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Official Chinese Democracy release thread

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Awsome_o said:
But it's been
14 years of silence
It's been
14 years of pain
It's been
14 years that are gone forever
And I'll never have again
14 years spent making a mediocre album...
Click to expand...

Your opinion is yours, but you are definitely in the minority.
 
Wow, CITR is pretty awesome (except for not keeping Brian May's solo). Just a fantastic song lyrically and musically.

On an ordinary day
Back in an ordinary way
All at once the song I heard
No longer wouldn't play for anybody
Or anyone
That needed comfort from somebody
Needed comfort from someone who cared
To be
Not like you
And Unlike me
And then then voices ran away
From me
So now you set the wheels in motion
It Haunts our memories
You were the instrument
You were the one
How a body tipped a bottle
And Gave that boy a gun
You Took our innocence
Beyond our scabs
Sometimes the only thing
You got at all
When no one else is there
Click to expand...
 
One more comment tonight- I rather like all the new mixes, so I suppose I may be in the minority. I am saving the 3 "unheard" songs for sunday but the previously leaked tracks all sound great to me in final form.
 
Buckethead said:
And that's relevant why? It was a joke.... meaning, your ears need exposure at high decibels. Toughen those fuckers up.


Yeah. I was explaining why I like it the way that it is and possible reasoning therein.
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I have pretty significant hearing loss due to high volume rock and metal music. So you can take that "toughen" your ears up shit and shove it.

Seriously. I would like my fucking hearing back. It's not funny at all, nor do I consider it "rock." I can't fucking hear shit without a lot of extra volume.
 
hokahey said:
I haven't suggested that you don't know music simply because I disagree with your opinion. Your assertion that I don't know music is comical at best. If you knew me you'd understand. I am comparing a band with an aggro rock sound to pieces of music by another band. No, Axl isn't singing knick knack paddy whack give a dog a bone, but there are certainly portions in the songs I've heard that sound very similar in style to Korn and other aggro rock bands inspired by their sound. I'll give you that I'm using Korn as a bit of a catch all to define a genre, but an outright comparison isn't at all preposterous. Again, I'm referring to certain pieces of songs, which assuming you actually read before posting you'd know is my point. I don't think Chinese Democracy sounds like a Korn album. I think portions of the songs sound like they were inspired by that band and the sound they popularized. It's really not that difficult to follow.




From the release notes:




http://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/guns-n-roses-chinese-democracy




http://sgrblog.blogspot.com/2008/06/chinese-democracy-first-review.html




I could go on. Disagree all you like, but I am entitled to my opinion, which for the record, I am apparently not alone in as you have suggested.

I think it's also interesting to note that one of the more famous events that Axl released Chinese Democracy info at was a Korn CD release party.
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It doesn't sound like Korn, you aren't familiar with Korn, and two random blog guys's posts don't prove anything other than random blog guys know it gets people's attention to compare popular music with Korn.
 
Angry Grimace said:
It doesn't sound like Korn, you aren't familiar with Korn, and two random blog guys's posts don't prove anything other than random blog guys know it gets people's attention to compare popular music with Korn.
Click to expand...

Yep. The only song that sounds remotely like Korn is "Shackler's Revenge" and still not really at all.

Angry Grimace said:
I have pretty significant hearing loss due to high volume rock and metal music. So you can take that "toughen" your ears up shit and shove it.
Click to expand...

Well I don't know how I'm supposed to know that. My apologies there, but I wouldn't walk around with such a big chip on your shoulder. I'm not trying to detract over that unfortunate issue, but it will affect your interactions with others in life. Not too much fun by my estimation.
 
Listened to it once.

This might not be old GN'R anymore, but I sure as hell prefer old GN'R. This album is weird, can't describe it really. But it doesn't click with me at all. Maybe it needs more listens, but I'm not getting my hopes up.
 
Buckethead said:
Yep. The only song that sounds remotely like Korn is "Shackler's Revenge" and still not really at all.
Click to expand...

I just don't get the Korn comparison, especially where he's getting it from: "Better."

Well I don't know how I'm supposed to know that. My apologies there, but I wouldn't walk around with such a big chip on your shoulder. I'm not trying to detract over that unfortunate issue, but it will affect your interactions with others in life. Not too much fun by my estimation.
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It gets worse. You don't notice it at first, but it gets worse.

