Guns N' Roses

Guns N' Roses

Guns N' Roses are an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985. The band, led by frontman and co-founder Axl Rose, has gone through numerous line-up changes and controversies since their formation. The band has released six studio albums, two EPs and one live album during their career.

Guns N' Roses has sold an estimated 100 million albums worldwide, including over 42 million in the United States. The band's 1987 major label debut album Appetite for Destruction has sold in excess of 28 million copies and reached number one on the United States Billboard 200. In addition, the album charted three Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including "Sweet Child O' Mine" which reached number one. The 1991 albums Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II debuted on the two highest spots on the Billboard 200 and have sold a combined 14 million copies in the United States alone. After over a decade of work, the band released their follow-up album, Chinese Democracy, in 2008.

History

Formation (1985–1987)

See also: Hollywood Rose and L.A. Guns

The group was formed in early 1985 by Hollywood Rose members Axl Rose (vocals) and Izzy Stradlin (rhythm guitar), and L.A. Guns members Tracii Guns (lead guitar), Ole Beich (bass) and Rob Gardner (drums). The band created its name by combining two of the group members' names. A short time later, before Guns N' Roses even played any gigs, guitarist Tracii Guns quit to reform L.A. Guns. Slash replaced Guns, and Duff McKagan replaced Ole Beich (who only played one show.) Slash had played for Rose and Stradlin during a short stint in Hollywood Rose. The new line-up came together quickly, but after deciding to go on a "tour" from Sacramento, California to Duff's home town of Seattle, drummer Rob Gardner quit and was replaced by Slash's close friend Steven Adler. The band, which continued to be called Guns N' Roses even after the departure of Tracii Guns, established its first stable line up on this so-called "Hell Tour". In an interview, Slash stated, "That [trip to Seattle] is really what cemented the band" and established its chemistry.

Discovery

After witnessing a Guns N' Roses show at the Troubadour, Tom Zutaut, a Geffen Records A&R executive, falsely warned other scouts "they suck" so he could have more time and leeway to try to sign them. Axl Rose demanded, and received, a $75,000 advance from Zutaut before revealing that he had promised an A&R executive from Chrysalis that the band would sign with her if she walked naked down the Sunset Strip. For five days, Zutaut nervously watched from his office window for a naked A&R executive before he could close the deal. Alan Niven was subsequently hired as the band's manager, and the team set out to record the band's full-length debut album.

Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide

Geffen Records released an EP in late 1986 to keep the interest in the band alive while the band withdrew from the club scene to work in the studio. The four song EP Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide came out on the ostensibly independent "Uzi Suicide Records" label (which was actually a Geffen subsidiary.) Only 10,000 vinyl copies of the EP were produced. On Halloween night 1986 Guns N' Roses performed at UCLA's Ackerman Ballroom as the opening act to Thelonious Monster, The Dickies, and the headlining Red Hot Chili Peppers.

The record was billed as a live recording, although Rose would reveal, years later, that it was simulated. The EP consisted of four songs from the band's demo tapes with crowd noise overdubbed. It contained covers of Rose Tattoo's "Nice Boys" and Aerosmith's "Mama Kin", along with two original compositions: the punk anthem "Reckless Life" and the classic rock inspired "Move to the City", both of which were co-written by Hollywood Rose's founding member Chris Weber.

The original vinyl Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide EP has become a valuable and sought after collector's item, even though the tracks were re-issued two years later on the GN'R Lies album.

Appetite for Destruction, G N' R Lies (1987–1989)

Main articles: Appetite for Destruction and G N' R Lies

The band's first album, Appetite for Destruction was released on July 21, 1987. In the US, "Welcome to the Jungle" was issued as its first single with an accompanying music video. Initially, the album and single lingered for almost a year without performing well, but when Geffen Records founder David Geffen was asked to lend support to the band, he obliged by personally convincing MTV executives to play "Welcome to the Jungle" during their after hours rotation. Even though the video was initially only played one time at 4 a.m. on a Sunday, rock and punk fans took notice and soon began requesting the video and song en masse.

