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[shantyman]

Click here for a high-resolution version of the Cover Artwork.

CHINESE DEMOCRACY has finally arrived. One of the most highly anticipated albums in rock history, the long-awaited Chinese Democracy
marks the first album of new material from Guns N’ Roses since 1991’s simultaneous release of Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II.
With a frenzied energy, Guns N’ Roses arrived on the music scene in the mid-‘80s and rock was never the same. Now the enormously influential
G N’ R is ready to rock once again.

The album will be the first installment in a trilogy of new albums. Band members have stated that once the album released, the other two
albums would be more follow much more quickly, leading many fans to believe that the albums would surface months after one another
similar to what bands like System of a Down have done in recent history. However at this time, this is only optimistic speculation, however Rose
admitted in 2007 to having 40-50 finished studio tracks completed as well as close to 100 completed demos on multiple occasions.

Many have noticed the departure in sound in comparison to old GN'R records which Axl Rose himself has stated in a Rolling Stone interview in 2006,
"Some people are going to say: 'It doesn't sound like Axl Rose, it doesn't sound like Guns n' Roses'". He later added, "But you'll like at least a few songs on there".

1. Chinese Democracy
2. Shackler's Revenge
3. Better
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

Credit: ChineseDemocracy.com for coding/photoshopping, George Chin and others for photos, Buckethead for mediating, Shantyman for the hardwork at GAF.

Original GAF Post Content:

Release Date:

November 23rd, 2008 (only at Best Buy and Digitally in the US; elsewhere not known if exclusive retailers are in place). Vinyl purchases come with a digital download.

Cover Art:

Classic Quotes:

Axl Rose says the reason we've been waiting so long for Chinese Democracy is because he wants to make sure it's "a good record." The Guns N' Roses frontman told New York magazine that he's waiting to get the album just right. "It's not about being a control freak," he said. "It's about being maybe smart enough to go, 'No, that's a bad idea.' That's all it's about -- keeping the ability to at least have a shot as opposed to something that's just and obvious disaster. I want to make a good record. I don't want to throw a brick. This cannot be Shaq at the free-throw line."

Update 11-10-08: First Review from Rolling Stone's David Fricke

Let's get right to it: The first Guns n' Roses album of new, original songs since the first Bush administration is a great, audacious, unhinged and uncompromising hard-rock record. In other words, it sounds a lot like the Guns n' Roses you know. At times, it's the clenched-fist five that made 1987's perfect storm, Appetite for Destruction; more often, it's the one sprawled across the maxed-out CDs of 1991's Use Your Illusion I and II, but here compressed into a convulsive single disc of supershred guitars, orchestral fanfares, hip-hop electronics, metallic tabernacle choirs and Axl Rose's still-virile, rusted-siren singing.

If Rose ever had a moment's doubt or repentance over what Chinese Democracy has cost him in time (13 years), money (14 studios are listed in the credits) and body count — including the exit of every other founding member of the band — he left no room for it in these 14 songs. "I bet you think I'm doin' this all for my health," Rose cracks through the saturation-bombing guitars in "I.R.S.," one of several glancing references on the album to what he knows a lot of people think of him: that Rose, now 46, has spent the last third of his life running off the rails, in half-light. But when he snaps, "All things are possible/I am unstoppable," in the thumper "Scraped," that's not loony hubris — just a good old rock & roll "fuck you," the kind that made him and the old band hot and famous in the first place.

Something else Rose broadcasts over and over on Chinese Democracy: Restraint is for suckers. There is plenty of familiar guitar firepower — the stabbing-dagger lick that opens the first track, "Chinese Democracy," the sand-devil fuzz in "Riad N' the Bedouins" and the looping squeals over the grand anguish of "Street of Dreams." But what Slash and Izzy Stradlin used to do with two guitars now takes a wall of 'em. On some tracks, Rose has up to five guys — Robin Finck, Buckethead, Paul Tobias, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal and Richard Fortus — riffing and soloing in broad, saw-toothed blurs. And that's no drag. I still think the wild, superstuffed "Oh My God" — the early Chinese Democracy track wasted on the 1999 End of Days soundtrack — beats everything on Guns n' Roses' 1993 covers album, The Spaghetti Incident?

