Get in the CD player, Mutherfucker!
Well here we go. I wasn’t sure that this day would ever come that I would be reviewing any new material as it seemed like a cunning ruse to keep me here at Room Thirteen Towers, telling me that I could review any new G N’R music… sure, and I guess I get first dabs on new music from The Doors, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix too, huh?
If you are a fan then there is no doubt that you will have already heard this, however for those of you either wondering just what all the fuss is about as you missed the band the first time around, or even those that are just a little curious, then this is for you. ‘Chinese Democracy’ is nothing like ‘Welcome To The Jungle’, nor like the ‘Civil War’, and apart from flamed-haired Axl’s distinctive vocals, the song is nothing like you’ve ever heard before…
…Starting off with a hard riff it reminds me of Taime Downe’s side project The Newlydeads, which isn’t a bad thing, and would also show the similarity between two lead singers of Hard Sleaze Rock bands turning to a more Metal/Industrial sound (although this song doesn’t have much evidence of synthesisers as other new songs have) Axl’s familiar scream comes in before a verse that is sung in a snarl a little bit like ‘Pretty Tied Up’ from Use You Illusions II. It’s a political rock song, which lyrically will have you thinking about the touching words of ‘Civil War’, even if here it’s more harsh and spat at the listener, with Axl spitting, “’Cause it would take a lot more time // than you have got for masturbation // Even with your iron fist // More than you got to rule a nation…” Indeed.
The lead single off of the album of the same name is a good taster of what the rest of the album holds, even if Slash has been replaced by a guy with a KFC Bucket on his head and called simply, Buckethead (who now seems to have been replaced by a guy called Bumblefoot)…It’s not as easily accessible as previous singles, but does start to grow after half a dozen listens. Some of my favourite songs took some time to get into, so maybe this will be the same…or perhaps I’m still living on nostalgia…