Overseas, countries were often treated to material that never saw release to the US market, and went unexposed to US fans. The original UK "Welcome to the Jungle" single was backed with a Marquee Club performance of AC/DC's "Whole Lotta Rosie" and a 12-inch (300 mm) single included live renditions of "It's So Easy" and the Bob Dylan classic "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" (which would later be covered by the band in the studio on Use Your Illusion II). In Japan, an entire EP entitled Live from the Jungle was issued, containing the album version of "Sweet Child o' Mine" along with a selection of numerous Marquee Club recordings.

The album underwent an artwork change after the original Robert Williams cover design (a surrealist scene in which a dagger-toothed monster vengefully attacks a robot rapist) spawned complaints from religious groups and caused some record stores to brown bag, obscure, or refuse to sell the album. The revised cover was gleaned from a tattoo that Axl Rose had recently commissioned featuring skeleton faces of the five musicians arranged on a cross. Rose later insisted that the Gold and Platinum plaques issued by the RIAA be set using the original cover. The artwork from the original cover can be found in the booklet of the CD release.

"Sweet Child O' Mine" was the album's second US single co-written by Axl Rose as a poem for his girlfriend and future wife, Erin Everly. Due to the growing grassroots success of the band and the cross-gender appeal of the tune, the song and its accompanying music video received heavy airplay on both radio and MTV, and became a smash hit during the summer of 1988. Slash stated on VH1's 100 Greatest songs of the 80's "it was actually my least favorite song we ever wrote..I hate it, but it turns out to be our greatest song ever". "Welcome to the Jungle" was then re-issued as a single, with new pressings of records and tapes and new artwork. The UK re-release was backed with an acoustic version of "You're Crazy", recorded much earlier than the one featured on the G N' R Lies EP.

By the time "Paradise City" and its video reached the airwaves, the band's touring success and fame had catapulted the album to #1 on the Billboard charts. "Welcome to the Jungle", "Sweet Child o' Mine" and "Paradise City" were all top ten singles in the U.S. To date, Appetite for Destruction has sold over 28 million copies.

Guns N' Roses began opening shows for major acts, but as their fame began to take hold, a world tour in support of Appetite for Destruction was scheduled. The band traveled across the United States, and in spring 1988 were invited to the notorious Monsters of Rock Festival at Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England, where they shared the bill with groups like KISS and Iron Maiden. At the start of the Guns N' Roses set, the capacity crowd of over 100,000 began jumping and surging forward. Despite Rose's requests that the crowd move away from the stage, two fans were trampled to death. The media largely blamed the band for the tragedy, and reported that the band had continued playing even when there were dangerous crowd conditions. In fact, the final report on the Donington incident filed by the head of security at the venue noted that the band had not been aware of the extent of fan injuries, had immediately halted their set when requested to do so, and had attempted to calm the crowd. Nonetheless, events such as these during the Appetite for Destruction tour earned the group the title of "the world's most dangerous band". In addition, the behavior of the band members also garnered negative attention from the media. Duff, Slash, Izzy and Adler were often seen intoxicated both on and off stage.

The band's next release was G N' R Lies in 1988, which reached #2 in the Billboard music charts. The album included the four Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide recordings on one side and four acoustic songs on the other. The song "One in a Million", which included the words "niggers" and "faggots" among other such profanities, led to controversy in which critics accused the band, and specifically Axl Rose, of racism and homophobia. Rose responded (in a 1990 interview with MTV) by saying the claims were unfounded, particularly considering Slash himself is half black. He went on to explain that the words were those of a protagonist and not a personal statement, and that the lyrics reflected racial and prejudicial problems within society rather than promoting them. Rose also cited that he idolized gay/bisexual singers like Freddie Mercury and Elton John. The band had played gigs alongside the all-black metal band Body Count, and lead singer Ice T wrote in his book, The Ice Opinion, that Axl had been "a victim of the press the same way I am".