Most of these songs also go through multiple U-turns in personality, as if Rose kept trying new approaches to a hook or a bridge and then decided, "What the hell, they're all cool." "Better" starts with what sounds like hip-hop voicemail — severely pinched guitar, drum machine and a near-falsetto Rose ("No one ever told me when/I was alone/They just thought I'd know better") — before blowing up into vintage Sunset Strip wallop. "If the World" has Buckethead plucking acoustic Spanish guitar over a blaxploitation-film groove, while Rose shows that he still holds a long-breath vowel — part torture victim, part screaming jet — like no other rock singer.

And there is so much going on in "There Was a Time" — strings and Mellotron, a full-strength choir and Rose's overdubbed sour-growl harmonies, wah-wah guitar and a false ending (more choir) — that it's easy to believe Rose spent most of the past decade on that arrangement alone. But it is never a mess, more like a loud mass of bad memories and hard lessons. In the first lines, Rose goes back to a beginning much like his own — "Broken glass and cigarettes/ Writin' on the wall/It was a bargain for the summer/An' I thought I had it all" — then piles on the wreckage along with the orchestra and guitars. By the end, it's one big melt of missing and kiss-off ("If I could go back in time . . . But I don't want to know it now"). If this is the Guns n' Roses that Rose kept hearing in his head all this time, it is obvious why two guitars, bass and drums were never going to be enough.

It is plain, too, that he thinks this Guns n' Roses is a band, as much as the one that recorded "Welcome to the Jungle," "Sweet Child O' Mine," "Used to Love Her" and "Civil War." The voluminous credits that come with Chinese Democracy certainly give detailed credit where it is due. My favorite: "Initial arrangement suggestions: Youth on 'Madagascar." Rose takes the big one — "Lyrics N' Melodies by Axl Rose" — but shares full-song bylines with other players on all but one track. Bassist Tommy Stinson plays on nearly every song, and keyboardist Dizzy Reed, the only survivor from the Illusion lineup, does the Elton John-style piano honors on "Street of Dreams."

But Rose still sings a lot about the power of sheer, solitary will even when he throws himself into a bigger fight, like "Chinese Democracy." In "Madagascar," which Rose has played live for several years now, he samples both Dr. Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech and dialogue from Cool Hand Luke. And at the end of the album, on the bluntly titled "Prostitute," Rose veers from an almost conversational tenor, over a ticking-bomb shuffle, to five-guitar barrage, orchestral lightning and righteous howl: "Ask yourself/Why I would choose/To prostitute myself/To live with fortune and shame." To him, the long march to Chinese Democracy was not about paranoia and control. It was about saying "I won't" when everyone else insisted, "You must." You may debate whether any rock record is worth that extreme self-indulgence. Actually, the most rock & roll thing about Chinese Democracy is he doesn't care if you do.

Original Post (10-19-2006): I'm starting this thread because they swear it will be out before the end of the year.

See this thread for more details, discussion, and song samples.

Rolling Stone posted this yesterday:

Exclusive: More Juicy “Chinese Democracy” Tidbits

In the new issue of Rolling Stone hitting stands this Friday, our Brian Hiatt reveals what he’s discovered about the long-awaited Guns N’ Roses album Chinese Democracy. The article begins with this elusive quote from GN’R manager Merck Mercuriadis, in which he essentially retreads stuff we already know: “The album will come out this year. There are ten Tuesdays left before January – it will come out on one of them.” But trust us, it gets better. Highlights after the jump.

* Following Guns’ headlining gig in San Bernadino, California, on September 23rd, Axl threw a party at his mansion and played the full album in his poolroom for visitors, including his friend Sebastian Bach, former singer of Skid Row. “It was mind-blowing,” says Bach, who is opening for Guns n’ Roses on their upcoming North American arena tour. “It’s a very cool album – it’s badass with killer screams, killer guitar riffs, but it’s got a totally modern sound. The word for it is ‘grand.’ It’s ****ing epic. He’s reinvented himself yet again.”
* The album includes some tracks that have been played live or leaked onto the Internet, including the poppy “Better” and the hard-hitting “I.R.S.” “There’s this one song called ‘Sorry’ that’s almost like doom metal with Axl singing really clean over this grinding, slow beat that is ****ing mean,” says Bach. “I cannot get it out of my head.”
* Veteran engineer Andy Wallace, who mixed Nirvana’s Nevermind, is working on the project, according to a source close to the band. “We’re absolutely delighted with the mixes,” the source says.
* On October 24th, the band will kick off its North American tour in Miami. Two dates — November 10th in New York and November 20th in Halifax, Nova Scotia — are already sold out, according to Mercuriadis. Additional U.S. dates will be added in early 2007, and the band will return to the States in the summer as well, he says.
* Though a source told Rolling Stone that the album is due November 21st, Mercuriadis declined to confirm this. “I don’t know that we will announce a release date,” he says. “You just might walk into your record shop one Tuesday and find it there.”

