At Long Last, Chinese Democracy

It’s been 15 years since the last Guns N’ Roses album, but loyal fans can rest assured, Chinese Democracy “sounds a lot like the Guns n' Roses you know,” writes David Fricke for Rolling Stone. Axl Rose and his army of supporting players, from Buckethead to Nine Inch Nails guitarist Robin Finke deliver “unhinged and uncompromising hard-rock,” most similar to 1991’s Use Your Illusion I and II.

But there’s a new audacity to the arrangements, as Chinese Democracy veers from hip-hop beats to strings and mellotron. This bombast reflects the lengthy and painful recording process that literally destroyed the original band in search of ever-expanding instrumentation. "You may debate whether any rock record is worth that extreme self-indulgence,” writes Fricke. “Actually, the most rock & roll thing about Chinese Democracy” is that Axl doesn’t care if you do.
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