I can still hear just fine for most applications, but my hearing levels are well, well below most peoples. I remember the first concert I went to, thinking it was absolutely brutal. I generally complain about a lack of stage levels at this point.

Protect your hearing.
 
Angry Grimace said:
It doesn't sound like Korn, you aren't familiar with Korn, and two random blog guys's posts don't prove anything other than random blog guys know it gets people's attention to compare popular music with Korn.
Click to expand...

Oh for fucks sake. I saw Korn live several times including shows over a decade ago. I'm sure I'm more familiar with them than you are. You said no one would agree with me so I googled Chinese Democracy + Korn and found several mentions. Now you're dismissing them as random blogs. It doesn't excuse the fact that you're wrong in saying I'm the only one that hears it. There's are even more people saying the same thing if you want me to provide the links. Clearly, your were very wrong in that assertion Just admit it. Stop making these grand assumptions because you're butt hurt over the fact that I've talked shit about parts of the album. You simply have a different opinion. Deal with it.
 
For the record, I rather like the songs I hadn't previously heard or had only heard briefly from live versions. I don't like Chinese Democracy, Better or Shackler's Revenge much at all. The remainder of the album is much more satisfying. And I think Sorry is my fav song on the album.
 
Oh, and if you can't hear Korn in Shackler's Revenge then you're incapable of comparing and contrasting sounds, genres and bands. Sorry.

Especially the opening riff and the "Don't ever try to tell me how much you care for me" parts.

Nu-metal crap.
 
hokahey said:
Oh, and if you can't hear Korn in Shackler's Revenge then you're incapable of comparing and contrasting sounds, genres and bands. Sorry.

Especially the opening riff and the "Don't ever try to tell me how much you care for me" parts.

Nu-metal crap.
Click to expand...
Go back and listen to "Perfect Crime" or "Lost in the Garden of Eden" off of Use Your Illusion. Shackler's Revenge has more in common with those songs than anything Nu-Metal.
 
Awsome_o said:
But it's been
14 years of silence
It's been
14 years of pain
It's been
14 years that are gone forever
And I'll never have again
14 years spent making a mediocre album...
Click to expand...

The way I put it into perspective for my girlfriend was:

John Lennon formed the Quarrymen and met Paul McCartney in 1957.

By 1970 the Beatles' final album was released (Let It Be), which came on year after their actual final album (Abbey Road).

The Beatles entire rise and fall took about the same amount of time as Chinese Democracy. All of it.

p.s. I really hope this is a good album.
 
hokahey said:
Oh, and if you can't hear Korn in Shackler's Revenge then you're incapable of comparing and contrasting sounds, genres and bands. Sorry.

Especially the opening riff and the "Don't ever try to tell me how much you care for me" parts.

Nu-metal crap.
Click to expand...


Saying "Nu-metal crap" is so played out. :lol


If you like rock, you can't honestly say you don't like at least a few nu-metal songs, especially with bands like SoaD and Disturbed mixing up the genre.



But anyway, that song has more in common with industrial metal than nu-metal.
 
Immortal_Daemon said:
But anyway, that song has more in common with industrial metal than nu-metal.
Click to expand...
Yeah I was about to say that. To be honest I hear the industrial but I really don't hear the nu-metal.
 
Came out in Aus today. Picked it up. Just finished listening to it.

This is the greatest Album I've ever bought. Ever. Worth the fucking wait! My favourite GnR have been topped.
 
This is a straight-up masterpiece. You have newspapers like The Boston Herald outright saying they're happy Rose got rid of the other Gunners because they wouldn't have been able to pull off Chinese Democracy. :lol
 
The funny part is all the different "mixed" reviews have different favorite songs which they rave about.

This is a really great album for anyone who has eclectic tastes and isn't expecting Appetite for Destruction II. I think it's a little too challenging for your generic metal fan and too melodic/mainstream (plus has gotten some bad buzz over the years), for your pitchforkmedia.com geek.
 
I dont know if it was posted yet... I am sure it was... but here is the Entertainment Weekly review...

After seventeen years and countless millions of dollars, Guns N' Roses' sixth studio album, Chinese Democracy, has finally arrived. Pity those who wagered actual democracy would make it to China before singer Axl Rose (the band's sole remaining original member) allowed this Howard Hughes-ian project to see the light of day.