!!!

UPDATE 9-26-08

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/..._id=1003855688

September 26, 2008 , 3:10 PM ET

Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.
Best Buy is set to be the exclusive retailer for Guns N' Roses decade-plus-in-the-making new album "Chinese Democracy" before year's end, sources close to the situation tell Billboard. Some details of the deal are still being worked out, including the release date.

The news brings a semblance of closure to the bizarre history of "Democracy," which Guns N' Roses has been working on since the mid-1990s. Since then, every original member of the once mighty group has left besides vocalist Axl Rose, and millions of dollars have been spent working on the new material.

"Democracy" was most recently on the Interscope release schedule in March 2007. The endless delays encountered by the project reached comic levels this spring, when soft drink manufacturer Dr Pepper offered to send a free can of the beverage to "everyone in America" (excluding ex-GNR members Slash and Buckethead) if "Chinese Democracy" were to arrive anytime during the calendar year 2008.

In June, nine purported "mastered, finished" tracks from the album were leaked online, prompting an FBI investigation into their source. A sign "Chinese Democracy" was perhaps finally nearing release came in July, when the band agreed to debut new track "Shackler's Revenge" in the video game "Rock Band 2," which hit stores earlier this month.

Guns N' Roses is now managed by Irving Azoff's Front Line Management, and Azoff is a well-known proponent of issuing albums exclusively through retailers. He released the Eagles' "Long Road Out of Eden" through Wal-Mart in 2007, much to the chagrin of other merchants, but the album was a runaway hit, having sold 3.1 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

UPDATE 10-9-08

Release date is now said to be the 23rd of November. Believe it!!!

UPDATE 10-15-08 (Rolling Stone.com posted this and since took it down)

Guns N’ Roses Album Finally Arrives, Set For November 23rd

It’s a day many Guns N’ Roses fans thought would never come: Chinese Democracy, the album Axl Rose has labored over for more than a decade, will finally hit stores on Sunday, November 23rd (a departure from the normal Tuesday record release day). The album will be sold exclusively in Best Buy stores and online at Bestbuy.com and iTunes. A music video is in the works, and the band — in which Rose is the only remaining original member — is expected to tour in 2009, according to a source close to G N’ R. “The music is well worth waiting for,” says Gary Arnold, senior entertainment officer for Best Buy, which began negotiating the deal in 2007. “We’ve all heard the stories about this album, and now everybody gets to hear that it’s real.” The album’s 14 songs include the poppy “Better,” the industrial rocker “Shackler’s Revenge” (featured in the new Rock Band 2), the power ballad “If the World” (which plays in the new film Body of Lies), the anthemic title track and a song called “Scraped” that was previously unknown to fans. “It’s going to be a great rock Christmas,” Arnold says. “I just hope it doesn’t take 14 years for the next one.” Bestbuy.com has a listings page up that isn’t taking pre-orders yet but does suggest that there will be several different versions of the album available (or at least a few different covers).

Update 10-22-08:

It's finally, officially, 100% set in stone:

MINNEAPOLIS, October 22, 2008 – Best Buy and Geffen Records announced that one of the most highly anticipated albums of all time, Guns N’ Roses’ Chinese Democracy, will be available beginning Nov. 23 at Best Buy and BestBuy.com on CD, vinyl, and digital downloads. The title track, the first single from the album, was released to radio today, October 22. Chinese Democracy is the first album of new material from one of rock’s most influential bands since the 1991 simultaneous releases of Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II.

“The release of Chinese Democracy marks a historic moment in rock n’ roll,” said co-managers Irving Azoff and Andy Gould. “We’re launching with a monumental campaign developed by Gary Arnold and the Best Buy team that matches the groundbreaking sound of the album itself. Guns N’ Roses fans have every reason to celebrate, for this is only the beginning.”