Even after the release of GN'R Lies, Appetite for Destruction continued to be popular for the rest of 1988 and 1989, which resulted in them winning both Favorite Heavy Metal Artist and Favorite Heavy Metal Album (Appetite for Destruction) at the nationally televised 1990 American Music Awards, where Slash and McKagan appeared visibly intoxicated and used profanities on the air. The members finally took steps to deal with their addictions after Rose threatened to end the band if they continued with their heavy drug abuse. He even spoke publicly about the situation, specifically the heroin addictions, while opening for The Rolling Stones at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 1989.

Fame and fortune (1990–1993)

Use Your Illusion

Main articles: Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II

Guns N' Roses in Israel, 1993

In 1990, Guns N' Roses returned to the studio to begin recording their most rambunctious undertaking yet. During the recording session of "Civil War", drummer Steven Adler was unable to perform well due to his struggles with cocaine and heroin addiction—his difficulties in the studio caused the band to do nearly 30 takes. As a result, Adler was fired in July 1990, and was replaced by former Cult drummer Matt Sorum. A few months prior, keyboardist Dizzy Reed became the sixth member of the group when he joined as a full time member. The band fired their manager, Alan Niven, in May 1991, replacing him with Doug Goldstein. According to a 1991 cover story by Rolling Stone magazine, Rose forced the dismissal of Niven (against the wishes of some of his bandmates) by refusing to complete the albums until he was replaced.

With enough music for two albums, the band released Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II on September 17, 1991. The tactic paid off when the albums debuted at #2 and #1 respectively in the Billboard charts, setting a record as they became the first and only group to date to achieve this feat. The albums spent 108 weeks in the chart.

Guns N' Roses accompanied the Use Your Illusion albums with many videos, including "Don't Cry", "November Rain" and "Estranged"—some of the most expensive music videos ever made. The hit ballad "November Rain" became the most requested video on MTV, eventually winning the 1992 MTV Video Music Award for best cinematography. During the awards show, the band performed the song with Elton John accompanying on piano.

Both prior to and after the release of the albums, Guns N' Roses embarked on the 28-month-long Use Your Illusion World Tour. It became famous for both its financial success and the many controversial incidents that occurred at the shows.

Use Your Illusion World Tour

Main article: Use Your Illusion Tour

The Use Your Illusion World Tour included a Slash guitar solo incorporating The Godfather theme, a piano driven Axl Rose cover of "It's Alright" by Black Sabbath and an extended jam on the classic rock inspired "Move to the City" where Rose showcased the ensemble of musicians assembled for the tour.

Many of the successful performances during the tour were equally matched, and often overshadowed in the press, by riots, late starts and outspoken rants by Rose. While the band's previous drug and alcohol issues were seemingly under control, Axl was often agitated by lax security, sound problems and unwanted filming or recording of the performances. He also used the time in between songs to fire off political statements or retorts against music critics or celebrity rivals.

Main article: Riverport Riot

On July 2, 1991, at the Riverport Amphitheater in Maryland Heights, Missouri, just outside of St. Louis during a performance of "Rocket Queen", Rose jumped into the audience and tackled a fan who was taking still pictures of the show with a camera. After being pulled out of the audience by members of the crew, Rose said: "Well, thanks to the lame-ass security, I'm going home!", slammed his microphone on the ground and left the stage. The sound the microphone made caused some fans to think he shot someone, so Slash quickly told the audience, "He just slammed his mic on the floor. We're outta here." The angry crowd began to riot and dozens of people were injured. The footage was captured by Robert John, who was documenting the entire tour for the band. Rose was charged with having incited the riot, but police were unable to arrest him until almost a year later, as the band went overseas to continue the tour. Charges were filed against Rose but a judge ruled that he did not directly incite the riot. In his defense, Rose stated that the Guns N' Roses security team had made four separate requests to the venue's security staff to remove the camera, all of which were ignored, that other members of the band had reported being hit by bottles from the audience and that the venue's security had been lax, allowing weapons into the arena and refusing to enforce a drinking limit. Consequently, Use Your Illusion's artwork featured a hidden message amidst the Thank You section of the album insert: "Fuck You, St. Louis!"

