Chinese Democracy Totally Explained

Everything about Chinese Democracy totally explained

Chinese Democracy is the upcoming sixth studio album by the American rock band Guns N' Roses. When released, it'll be the band's first album of original studio material since the simultaneous release of Use Your Illusion I and II in September 1991. In a 2007 interview, Axl Rose's close friend Sebastian Bach stated that Chinese Democracy will be the first installment in a trilogy of new albums. Bach also remarked that Rose had told him the third, as of yet untitled, album has been slated for 2012.

History and touring

Recording for Chinese Democracy began in 1994. Ex-bassist Duff McKagan is quoted as saying, "[the] band was so splintered at that point that nothing got started". Slash has criticized Rose for making the band seem "like a dictatorship". Slash quit the band in 1996; drummer Matt Sorum and McKagan left soon afterwards. Slash was replaced by Nine Inch Nails touring guitarist Robin Finck, ex-Replacements bassist Tommy Stinson replaced McKagan, and Josh Freese joined as the drummer.
   In early 1998, the band — which comprised Rose, Finck, Stinson and Freese along with long-time Guns N' Roses associate Paul Tobias, keyboardists Dizzy Reed and Chris Pitman — began recording at Rumbo Recorders, a state-of-the-art studio in the San Fernando Valley where Guns N' Roses had partially recorded parts for their debut album, Appetite for Destruction. During this time, Geffen paid Rose $1 million to try and finish the album; with a further $1 million if he handed it in to them by March 1, 1999. The group had planned to tour Europe in June 2001, however, all the dates were cancelled because of stomach problems suffered by Buckethead. The European tour was rescheduled for December 2001 but was once again cancelled; tour manager Doug Goldstein is said to have taken responsibility for the tour's downfall. Despite these cancellations, the band played two concerts in Las Vegas on December 29 and 31.
   Rhythm guitarist Richard Fortus joined the band in 2002, replacing Tobias, who had left because of his disdain for touring. In August 2002, the band honored tour dates in Hong Kong, Japan, England and Belgium. They infamously played at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards, on August 29, during their medley of "Welcome to the Jungle", "Madagascar" and "Paradise City" Rose seemed out of breath and struggled to keep up with the rest of the band; Rose's vocal performance was the subject of much criticism by fans and critics. After the VMA appearance, the band embarked on their first North American tour since the spring of 1993. The tour was supposed to begin on November 7 in Vancouver, however, a spokesman for the band claimed that due to poor weather conditions Rose was unable to fly to Canada from Los Angeles, though the rest of the band members were already at the concert venue. The show was cancelled less than two hours before Guns N' Roses were supposed to go onstage, causing riots outside the venue. The riot caused more than $400,000 in damages. Despite not being able to reach Vancouver the previous day, Rose performed in Tacoma, Washington on November 8 and Guns N' Roses played the first concert on their North American tour at the Tacoma Dome, although the venue was only half full and the band had many sound problems. According to MTV, Rose had blown his vocal chords by the end of the performance. The band's last show on the tour was a sold-out concert at Madison Square Garden in New York. The following night the band was scheduled to appear at Philadelphia's First Union Center; the opening acts, CKY and Mix Master Mike, both performed but Guns N' Roses failed to appear. The cancellation resulted in another riot after which the tour promoter, Clear Channel, cancelled the remaining sixteen shows of the tour. Between the beginning of the tour on November 8 and the last show on December 5, the band had finished sixteen shows, less than half of what they'd planned to play.
   After the 2002 tour, the band went on hiatus. They were scheduled to play at Rock in Rio IV in May 2004, but cancelled. Rose claimed Buckethead's departure in March 2004 left them unable to perform:
In May 2006, the band played their first concerts in over three years in New York; four performances at the Hammerstein Ballroom on May 12, 14, 15 and 17. These were followed by an acoustic set at The Plumm for Rosario Dawson's birthday party on May 18, before the band went on stage, Rose had an infamous altercation with the fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger. Just two weeks before the New York shows, Bumblefoot joined the band as a replacement for Buckethead. The shows in New York were followed by a summer tour in Europe. After Guns N' Roses' performance in Stockholm, Sweden on June 26, an intoxicated Rose was arrested for biting a hotel security guard's leg, threatening police and damaging property at the hotel. Despite this, the band managed to fulfil their show in Oslo, Norway just two days later. Following the successful European summer tour, in which the band played to over 700,000 people, the band embarked on a tour in North America in October 2006. The band cancelled two shows in November 2006; the first, which was scheduled for November 6 in Portland, Maine, was cancelled "due to limitations imposed by local fire marshals", the second, which was scheduled for November 29 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was cancelled due to Rose's ear and throat problems.
   On December 14, 2006, Rose published an open letter to the band's fans on their website, he announced the cancellation of the final four shows of the North American tour, claiming that those shows were taking up time the band needed to finish recording Chinese Democracy. Rose also revealed that the band had parted company with their manager Merck Mercuriadis, implying that the reason the album wasn't released in 2006 was Mercuriadis's fault (many times throughout 2006, Rose had said the album would be released that year). In the letter, Rose announced a tentative release date of March 6, 2007 for the album, however, the album was once again delayed.
   On February 22, 2007, the band's road manager, Del James, announced that all recording for the album had been completed and it was in the mixing process, James stated that there was no release date for the album but that things appeared to be moving on after a number of delays.
   On March 26, 2008, various media outlets reported that Dr Pepper will offer a free can of Dr Pepper to everyone in America — excluding former Guns N' Roses guitarists Buckethead and Slash — if the band releases Chinese Democracy in 2008. Later on March 26, Rose replied to Dr Pepper on Guns N' Roses' official website and spoke of his surprise at Dr Pepper's support. Rose also said he'd share his Dr Pepper with Buckethead as "some of Buckethead's performances are on [ChineseDemocracy]".