“Chinese Democracy is one of the most highly anticipated albums in music history, and Best Buy is thrilled to deliver this explosive and previously elusive release to Guns N’ Roses fans. Longtime fans will be rewarded for their patience and loyalty to this great band, while a new generation of fans will be blown away,” said Gary Arnold, Senior Entertainment Officer for Best Buy. “Axl Rose is one of the most dynamic and gifted writers and performers in modern music. Best Buy is excited to work with Axl to make the release of Chinese Democracy THE musical event of 2008!”

“Guns N’ Roses is THE premier American rock band,” commented Steve Berman, President, Sales and Marketing, Interscope Geffen A&M Records. “Partnering with Gary and everyone at Best Buy to release one of rock’s most anticipated and legendary albums is truly a moment in music history. We’re thrilled to be able to announce that Chinese Democracy is coming, it’s coming this year, and it’s coming to Best Buy.”

Produced by Axl Rose and Caram Costanzo, the album, which will be released on Black Frog/Geffen Records, includes 14 tracks. “Shackler’s Revenge” debuted September 14 through the Rock Band 2 videogame and “If The World” can be heard in the film Body Of Lies, which premiered on October 11.

Chinese Democracy is being released in three formats: CD, Vinyl LP (with a free digital download of the tracks), and as a digital album. Pre-orders at www.BestBuy.com/chinesedemocracy begin today.

How to get the free Dr. Pepper (every American eligible except Slash and Buckethead):

HOW TO GET YOUR FREE DR PEPPER

1. On the Nov. 23, 2008 release date, go to www.drpepper.com
2. Register your information to receive a coupon for one free 20-oz. Dr
Pepper.
3. When your coupon arrives, redeem it wherever Dr Pepper is sold.
4. Drink your Dr Pepper slowly to experience all 23 flavors. Dr's
orders.

Coupons will be available for 24 hours, starting at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on Nov. 23, 2008. Allow 4-6 weeks for coupon to arrive. Coupons will expire on Feb. 28, 2009. Limit one coupon per person. Full terms and conditions available at www.drpepper.com .

 

[Matt_C]

So who's in the band now? For me, Chinese Democracy came out as Contraband by Velvet Revolver:lol

Seriously, if there isn't any stupid DRM; I would check the album out unless Axl goes all Panic /Stained/Nickleback/Fallout on us.

Spoiler

Despises modern rock except for Tool, 90s bands still kicking ass (Alice in Chains and Red Hot Chili Peppers) and Velvet Revolver

.

 

[shantyman]

See below:

He's got a stable full of all-star rock veterans to take the classic GN'R sound up a few notches. This full-sounding eight-piece band is capable of blasting out the classics, the new stuff and even a few surprising, creatively realized covers along the way.

New lead/rhythm guitarist Robin Finck, who gained industry prominence as part of the influential band Nine Inch Nails, "has grown toward something like equality with Rose," according to Los Angeles Times rock critic Ann Powers.

"His solos flashed and bubbled," Powers wrote after GN'R's recent performance at the "Inland Invasion" festival outside of Los Angeles.

GN'R's guitar sound has always been the product of a lot more than one player, however, and the latest lineup also includes axemen Richard Fortus, formerly of the Psychedelic Furs and Love Spit Love, and Ron Thal, who plied his trade as Bumblefoot.

Powers noted the "killer chops" of both men and made a point to mention their instrumental transformation of Christina Aguilera's Top 40 hit "Beautiful" into "a sky-is-crying-style blues."

Paul Gargano of the Hollywood Reporter was impressed, too.

"One of the night's most memorable performances was 'November Rain,' which featured Rose on piano at center stage and Finck and guitarist Richard Fortus trading leads," Gargano wrote.

Meanwhile, keyboardist Dizzy Reed returns to his familiar spot in the band, and his playing and his chemistry with Rose on stage was considered one of the highlights of the recent gig by most critics.

But Reed isn't the only one playing keyboards. Rose will tickle the ivories on the piano from time to time, and GN'R has retained the services of keyboardist, multi-instrumentalist and "sound designer" Chris Pitman, who used to play in Lusk.