After a repeat of the St. Louis incident nearly unfolded during a concert in Germany, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin abruptly quit the band, citing a combination of Rose's personal behaviour (he would consistently delay the start of shows by hours at a time) and his mis-management of the band and difficulties being around Slash, Sorum, and McKagan due to his new found sobriety and their continuing alcohol and substance addictions. Axl Rose originally wanted Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro to replace Stradlin, but Stradlin was eventually replaced by Los Angeles based guitarist Gilby Clarke whom Slash credited at the time for saving the band. During many shows throughout the tour, Rose introduced Clarke and had him play "Wild Horses", a Rolling Stones cover. In late 1991, Rose added a touring ensemble to the band which included a horns section and several background vocalists.

In 1992, the band appeared at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, performing a two song set. Slash later performed "Tie Your Mother Down" with the remaining members of Queen, while Axl Rose performed "We Will Rock You" and duetted with Elton John on "Bohemian Rhapsody". When they returned to the U.S. for the second leg of the Use Your Illusion tour, Queen guitarist Brian May opened the shows with a band that included Cozy Powell on drums.

Later in the year they went on the mini-GNR-Metallica Stadium Tour with American Metal band Metallica. During a show in August 1992 at Montreal's Olympic Stadium, Metallica frontman James Hetfield suffered severe burns after stepping too close to a pyrotechnics blast. Metallica was forced to cancel the second hour of the show, but promised to return to the city for another show. After a long delay, during which the audience became increasingly restless, Guns N' Roses took the stage. However, the shortened time between sets did not allow for adequate tuning of stage monitors, resulting in musicians not being able to hear themselves. In addition, Rose claimed that his throat hurt, causing the band to leave the stage early. The cancellation led to another riot by audience members, reminiscent of the rioting that had occurred in St. Louis one year earlier. Rioters overturned cars, smashed windows, looted local stores and set fires. Local authorities were barely able to bring the mob under control. This can be seen on video in A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica. On MTV's Rockumentary about Metallica, the band spoke about this tour and how they learned from Guns N' Roses what not to do.

The historic tour ended in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on July 17, 1993. The tour set attendance records and lasted for 28 months, in which 192 shows were played. The show in Buenos Aires marked the last time original members Slash and McKagan as well as newcomers Clarke and Sorum would play a live show with Rose.

"The Spaghetti Incident?"

Main article: "The Spaghetti Incident?"

On November 23, 1993, Guns N' Roses released a collection of punk and glam rock covers entitled "The Spaghetti Incident?". Despite protests from Rose's bandmates, an unadvertised cover of the Charles Manson song "Look at Your Game Girl" was included on the album at his request. Years later, Rose said he would remove the song from new pressings of the album, claiming that critics and the media had misinterpreted his interest in Manson. However, as of 2008, the song is still on the album. The Spaghetti Incident? did not match the success of the Illusion albums and tension increased within the band.

1994–1998

Interviews with Guns N' Roses band members suggest that between 1994 and 1996, the band sporadically began to write and record new material, most of which, according to Slash, had been written by Axl. At the time, the band had intended to release a single album with 10 or 12 songs.

Regarding the dysfunction of the band's recording at that time, Axl is quoted as saying "We still needed the collaboration of the band as a whole to write the best songs. Since none of that happened, that’s the reason why that material got scrapped."

