy<\/em> sound modern and relevant, it sounds timeless. <\/p>\n

Opening with a trio of powerful songs in the title track, \u2018Shackler\u2019s Revenge\u2019 and \u2018Better\u2019, we are reintroduced to the name of Guns N\u2019 Roses and reminded why they are often referred to as \u201cGuns N\u2019 Fuckin\u2019 Roses\u201d. During the title track Rose boldly declares that \u201cAll I\u2019ve got is precious time\u201d<\/em>, jabbing at the critics and the label, both of whom have reportedly tried numerous times to push him into releasing something he deemed unworthy of the name. \u2018Shackler\u2019s Revenge\u2019 has a complicated sound to it and a number of electronic elements (that also appear sporadically throughout the album) lace it before each explosive chorus. Rounding out the trio, \u2018Better\u2019 is likely the best song on the album. With an incredibly catchy and melodic guitar hook, it is led forward by Rose\u2019s best vocal work to date, with the only possible exception being \u2018Patience\u2019 (from 1988’s G N\u2019 R Lies<\/em>). \u2018Better\u2019 has hit written all over it and while it\u2019s a little light when compared to Guns N\u2019 Roses\u2019 early work, it\u2019s completely in line with the Use Your Illusion<\/em> (1991) albums.<\/p>\n

\u2018Riad N\u2019 The Bedouins\u2019 is another one of the rock songs that reminds me of the aforementioned albums, with its attacking vocal and tremendously aggressive wall of guitars and rhythm pieces. It\u2019s topped off by the album\u2019s defining lyric as Rose shoves it back on his critics, declaring \u201cRiad N\u2019 the Bedouins had a plan and thought they\u2019d win \/ But I don\u2019t give a fuck about them because I am crazy\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Also akin to the Use Your Illusion<\/em> albums is the more epic side of Chinese Democracy<\/em>. While it can certainly be argued that this album is ballad heavy, a closer look into the band\u2019s past reveals that this has always been the case and shouldn\u2019t be the surprise that it seems to be. A number of epic power ballads are included here including \u2018Street Of Dreams\u2019 (formerly known as \u2018The Blues\u2019) and \u2018Madagascar\u2019, both of which the band has been playing live for years. Oddly, I find these songs to also be the two weakest links in an otherwise outstanding album. The heavy and scornful \u2018Sorry\u2019 is a blistering piece of work, ballad or not. Likewise, \u2018If The World\u2019 is set apart from the pack by its hip hop beat undertones, but once it surrounds you it\u2019s very hard to dislike. The more upbeat \u2018Catcher In The Rye\u2019 lies somewhere between the radio friendly \u2018Better\u2019 and the moments of balladry but, again, comes to fruition rather quickly and is entirely unforgettable. <\/p>\n

So, the verdict is in and Chinese Democracy<\/em> not only exists, it\u2019s none of the things most people said it would be. As a matter of fact, the most striking thing about this long-awaited album is that it sounds like a cohesive band making an extremely cohesive album. Despite the fact that the album\u2019s recording sessions span at least a decade and it was recorded by nearly three line-ups worth of amazing musicians, it sounds like a band. As a matter of fact, it sounds like Guns N\u2019 Roses. Axl wins. <\/p>\n

Mark Fisher<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GUNS N\u2019 ROSESChinese Democracy Geffen (2008)Rating: 9\/10 We have all heard the rhetoric. Axl Rose is the sole original member. The album cost 13 million US dollars to make. The album took more than a dozen years to complete. The band has imploded. This is an Axl Rose solo album. And so on. So let\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,295],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-guns-n-roses"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6000"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6000\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11954,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6000\/revisions\/11954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}