On bass, GN'R is being classed up by the presence of Tommy Stinson, who broke into the music industry while in his teens and ended up playing a crucial role in the development of the Replacements, who are widely considered one of the most important rock acts of the 1980s.

Drummer Bryan "Brain" Mantia has an eye-popping rock resume as well. The San Francisco Bay Area native has pounded the skins for Primus, Tom Waits and Praxis, among others.

 

[Eggo]

There's 8 people in the band now? W... t... f...?

 

[shantyman]

Sample from STUDIO version of Better:

http://www.harley-davidson.com/wcm/Content/Pages/Detour/Black_Sheep.jsp?HDCWPSession=v1lRF4zX6vYdQGVD2PZny2qK7Myh4pjPdGT65wqQ1JJHvgTt72CZ!-2123254860!-39630203&locale=en_US

**** YES

EDIT: Harley pulled it as it was posted too early.

Youtube to the rescue!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnitjMMj_LQ

 

[PhoenixDark]

Sample from STUDIO version of Better:

http://www.harley-davidson.com/wcm/Content/Pages/Detour/Black_Sheep.jsp?HDCWPSession=v1lRF4zX6vYdQGVD2PZny2qK7Myh4pjPdGT65wqQ1JJHvgTt72CZ!-2123254860!-39630203&locale=en_US

**** YES

**** YES x2

Sounds like a mix of various parts from the sound, but it's clean.

 

[atomsk]

funny enough Finck isnt really new, he was back and forth with GNR/NIN a few times. :lol

 

[ghst]

I hear some tracks are going to be on the Duke Nukem Forever OST.

 

[shantyman]

**** YES x2

Sounds like a mix of various parts from the sound, but it's clean.

IT'S HEAVY, I love the mix.

 

[PhoenixDark]

Here's a link to the demo version of Better. The studio version cleans up things imo:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=4502168#post4502168

 

[shantyman]

I hear some tracks are going to be on the Duke Nukem Forever OST.

This joke is dumb, it was made in the other thread. It's not even original. You lose.

 

[Diablos]

It's about ****ing time, wow.

 

[AlphaSnake]

Sample from STUDIO version of Better:

http://www.harley-davidson.com/wcm/Content/Pages/Detour/Black_Sheep.jsp?HDCWPSession=v1lRF4zX6vYdQGVD2PZny2qK7Myh4pjPdGT65wqQ1JJHvgTt72CZ!-2123254860!-39630203&locale=en_US

**** YES

Wow...tell me I'm not the only one who thought that sounded like utter SHIT. Axl can't sing a licks worth anymore.

 

[Christoff Yurievich]

found something called the Whenever It's Done Bootleg. The songs aren't bad, but I hope they change "Oh My God" because it's the End of Days version and that was good, but quite a few years old now.

I really like "better", can't wait to hear the actual song on an actual CD.

 

[shantyman]

Wow...tell me I'm not the only one who thought that sounded like utter SHIT. Axl can't sing a licks worth anymore.

You're the only one. This is POSITIVE thread.

Also, as mentioned it is a hacked together collection of snippets of the song. I'm not sure why you think he can't sing, he sounds the same to me.

 

[Diablos]

Wow...tell me I'm not the only one who thought that sounded like utter SHIT. Axl can't sing a licks worth anymore.

I've gotta say, I wasn't too impressed.
Oh well, it's GnR, it'll still sell like crazy anyway

shantyman: No worries, I'm not trying to derail this thread. I'm glad the album is coming out, I know a loooooooot of people have been waiting.

 

[shantyman]

I've gotta say, I wasn't too impressed.
Oh well, it's GnR, it'll still sell like crazy anyway

shantyman: No worries, I'm not trying to derail this thread. I'm glad the album is coming out, I know a loooooooot of people have been waiting.

I didn't say you were. It has been forever, and there is no way it could ever match expectations built up in 14 years. That said, the stuff I have heard (IRS, Madagascar, There Was a Time, Better, Catcher in the Rye, and The Blues) are all very good and I would be surprised if any GNR fan did not like them. That's the best part- it sounds like GNR.

 

[ghst]

This joke is dumb, it was made in the other thread. It's not even original. You lose.

