What a great year it has been for new music from some of the best artists out there from Metallica to Slipknot & from Slipknot to The Killers, 2008 has been one of the best years for music. And so to the review.. Chinese democracy is the sixth studio album from the band guns n roses & its their first real release since 1993s “the spaghetti incident?” - the wait for Chinese democracy has been long..very long. Apparently the work began on the album as far as back as 1994 but details are sketchy at best what is clear though is the album hit so many bumps along the way that it almost never got released. The production costs on the album reached so high in the end that this may indeed be the most expensive album ever produced & it shows, the album boasts an incredible host of guest appearances. Composer marco beltrami who is usually suited to working on movie scores provides amazing orchestral backing that really just is mind blowing in depth, Sebastian bach of skid row fame recorded the backing vocals for the powerful song “sorry”. this time around the band has dropped its heavy industrial sound for a more well refined rock out of pure bliss, the sound is more modern but still succeeds to retain the patented guns n roses sound that has been often copied but never equalled. The guitar riffs are heavy but at the same time never loose their well refined sound, the vocals are flawless as is the sound from each of the bands impressive line-up. The biggest message I took away from Chinese democracy was that the more time something takes to be released the better it really is - if Chinese democracy had been released a few years ago I’m not so sure it would have gotten the same reception it does today, more than that it’s a sign that though so many new bands are being formed the old guard still know how to rock out with the best of them & as long as they keep it up music will always remain strong & a intricate part of peoples lives. In 2007 Sebastian bach stated that Chinese democracy would be the start of a new era in guns n roses & that it would form the first part of a trilogy of albums that would be released over the following years - here’s hoping we don’t have to wait as long this time around. I have listened to a lot of new material over the last year from various bands some high up in the food chain & some unknown & after hundreds of releases & gigs I can easily say that this is the best album I have heard all year - Metallica/Slipknot/The Killers all made fine albums but the top spot I’m happy to say goes to guns n roses. This wont disappoint anyone whether you are a hardcore music fan or a casual listener this album has something for everyone- simply flawless. (10-10)
1. Chinese Democracy [4:43]
2. Shackler’s Revenge [3:36]
3. Better [4:58]
4. Street Of Dreams [4:46]
5. If The World [4:54]
6. There Was A Time [6:41]
7. Catcher N’ The Rye [5:52]
8. Scraped [3:30]
9. Riad N’ The Bedouins 4:10]
10. Sorry (with Sebastian Bach) [6:14]
11. I.R.S. [4:28]
12. Madagascar [5:37]
13. This I Love [5:34]
14. Prostitute [6:15]
