Guns N' Roses
Chinese Democracy

Release Date: 2008 | Tracklist

This band, Guns N’ Roses, has become more of a joke than anything more over the past decade. Axl Rose’s once mighty band is such a washed-up, irrelevant act that it’s quite amusing to discover how bad ‘Chinese Democracy’ truly is. “I've got more masturbation/even with your iron fist/one baby got to rule the nation but all I got is/precious time,” Axl croaks in his untimely diminishing vocal skills among lackluster guitar riffs that mix Slash and 90s metal. The three guitarists have no actual talent behind the axe, either. Robin Finck tries his hardest to stand out with industrial riffs, (oh, and speaking of industrial, Axl’s fetish for industrial is all over the album), but with these simple song structures, the riffs come off more as random than needed. ‘Shackler’s Revenge’, for example, despite being the one bright-spot on the album, is an odd mixture of KMFDM and 80s hair metal.

There’s one album that strikes me as a close relative to ‘Chinese Democracy’, and that would be ‘Zeitgeist’ by the Smashing Pumpkins. Both albums showcase the frontman slapping their band together for money’s sakes, and both fail to recapture their sound. ‘Democracy’ is every bit as bad as ‘Zeitgeist’. In fact, it may be worse. This simply isn’t Guns N’ Roses. Despite what Axl Rose may say, Slash was a vital part of the band. He gave them that bluesy, trashy sound. With them gone, they are no different than Breaking Benjamin, Chevelle, or any of the other legions of alternative metal acts around today. I think ‘I.R.S.’ proves this.

The years built up for this album show, as well. Most of the album literally sounds like he recorded it in 1998. ‘Madagascar’ is so old that it sounds like Pearl Jam when they were in their art-rock thing. All the ridiculous electronic backdrops, the emotional vocals, and the low-lying guitars is absolutely overdone. I’m also really tired of Axl’s triple-layered vocals. By ‘This I Love’, the idea of Axl Rose singing with three layers-a high pitch tone, a medium range tone, and a low pitch tone that I’m yearning for the backing choirs of ‘Zeitgeist’. See, they aren’t too different, after all.

Have you seen the credits of the album? It’s full with like 20 people. Collaboration is great, but obviously Axl Rose didn’t let them stretch outside the range of KMFDM mixed with Def Leppard. Every song is so similar it’s ridiculous. Verse/chorus/bridge/verse/chorus/solo shows up on nearly every track. Someone’s forgot to tell Axl Rose it’s 2008, because these Bon Jovi ballads like ‘Sorry’ and ‘This I Love’ are not musically relevant anymore. Just wait-in a matter of time he’ll bring back the concert music videos with the blurred lens.

One thing that it does succeed at is the production. I could have figured it would be mastered well, the album tries so hard to be epic from the album cover to the hype, or even the title. It tries very hard to be epic. Lots of symphonies, lots of techno-influences, lots of stuff that doesn’t go in rock songs. However, these just make the album seem desperate. Anyway, ‘Chinese Democracy’ is slick, tight, harsh, and has bite while not playing into the ‘loudness wars’. However, Axl Rose’s vocals are layered worse than Queen, the only audible guitars that don’t sound like backdrop are crunchy pseudo-Industrial riffs from Robin Finck, and the drumming is just lost in limbo with the rest of the music. I can barely tell out most of the instruments. It’s hard to believe over 10 people recorded live on the CD, it sounds like Rush or Chevelle to me.

Lyrically, its terrible. First off, is the album a concept album or something? I don’t know, but from what Axl preaches, it seems like it should be. The album is a weak mess lyrically, with no connection between songs, and I still “wtf” over the title and the cover. ‘Street of Dreams’ has the corniest lyrics on the album, I laugh and ponder my sanity over listening to the song every time I hear it.

Anyway, ‘Chinese Democracy’ is exactly as expected-a bloated, ugly, random mess of pseudo-KMFDM hard rock. Axl’s hard on for industrial is still abundant, but his ideas of classic rock songs burden the album and make it nothing more than a call back to the late 80s and early 90s. Obviously, that’s when the majority of the album was made. The lyrical premise is confusing and oddly awkward, and Axl’s vocal layering as well as his voice leave much to be desired in that department. Maybe next time, Axl.

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2.7 average

Rank: #0 for 2008