How about this one, I saw G'N'R about 4 months ago and they were really, really bad. Kinda like a pantomime with no story where the hero can't sing and has to dissapear for 5-10 mins inbetween (or sometimes during) songs to dose up.

Nobody gave a shit by the end.

 

[Triumph]

Hey guys, I hear Axl is bringing rockback.

 

[PhoenixDark]

I didn't say you were. It has been forever, and there is no way it could ever match expectations built up in 14 years. That said, the stuff I have heard (IRS, Madagascar, There Was a Time, Better, Cather in the Rye, and The Blues) are all very good and I would be surprised if any GNR fan did not like them. That's th best part- it sounds like GNR.

Exactly. Most of the songs I've heard so far a great, and with proper mixes they'll be amazing.

 

[AlphaSnake]

You're the only one. This is POSITIVE thread.

Also, as mentioned it is a hacked together collection of snippets of the song. I'm not sure why you think he can't sing, he sounds the same to me.

He sounds the same to you? Go back and listen to Mr. Brownstone or Sweet Child of Mine and tell me he sounds the same. LOL.

 

[Diablos]

It's gotta be better than Velvet Revolver.
(What were those guys thinking... should've just stayed in GnR. So what if Axl has a big ego?)

 

[shantyman]

He sounds the same to you? Go back and listen to Mr. Brownstone or Sweet Child of Mine and tell me he sounds the same. LOL.

LOL, he's 14 years older, I don't think he sounds appreciably worse.

lol

lol

 

[mrroboto]

I hear some tracks are going to be on the Duke Nukem Forever OST.

I've never, ever, ever heard that before.

 

[Core407]

WOWOWOWOW NICE

 

[shantyman]

Some possible new song titles, courtesy of a set list posted on the official site and then taken down (although the date on the set list is messed up so it might be a joke):

 

[shantyman]

Well, it's the 21st and no ****ing album. I guess I should not be disappointed though. What did I expect?:lol

 

[Cravis]

Well, it's the 21st and no ****ing album. I guess I should not be disappointed though. What did I expect?:lol

I was just about to post the same thing. It sucks. We've got 5 more Tuesdays left. Axl better deliver.

 

[Tedesco!]

Axl will not deliver. Deep down you know this to be true.....

 

[aparisi2274]

12/19

 

[Cravis]

Axl will not deliver. Deep down you know this to be true.....

Sadly I know he more than likely won't Come on Axl prove me wrong!

12/19

Where'd you hear this date at?

 

[shantyman]

Axl will not deliver. Deep down you know this to be true.....

Deep down? Probably. But I will cling onto hope. It's all I have!

 

[Tauntaun]

Best band of the 90's!

So all I gotta say is they better not 'St. Anger' this album. I really haven't heard too much, I wouldn't caught GnR at the Meadowlands but I'm not paying $90 for just Axl. I just hope it melts my face off.

 

[shantyman]

Apparently ticket prices have been lowered to $20 (!).

EDIT: for some shows

 

[aparisi2274]

Where'd you hear this date at?

nowhere... Its an educated guess on my part... Its the tuesday before Christmas... They could make a lot of money with gift purchases... the 26th is the last tuesday of 2006, so its the best I could come up with.

 

[Tauntaun]

Apparently ticket prices have been lowered to $20 (!).

SICK! I'm so there if they stay that price!

 

[Cravis]

nowhere... Its an educated guess on my part... Its the tuesday before Christmas... They could make a lot of money with gift purchases... the 26th is the last tuesday of 2006, so its the best I could come up with.

Ah. I see. I was getting excited and maybe someone leaked a new date. Would seem a plausible date.

 

[Tedesco!]

It's all I have!

You still have Gears of War, Chipotle, and the Cincinnati Bengals. Chin up!

 

[Mike Works]

Man, I hope there are pig cops in this one too.

edit: whoops, sorry, thought this was the Duke Nukem Forever thread

 

[Tedesco!]

Man, I hope there are pig cops in this one too.

edit: whoops, sorry, thought this was the Duke Nukem Forever thread

:lol :lol :lol :lol

 

[shantyman]

Man, I hope there are pig cops in this one too.

edit: whoops, sorry, thought this was the Duke Nukem Forever thread

Not funny man. Why didn't you make the Chinese Democracy is DNF soundtrack HAR HAR joke?!?