Slash and Duff McKagan later left the group, and as such all of the original members (aside from Axl Rose) had departed from the band; however, an actual break-up of Guns N' Roses never occurred, as new players were brought in as the old ones left. (For more information on the personnel changes over the years see the article: "Guns N' Roses band members")

McKagan was the last of Rose's original bandmates to leave; in 1997 he was replaced by Tommy Stinson (formerly of The Replacements.) By the end of 1998, a new version of Guns N Roses had emerged: many musicians have come and gone from the new band, but the core group has included Rose, Stinson, keyboardist Dizzy Reed, multi-instrumentalist Chris Pitman, and guitarist Robin Finck.

Chinese Democracy (1999–2008)

Main article: Chinese Democracy

In 1999, the band released one new song, "Oh My God", which was included on the soundtrack of the film End of Days. The track featured additional guitar work by Dave Navarro and Gary Sunshine, Rose's personal guitar teacher. The song's release was intended to be a prelude to their new album, now officially entitled Chinese Democracy. Geffen also released Live Era: '87-'93, a collection of live performances from various concerts during the Appetite for Destruction and Use Your Illusion tours. Also in 1999, during an interview with Kurt Loder for MTV, Axl said that he had re-recorded Appetite for Destruction with the then-new band, apart from two songs which he had replaced with "Patience" and "You Could Be Mine".

Chinese Democracy had reportedly been in the works since 1995, with Rose the only original member still in the band. According to a report published in 2005 by The New York Times, Rose had allegedly burned through $13 million in the studio by that point.

In 1999, guitarist Robin Finck departed the band in order to rejoin his former band, Nine Inch Nails, on tour. In 2000, avant-garde guitarist Buckethead joined Guns N' Roses as a replacement for Finck. Drummer Josh Freese was replaced with Bryan Mantia (formerly of Primus). Robin Finck returned to Guns N' Roses in late 2000, to complement Buckethead on lead guitar.

The New Guns N' Roses

The revised lineup finally made a public appearance in January 2001, with two well-received concerts, one in Las Vegas and one at the Rock in Rio Festival in Rio de Janeiro. The band played a mixture of old hits as well as new songs from their forthcoming album. During their Rock in Rio set, Rose made the following comment regarding former members of the band:

I know that many of you are disappointed that some of the people you came to know and love could not be with us here today. Regardless of what you have heard or read, people worked very hard (meaning my former friends) to do everything they could so that I could not be here today. I say fuck that. I am as hurt and disappointed as you that unlike Oasis, we could not find a way to all get along.

The new lineup played a further two shows in Las Vegas at the end of 2001. In 2002, rhythm guitarist Paul Tobias left the band because of his frustrations with life on the road. He was replaced by Richard Fortus (formerly of The Psychedelic Furs and Love Spit Love). The band then played several shows in August 2002, headlining festivals and concerts throughout Asia and Europe. They made their way to New York for a surprise appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards in September.

In 2002, the band's first North American tour since 1993 was organized to support Chinese Democracy, with CKY and Mix Master Mike supporting. However, the opening show in Vancouver was cancelled by the venue when Rose failed to turn up (having remained in Los Angeles), and a riot ensued. This tour was met with mixed results. Some concerts did not sell well, while shows in larger markets such as New York sold out in minutes. Due to a second riot by fans in Philadelphia when the band failed to show up again, tour promoter Clear Channel cancelled the remainder of the tour.

The band went on hiatus until they were scheduled to play at Rock in Rio IV in May 2004. However, Buckethead left the band in March of that year, causing the band to cancel. Also in March 2004, Geffen released Guns N' Roses' Greatest Hits, since Rose had failed to deliver a new studio album in more than ten years. Rose expressed his displeasure with this album as its track listing was established without his consent and went as far as trying to block its release by suing Geffen. This failed, however, and the album went triple platinum in the USA.

