Well, it finally happened. After fifteen years Guns N' Roses finally released their newest studio album, Chinese Democracy. I suppose this is also the time where we should be expecting pigs to fly and for Hell to freeze over, as well! I know some people have already started to bash the album, claiming that the band is nothing without Slash, Duff, Matt, and Izzy (or a combination of those four), or that it wasn't worth the wait, or that it should be called the "Axl Rose Project". My feelings on this issue? In order to better understand it, you need to take a look twenty-one years into the past...

For those who are uninformed, Guns N' Roses first album, their big debut, was the infamous Appetite for Destruction. Released in '87, this album was like a roller coaster: A continual, non-stop ride. If you were to listen to the whole album from beginning to end, you could possibly be left breathless from the adrenaline, ranging from such big hits like "Welcome To The Jungle", "Nightrain", and "Paradise City". At the same time, songs like "Sweet Child O' Mine" showed a more sensetive side to the bad boys, making the album a hit, propelling the garage band into becoming a super band. Of course, the most likely response to this was to make another album. Thus the band shut itself off, focusing on their work. In '88 they produced a small "filler album" entitled GN'R Lies, but the real treat did not come until 1991, three years later... and it was the big one.

Guns N' Roses knew they had expectations, you see... they weren't fools. They wanted to show the world what they were made of, and thus took all of the songs that didn't make it onto Appetite along with a slew of new songs and compiled it onto two discs. Boasting thirty songs even, the group decided to release both discs separately, known as Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II. Thanks to frontman Axl Rose, there is definitely one defining quality to these two discs--they reak of perfection. The band was not just making music anymore; they were making art. Coincidentally, this was also where the band started to change. Although one could say that Use Your Illusion I was definitely a worthy successor to Appetite for Destruction, having a library of music like "Right Next Door To Hell" and "Bad Obsession", the album is mostly remembered for its power ballades, "Don't Cry" and "November Rain". On top of this, Use Your Illusion II had the band reaching out for more thought-provoking music, such as "Civil War", "14 Years", and "Estranged". Like four years prior, Guns N' Roses managed to take the world by storm once more.

Of course, trouble started to brew for the band. Axl, being an extreme perfectionist in his music, started to take control of the band like some sort of dictator, much to the anger and frustration of the rest of his bandmates. In '93 they released a new album titled The Spaghetti Incident?, which was merely a bunch of covers of other artists. It was between 1994-1998 that the band became increasingly sporadic, with members hopping back and forth between GNR to a side project. By the time they finally finished a cover of the song "Sympathy for the Devil", relationships between the members had worsened so bad that they eventually either left of their own accord or were fired, leaving only Axl as the sole original member (coincidentally, Dizzy Reed also stayed).

It was during this time that new members came and went, all with the promise of a new studio album to be released, titled Chinese Democracy. So the fans waited, and waited, and waited. In 2003, former band members Slash, Duff, and Matt all decided to form their own band called Velvet Revolver, acting as some sort of replacement to the old days that were seemingly lost. Even then, Velvet Revolver has had their own issues--lead singer Scott Weiland ditched them after proclaiming the band was over, almost like a bad case of deja vu.

Back to Guns N' Roses, due to the constant change in band members and Axl's need for perfection, Chinese Democracy went into development Hell. During this long period, several tracks of Democracy had been leaked over the Internet time and time again, but real fans wanted to see an actual release. Even Dr. Pepper was trying to capatilize on this by offering everyone in the U.S. a free Dr. Pepper if Guns N' Roses actually released their album in 2008. Ironically enough, the album was then released, finally being revealed to the entire world after so long (except China, where it was immediately banned). In order to prepare myself for this occasion, I listened to Appetite for Destruction, Use Your Illusion I, and Use Your Illusion II back-to-back. I never listened to any of the leaked tracks, either, so that my experience with Chinese Democracy would be kept in it's purest form. So, now that I've listened to it for a few days... Exactly how was it? Was it worth the long wait? Was it everything that I wanted and more?

Not really. Like what Slash said, it was just good to finally hear Axl Rose's voice again.

Do not misunderstand, though--the album itself is very good, and the quality is most definitely there. I do not believe we should have waited fifteen years to receive Democracy, however. The bluesy swagger of the old days is gone, replaced in favor of a more modern sound, along with experimentation into other genres, like industrial. That being said, there are quite a few good songs located on the album. First and foremost, the self-titled track "Chinese Democracy" is also the opener. The beginning starts off quiet until you hear the sound of Chinese people in the background. Then que the instruments as you hear that oh-so familiar scream come barreling in. That is in my opinion the best part of Chinese Democracy, because it tells you that "Guns N' Fuckin' Roses is back!". Unfortunately it's not enough to really get you hooked. The hook itself doesn't happen until the third song titled, funny enough, "Better", which is also probably the one song that manages to capture the spirit of Guns N' Roses the best. After this the rest of the songs go off on their own, exploring strange and fascinating worlds that only Axl's mind could possibly create, songs like "Street of Dreams", "Catcher In The Rye", and "Madagascar". This is definitely not something that can be appreciated with just one or two listens--after about three times through I found the whole experience to be quite enjoyable.

One thing I must comment on is that Axl's voice still has it. Like I mentioned at the beginning of "Chinese Democracy", hearing his scream at the beginning really sounds good since it was definitely one thing I missed, even with Velvet Revolver to quench my thirst. His voice has aged a bit, unfortunately, but that's to be expected after a fifteen year gap. I think the fact he can still hit such high notes despite this is rather impressive. Another thing is that, despite what you may think or say of the man, you have to give him some credit--he put pretty much everything on the line to release this album. Fifteen years of his life was dedicated to this, losing many of his friends in the process, and having God knows how many labels slapped on him. Any normal man would have given up a long time ago and moved on to do something else.

So what is next for Guns N' Roses? After finally reaching Democracy there have been reports that Axl has enough songs in reserve to make another two or three albums, and that Democracy is actually the first of a trilogy, with the third part to be hopefully released in 2012. This better be true--I do not think I could wait another fifteen years with a completely different line-up, Axl.

In all: I recommend getting "Chinese Democracy", "Better", "Street of Dreams", "If The World", "There Was A Time", and "Sorry". Or, y'know, get the entire album.