And the verdict? Mixed! Gone is the Sunset Strip guitar grime of Appetite for Destruction, replaced by an army of ProTools-packing shredders, three ''digital editors,'' and a dude responsible for choral arrangements. This is unapologetically huge music, not fit for tiny iPod earbuds. At times it's possible to hear the world-changing CD that Rose — whose banshee howl remains gloriously intact — must have had in his tightly braided skull all these years. The blistering ''Shackler's Revenge'' rides a sinister riff to headbanging heaven, while the piano-heavy ''Catcher in the Rye'' showcases GN'R at their '70s-aping stadium best. But too often quantity gets in the way of quality: No rock cliché from the last decade goes unrepresented (hip-hop loops, nü-metal skronk), and did ''Madagascar'' really need a horn section and Martin Luther King Jr. samples?

But Rose is obstinate as ever in middle age, sneering at how meek music has become in his absence: ''You talk too much/You say I do/Difference is nobody cares about you,'' he gloats on ''Sorry.'' For good or ill, he's the last of his kind. We can't wait to hear what he does next — hopefully sometime before President Chelsea Clinton takes office in 2025. B-
Click to expand...

I have to say I pretty much agree with the reviewer... its no Appetite, but then did we actually expect it to be???
 
Teddman said:
Go back and listen to "Perfect Crime" or "Lost in the Garden of Eden" off of Use Your Illusion. Shackler's Revenge has more in common with those songs than anything Nu-Metal.
Click to expand...

Not a chance. Lost in the Garden of Eden is practically punk rock.
 
hokahey said:
Oh, and if you can't hear Korn in Shackler's Revenge then you're incapable of comparing and contrasting sounds, genres and bands. Sorry.

Especially the opening riff and the "Don't ever try to tell me how much you care for me" parts.

Nu-metal crap.
Click to expand...
Shackler's Revenge sounds ten times more like White Zombie than Korn. The only thing it has in common with Korn is that it's tuned below E flat.

The only thing that sounds even remotely like aggro-rock or "nu-metal" is parts of "Scraped."

Chuck Klosterman has an educated and entertaining review in the Onion AV Club:

http://www.avclub.com/content/feature/chuck_klosterman_reviews
 
Angry Grimace said:
Shackler's Revenge sounds ten times more like White Zombie than Korn. The only thing it has in common with Korn is that it's tuned below E flat.

The only thing that sounds even remotely like aggro-rock or "nu-metal" is parts of "Scraped."

Chuck Klosterman has an educated and entertaining review in the Onion AV Club:

http://www.avclub.com/content/feature/chuck_klosterman_reviews
Click to expand...

That is an excellent, and at times very funny, review.
 
Angry Grimace said:
Shackler's Revenge sounds ten times more like White Zombie than Korn. The only thing it has in common with Korn is that it's tuned below E flat.

The only thing that sounds even remotely like aggro-rock or "nu-metal" is parts of "Scraped."

Chuck Klosterman has an educated and entertaining review in the Onion AV Club:

http://www.avclub.com/content/feature/chuck_klosterman_reviews
Click to expand...

There's more to comparing sounds than tuning. Rhythm, harmony etc.

But at least you're being more honest.
 
Chinese Democracy: decent rocker

Shackler's Revenge: this mix is better than the first one but it's still eh

Better: love the melody, solo/guitar work, etc. still think that ugly bridge (at 2:50) should be cut out. that being said i love the song

Street of Dreams: formally The Blues. good solo, nice melody. axl's voice sounds better in the second half of the song hm

If the World: odd mix. transitions between the acoustic Spanish guitar work and piano/strings driven verse and chorus doesn't work right. good song but damn this should have featured some nice hand percussion

There Was a Time: over produced but i always loved the melody, i like the new, more guitar driven chorus. vocals seem off time in a few points hm. arrghh the vocals go crazy in the last few seconds but i love this song

Catcher in the Rye: taking Brian May off the song=booo. i still like it though

Scraped: what the fuck is this. buckethead sounds restrained, the vocals are horrible

Sorry: lyrics define pussy. some good parts but overall it's just meh. why is this 6min long

Riad n' the Bedouins: Eh. I like the chorus but the transition to it is just meh. sounds like 3 songs mixed together

IRS: wow they really stripped this from a rocker to a borderline rocker. love the solo/Axl belting though

Madagascar: my most anticipated song based on that live video from a couple years ago. vocals are eh. kinda disappointed

This I Love: decent ballad but jeez, in 14 years this is the best ballad he could come up with? solo is ok but tries to hard

Prostitute: another meh ballad

Very front loaded album. There are a few great songs but the majority of this album is quite average. I'll give it a few more listens but right now eh, maybe a 7/10
 
hokahey said:
There's more to comparing sounds than tuning. Rhythm, harmony etc.