 

[polg]

I hear some tracks are going to be on the Duke Nukem Forever OST.

it will come free with a demo of the game

Spoiler

for the splorgenborg

 

[shantyman]

I'm one of the sad ones talked about in this article waiting for a miracle:

By Neil Shah Tue Dec 12, 7:27 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) -
Axl Rose's fans are hoping for a miracle this Christmas -- the release of "Chinese Democracy," the first album of original Guns N' Roses music in 15 years.

Rose, 44, the only original member of the combustible rock group, vaguely told MTV in late August that the album would hit store shelves "this year," 12 years after work started. The band is currently on a U.S. tour, its first since 2002, but the album still has no official release date.

With only a few weeks left in 2006, most Guns N' Roses fans now believe the only music they will hear on Christmas morning will be "Silent Night." During a sold-out performance at New York City's Madison Square Garden last month, Rose was mum about the album, which has cost roughly $13 million to make, according to a New York Times story in March 2005.

"Believing 'Chinese Democracy' is coming out this year is the same as believing in Santa Claus," said a fan on the popular HereTodayGoneToHell Web site (http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com) earlier this month.

Rose's manager, Merck Mercuriadis, who further stoked fan anticipation in early October when he told Rolling Stone magazine that fans "might walk into (their) record shop one Tuesday and find it there," declined to comment for this article. Interscope Records, the band's label, referred inquiries to Mercuriadis. (Albums usually go on sale on Tuesdays in the United States, a day earlier elsewhere.)

NEW SONGS, TOUR

Most of Rose's bandmates on Guns N' Roses' last album of new material, the two-volume "Use Your Illusion" set, either quit or were fired as the singer took control of the group, and then took his time recording a followup. Several waves of replacements also came and went.

Fortunately, the die-hard fans have more staying power. In January, they were sent into a frenzy when a casual Rose broke his silence to talk to Rolling Stone about the album, describing it as "complex."

That was followed in February by Internet leaks of four new songs, "Better," "I.R.S.," "Catcher in the Rye," and "There Was a Time." Two months later, Guns N' Roses announced a summer European tour, and then played four sold-out warm-up shows at New York City's Hammerstein Ballroom in May.

"For the first time, we had proof that there was new material," said Eric Romano, 33, a Montreal computer technician and webmaster of http://www.MyGNRForum.com.

Finally, on August 31, Rose appeared at the MTV Video Music Awards in New York, where he said "it is this year," in response to a question about the "Chinese Democracy" release.

"That's what did it for a lot of fans," said Brian Sharma, 28, a Philadelphia lawyer and owner of two cats named "Axl" and "Rose." "Axl (had) never said that before."

"This year the excitement level hit an all-time high," said Mark Strigl, 37, co-host of "Talking Metal," a pod-cast about heavy metal. "I don't know if that excitement will ever be topped again with the hard-core fans."

A NEW HOPE?

Disappointed fans now expect the album to arrive sometime in 2007, possibly timed with the 20th anniversary of "Appetite for Destruction," the band's 1987 blockbuster debut. Some expect an official announcement in the coming days.

Meanwhile, Guns N' Roses' global audience remains formidable. The band has sold 38.5 million albums in the United States, according to the
Recording Industry Association of America, while worldwide sales are estimated at more than 90 million. Guns N' Roses' "Greatest Hits," released in 2004, has sold more than 3 million copies in the U.S.

In a way, however, the absence of "Democracy" makes the online fan community that much more cohesive, Strigl said. It "gives them something to hope for."

And Rose's dependable unpredictability is part of Guns N' Roses' lasting appeal.

"He's doing it his way, which is the rock n' roll ethos," Sharma said.

 

[PhoenixDark]

It makes no sense to me that a label would sit back and let Axl waste their money on this shit. They're putting no pressure on him to release the album at all.

I truly believed it would be out this year. Oh well.

 

[shantyman]

An open letter to our fans:

Guns N’ Roses regrets to announce that the following concert tour dates have been canceled:

January 10: Sacramento
January 11: Bakersfield
January 13: Reno
January 16: San Diego

Because of the scheduling of these particular shows, valuable time needed by the band and record company for the proper setup and release of the album “Chinese Democracy” would have been lost. Rather than delay the album yet again, all involved have decided to remove these shows from GN’R’s schedule. We hope our fans understand and we apologize for any inconveniences this may have caused. Tickets may be refunded at point of purchase.