In February 2006, demos of the songs "Better", "Catcher in the Rye", "I.R.S.", and "There Was a Time" were leaked on the internet through a Guns N' Roses fan site. The band's management requested that all links to the MP3 files and all lyrics to the songs be removed from forums and websites. Despite this, radio stations began adding "I.R.S." to playlists, and the song actually reached #49 on the Radio & Records Active Rock National Airplay chart in the final week of February—the first time an internet leak has done so.

On May 5, 2006, Axl Rose appeared on the Friday Night Rocks with Eddie Trunk radio show (during an interview with Sebastian Bach) and said that the new Guns N' Roses album would be released before the end of the year. Later in May, the band launched a European tour, headlining both the Download Festival and Rock In Rio - Lisbon. Four warm-up shows preceded the tour at Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City and became the band's first live concert dates since the aborted 2002 tour. The shows also marked the debut of guitarist and composer Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal, replacing Buckethead. During the tour, former bandmate Izzy Stradlin and ex-Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach made frequent guest appearances.

Five warm-up shows before a 2006 North American tour were held in September 2006. The tour officially commenced on October 24 in Miami. Drummer Frank Ferrer replaced Bryan Mantia, who took a leave of absence to be with his wife and newborn child. Coinciding with the tour, the song "Better" was featured in an internet advertisement for Harley-Davidson beginning in October 2006. That same month, Rolling Stone published an article revealing that Andy Wallace would be mixing the final album.

In December 2006, Axl Rose released an open letter to fans announcing that Merck Mercuriadis had been fired as the band's manager. He revealed that the last four dates of the North American tour would be cut so the band could work on postproduction for Chinese Democracy. He also set a tentative release date for the album for the first time since the album's announcement: March 6, 2007.

On February 8, 2007, the band played a two-song set at the Rodeo Drive's Walk of Style ceremony, held in Beverly Hills, California. The band, with Chris Pitman on bass, blazed through "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" and "Sweet Child o' Mine" to close the event, which honored Gianni and Donatella Versace.

On February 23, 2007, Del James announced that Chinese Democracy's recording stage was finished, and the band had now moved onto mixing the album. However, this proved that the March 6 release date would be impossible to achieve, and the album once again had no scheduled release date.

Recent events

On May 4, 2007 three more tracks leaked from Chinese Democracy; an updated version of "I.R.S.", "The Blues" and the title track. All three tracks had previously been played live. Guns N' Roses embarked on the 2007 leg of the Chinese Democracy World Tour in Mexico on June, followed by dates on Australia and Japan. The songs "Nice Boys" and "Don't Cry" were played for the first time since the Use Your Illusion Tour. The tour ended on the twentieth anniversary of Appetite for Destruction's release date, in Osaka. During this tour, the band featured Axl Rose, Robin Finck, Ron Thal and Richard Fortus on guitars, Tommy Stinson on bass, Dizzy Reed and Chris Pitman on keyboards and Frank Ferrer on drums.

Rose appears as a guest performer on three of the tracks on Sebastian Bach's album, Angel Down, which was released on November 20, 2007.

On March 26, 2008, Dr Pepper announced a plan to give everyone in America—except the band's former guitarists Slash and Buckethead—a free can of Dr Pepper if the band released Chinese Democracy before the end of 2008. Rose added, "As some of Buckethead's performances are on our album, I'll share my Dr Pepper with him." With the announcement from GNR in regards to a release date in November, Tony Jacobs, Dr Pepper's vice president of marketing for Dr. Pepper, announced a free soda coupon campaign for 24 hours on Sunday, November 23rd, 2008.

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The next day, on March 27, 2008, the band announced that they had hired a new management team, headed by Irving Azoff and Andy Gould.