But at least you're being more honest.
Click to expand...
Well that's the whole point, you're completely off base in that regards.
 
I think Catcher in The Rye is one of the best GnR songs ever, really. I am surprised I am the only one that seems to think so. :(
 
Angry Grimace said:
Shackler's Revenge sounds ten times more like White Zombie than Korn. The only thing it has in common with Korn is that it's tuned below E flat.

The only thing that sounds even remotely like aggro-rock or "nu-metal" is parts of "Scraped."

Chuck Klosterman has an educated and entertaining review in the Onion AV Club:

http://www.avclub.com/content/feature/chuck_klosterman_reviews
Click to expand...


Shock of shocks.

The King of the Hipster Contrarian douchebags is grading one of the worst most disappointing albums of the year an A-. At the very least, you're nothing if not predictable...
Click to expand...

:lol
 
gnr-timeline1.jpg
 
"Chinese Democracy" is now out on the East Coast. Download at iTunes or buy the album tomorrow at 9PM tomorrow at Best Buy.

Never thought this day would come. :lol
 
Immortal_Daemon said:
Saying "Nu-metal crap" is so played out. :lol


If you like rock, you can't honestly say you don't like at least a few nu-metal songs, especially with bands like SoaD and Disturbed mixing up the genre.



But anyway, that song has more in common with industrial metal than nu-metal.
Click to expand...


wat.jpg
 
I'll be heading out to Best Buy sometime this afternoon -- hope it's in stock. This album = totally worth the wait. Can't wait for Pitchfork's review, though-- will they give it the props it deserves?
 
Rindain said:
I'll be heading out to Best Buy sometime this afternoon -- hope it's in stock. This album = totally worth the wait. Can't wait for Pitchfork's review, though-- will they give it the props it deserves?
Click to expand...

I find my opinions for the most part are most in line with Pitchfork than any other reviewers and I love this album. But Pitchfork usually rewards uniqueness like use of non conventional pitch, i don't know if GnR does enough of this. I think they'll give it low 7s... but we'll see.

Oh yeh i'm loving this album even more now after paying more attention to the different guitar solo styles it uses. It's really cool listening to the solos and seeing the contrasting styles of Finck, Bumblefoot, and Buckethead. Although I would rate Bucketheads stuff as the best with Bumblefoots' stuff slightly better than Fincks'.

Damn, I really wish Finck and Buckethead stayed with GnR. I'd love to see them live (even though I've already seen them live when they toured with GnR)
 
Got the album and I really like it. It takes me several listening of songs for me to really get into them, but the only 2 songs I can see myself not getting into are If The World and Scraped. I agree with the **** out of ***** review from Rolling Stone.

There seemed to be no real interest at my Best Buy, though. I looks like several have been sold, but I was the only one even close to the store display which was right as you entered the store. You would think due to its placement, there would be some interest or traffic in the display's area, but this wasn't the case.
 
Rindain said:
I'll be heading out to Best Buy sometime this afternoon -- hope it's in stock. This album = totally worth the wait. Can't wait for Pitchfork's review, though-- will they give it the props it deserves?
Click to expand...

They might run out, they only have like 500 copies per store. :lol

At my store they had a giant display right as you walk in filled with copies. Actually there were a good 100 gone, but whatever. Anyway, I suggest that people get a decent set of speakers/headphones to listen to this record. You'll miss out on some of the complexity and layers if you don't have a good set and/or don't pay attention.
 
radcliff said:
There seemed to be no real interest at my Best Buy, though. I looks like several have been sold, but I was the only one even close to the store display which was right as you entered the store. You would think due to its placement, there would be some interest or traffic in the display's area, but this wasn't the case.
Click to expand...

I'd imagine quite a few people have downloaded the whole album from the GnR MySpace page instead of taking a trip to Best Buy.
 
That I was actually able to walk into a Best Buy and buy this album is amazing to me. "If the World" has this weird porno groove that I don't really dig, but other than that it's solid.
 
Count Dookkake said:
Great album.

Hope it gets a warm enough reception so that Axl is inspired to work a bit faster next time.
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He's already got 40-50 songs completed. Hundreds of demos. It all comes down if he wants to release them/the right time, etc.

But yes, lets hope it's quicker.
 
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