They would need a radio friendly song/hit. Axl and slash are very capable of writting one. Fall too pieces was a hit. that wasn't written to long ago
A radio friendly hit
Without that they would have to promote the crap out of the album. Lots of press and free tv talk show shows. Snl, etc...
Dude, 2004 was over a decade ago now! And actually, Slash has said that riff was written in GNR. You can tell it's based on a similar lick he did at the end of Patience.
But, to your point, I think it's possible. I really liked Slash's solo album and Apocalyptic Love, and Axl surely has some gems in the bag. However, to play devil's advocate, I was not impressed with World on Fire and most of Axl's material was 90% written before 2002. So honestly, it could go either way IMO.
No idea if it's a joke, but I gotta say thank-god Matt Sorum isn't in the band these days. I could never get accustomed to the sound of his kit for some reason. I'm sure he's an amazing player, but the sound....
Seriously? I LOVE Sorum's drum sound. It's so unique and just gives him a more raw sound, which pleasantly contrasts with his precise, technical playing style.
I think it worked best in VR though. Particularly the song Dirty Little Thing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9jNBuEqD4EAlthough, I notice now, listening to DLT, that it's more exaggerated with VR. On UYI, he had a more "normal" drum sound.