To say the making of this album has been an unbearably long and incomprehensible journey would be an understatement. Overcoming the endless and seemingly insane amount of obstacles faced by all involved, notwithstanding the emotional challenges endured by everyone -- the fans, the band, our road crew and business team -- has at many times seemed like a bad dream in which one wakes up only to find that they are still in the nightmare. Unfortunately, this time it has been played out for over a decade in real life.

The true, ongoing, behind-the-scenes triumphs and casualties are much more complicated than any negative speculation that the media or otherwise has managed to hit upon. For much of the time, various legal issues have arisen, demanding that the best way to deal with these things publicly, quite frankly, was to keep our mouths shut in an attempt to ensure the best outcome-- especially one that wouldn’t jeopardize the band or the album. It’s easy for people to point out how others have handled similar situations or how they would have dealt with these issues themselves if they encountered them in their own lives. But again, without full knowledge of the various dynamics and circumstances involved, these types of comments or commentary are just uninformed, disassociated, generally useless -- and often hindering --speculation.

When I agreed to do our recent North American tour, I did it with the understanding that my manager, Merck Mercuriadis, and I were in full agreement regarding our strategy and touring plans and, most important, that any and all things needed to release the album by Dec. 26 at the latest were in place. Unfortunately, it turned out that this was not the case, and I regret to say that the album will not be released by the end of the year. Although many things went extremely well and were very exciting, there were, in our opinion, unnecessary and avoidable complications on our tour having to do with the tour routing, scheduling and album and video plans that wreaked havoc on all involved. This was compounded by an overall sense of a lack of respect by management for the band and crew and each individual's particular expertise that has resulted, unfortunately, in the end of both Guns’ and my managerial involvement with Merck Mercuriadis.

In regard to a release date for the album itself, certain minor - aand I do mean minor -- additions, as well as contract negotiations, need to be completed. Barring any unforeseen complications, these things have now been adequately scheduled. The band and I, along with our record company, feel that this record deserves the proper setup and promotion, not the “13 Tuesdays left” and “It may just appear in your record store” approach offered by management. We believe this strategy may have been used as a tool by management to sell this latest tour to the various promoters, and if this was the case, this was obviously unfair to them. The stress of dealing with this situation has been considerable for everyone, including the band, but more important, in our opinion, it was something utterly insane to do to our fans. You have our apologies, and please know we have been laboring over this with management for the entire North American tour.

It takes approximately eight weeks for an album to hit the shelves once it has been turned in to the record company. For whatever reasons, it appears that it may have been mistakenly inferred by management that this time period could be condensed to three weeks. With that being said, this is not a promise, a lie or a guarantee, but we do wish to announce a tentative release date of March 6. This is the first time we have done this publicly for this album. Others have made up all the other dates for their own reasons. We would like to assure the fans that everything in our power will be done to meet this date. Once it is finalized and official, you will be notified. If we are delayed for unseen reasons, you also will be notified as soon as possible in regard to a new date, and the album will be released as shortly thereafter as is possible. We thank you for your patience.

In the end, it’s just an album, but it’s one that I, the band, our record company and all involved believe and feel is a true Guns N’ Roses album. Ultimately the public will decide, and regardless of the outcome, our hearts, lives and our passion has been put into this project every step of the way. If for no other reason, we feel those elements alone merit your consideration. We do hope you can hold on just a bit longer, and if not, please take a break and we’ll be more than glad -- if you so choose -- to see you again later.

Once again, we offer our sincere apologies and our deepest thanks. Guns N’ Roses also would like to thank all the fans who attended the 70 concerts in 21 countries for their support in 2006. All the best to each and every one of you over this holiday season, thank you and God bless.

Sincerely,

Axl Rose

More waiting, but finally an OFFICIAL albeit tentative date.

 

[PotatoeMasher]

March 6th it is then!

 

[golem]

gonna go see them on 12/20

 

[Reave]

This is going to be a thread that will last us a good... four years.

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

Been in production longer than Duke Nukem Forever! And that's saying something!

 

[Eggo]

Dear Axl,

Nobody cares any more.

Love,
G N' R fans