Sound

In 1999, the industrial metal song "Oh My God" was released on the End of Days soundtrack. It featured current Guns N' Roses members Axl Rose, Dizzy Reed, Robin Finck, Chris Pitman and Tommy Stinson, along with former members Paul Tobias and Josh Freese. Dave Navarro and Gary Sunshine also recorded guitar parts for the song. "Oh My God" was unpopular upon its release, and was described by All Music Guide as "a less than satisfying comeback". The sound of Chinese Democracy was often reported to be industrial rock music similar to Nine Inch Nails and Ministry, a style that Rose had long been a fan of. However, in a 2001 interview with an Argentine radio station, Rose stated the album wasn't industrial, and would vary in styles:
In 2003, DJ Eddie Trunk spoke about the demo of "I.R.S." which was leaked on his radio show:
issues but the label. There is so much money tied up in this record that in todays business it'll be virtually impossible to be profitable, meaning the label might want to sell it off but can not find a buyer since nobody buys CDs anymore. Problem might not be Axl this time around and might keep this CD in limbo for more years to come. Hopefully it gets resolved." However, in a February 2008 interview with Classic Rock Magazine, Rose's personal manager, Beta Lebeis, debunked Trunk's suggestion and was quoted as saying "we're currently in negotiations with the record label". On April 20, 2008, in an effort to inform fans on the status of guitarist Robin Finck on the official website, Guns N' Roses announced that "We're in negotiations for the release of "Chinese Democracy" and things are going well. When we begin to put tour plans together, we'll see where things are. Until then, Robin's touring with NIN and we're working with management on our game plans."The update suggests the album is being negotiated with the record company on how that'll release it. It is still a possibility that it'll be released in 2008.

Controversy and lawsuits

In 2004, Geffen Records released Greatest Hits. Rose, along with Slash and McKagan, attempted to block the album's release. They filed a lawsuit against Geffen, claiming the album was unauthorized and would damage reputation, Rose also claimed it would distract the band from completing Chinese Democracy. A week before the scheduled release, a judge denied their request for an injunction and the album was released. Greatest Hits was #1 in the UK for two weeks and reached #3 on the Billboard 200. Despite being criticized for being hastily assembled,

Title conflicts

On April 1, 2003, The Offspring announced that they'd be naming their upcoming album Chinese Democrazy (You Snooze, You Lose). The Offspring's lead singer Dexter Holland elaborated, "You snooze, you lose. Axl ripped off my braids, I ripped off his album title." However, it turned out to be an April Fools' joke and the Offspring album was eventually released under the title Splinter instead.

Track listing

Although the entire track listing for Chinese Democracy hasn't been confirmed, various members of the band and people associated with the band have confirmed certain tracks which will appear on the album. All but one of the confirmed tracks have been played live during the Chinese Democracy Tour, the exception being "Sorry" which is also the only one of the tracks not to have been leaked in demo form.

Further Information

Get more info on 'Chinese Democracy'.

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