Guns'n'Roses: Chinese Democracy ? 5/5If rock'n'roll is in its dying days, then Axl Rose certainly hasn't heard about it. The much talked about, long awaited release for ?Chinese Democracy' had turned into comic fodder for late night talk show hosts, but in true rock 'n' roll fashion, Axl has delivered and what a knockout punch it is.
?Chinese Democracy? is as tough as nails, hard and uncompromising. To put it simply, it rocks harder than anything we've heard in the last 5 years. Axl Rose is the sole survivor of the legendary lineup of the original Guns'N'Roses and one would imagine they would be hard to replace. Indeed they are, for Axl replaces the twin guitar attack of Slash and Izzy Stradlin with an entire army of guitars. Track after track we're treated to a sonic assault from multi-layered riffs and walls of distorted chords.
He's also shown he can stay current by creating a menacing industrial rock atmosphere, and this is what really hits hard, especially on the title track ?Chinese Democracy?. The song takes no prisoners with its violent, relentless guitar stabs and dance metal groove.
But it?s not all a wall of noise. The quiet intro to ?Better? with Axl crooning over a drum machine beat lulls us into a sway before erupting into the familiar G'n'R chorus while ?There was A Time? sounds almost like Elton John, with it's sweeping choirs and full strength orchestra.
It may have taken 13 years to make, but it's almost as if Axl has been vindicated by putting out an album that might seem over produced to some but to me it stands as a grand masterpiece. But what I appreciated most about the album was that in the end, Axl still does care if you like it or not. And to me, that is rock'n'roll.
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