On April 5, 2008, a picture of Robin Finck appeared on Nine Inch Nails web page, under the title "Welcome Back!" starting the rumour of his possible reunion with Trent Reznor. Later, on April 11, 2008, Robin Finck expressed his happiness on playing again with NIN. On April 20, 2008, on Guns N' Roses official website, Axl Rose expressed his surprise about Robin Finck's latest news but assure that the band was working with its management on the release of Chinese Democracy and thanked the fans for the continuous shows of support

Nine tracks purported to be from Chinese Democracy were leaked to an online site on June 19, 2008 and quickly removed due to a cease-and-desist letter from the band's label. Six of the leaked tracks had surfaced previously in some form, while three were new. The leaked songs are fleshed out more than previously heard tracks.

On July 14, 2008, Harmonix, in conjunction with MTV Games, officially announced the release of a new song from the upcoming Chinese Democracy album, called "Shackler's Revenge", through their new game Rock Band 2. Also the song "Chinese Democracy" is being played on the bands website.

In late August, speculation about the impending release of the album resurfaced, further fuelled by separate reports from both Rolling Stone and Billboard about a November 25 release date as a Best Buy exclusive. On October 15, Best Buy's website was updated to accept pre-orders for the album, available both on CD and vinyl, and on October 16 the page was updated with the official track list and artwork.

On October 21st various radio stations announced that the title track of Chinese Democracy would be available to download by U.S radio outlets the next day, subsequently confirmed by a report from Billboard. The single is already in regular rotation nationwide.

Finally, on October 22, the band's managers, Best Buy, and Interscope Geffen A&M Records officially issued a joint press release confirming the much anticipated release of the album in the US on November 23 as a Best Buy exclusive. The album is available in 3 formats: CD, digital download and vinyl (with a free digital download option).

On November 11, 2008 the iTunes Music Store began accepting pre-orders for the Chinese Democracy album, with the Chinese Democracy single available for download on the same day. By November 13, 2008, ten days before the official release of the Chinese Democracy album, the Chinese Democracy single had topped the general iTunes Music Store chart in Greece, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Finland. In addition to being the No. 1 song and No. 1 rock song in the above countries, it became the No. 1 rock song on iTunes in the U.S., Canada, France and the U.K.

Chinese Democracy was released on November 22, 2008 in Germany and Australia, in North America on November 23, 2008 and in the United Kingdom on November 24, 2008, becoming the band's sixth studio album and their first since 1993's "The Spaghetti Incident?".

Future (2007-Present)

In a 2007 interview, Rose's friend Sebastian Bach stated that Chinese Democracy will be the first installment in a trilogy of albums. Bach also remarked that Rose had told him the third, as yet untitled, album has been slated for 2012. As of yet, no member of Guns N' Roses has confirmed this. During his time over at several of his Internet forums, Rose has made hints towards new albums and new songs, revealing several working titles.

In another 2007 interview, with the Artisan News Service on YouTube, Sebastian Bach also stated that Chinese Democracy will be the first of four new albums.

In recent years, there have been persistent rumors that the original lineup of Guns N' Roses would reunite. However, on February 6th, 2009, Axl Rose effectively put to rest any rumors of the original lineup reuniting, in an interview to Billboard's Jonathan Cohen, "I could see doing a song or so on the side with Izzy [Stradlin] or having him out [on tour] again. I'm not so comfortable with doing anything having more than one of the alumni. Maybe something with Duff [McKagan], but that's it, and not something I'd have to really get down into, as I'd get left with sorting it out and then blamed on top of it. So, no, not me." (http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/feature/the-billboard-q-a-axl-rose-1003939032.story?pn=4). Rose would go on state in the same interview that there is absolutely no chance of him ever reuniting with Slash, former lead guitarist of Guns N' Roses: What's clear is that one of the two of us will die before a reunion and however sad, ugly or unfortunate anyone views it, it is how it is. Those decisions were made a long time ago and reiterated year after year by one man. (http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/feature/the-billboard-q-a-axl-rose-1003939032.story?pn=4).

The frontman told Billboard that the dispute between the pair would never be healed. He went on to say that Guns N' Roses, in its current guise, could tour in the near future.

"In regards to Slash," he said, "I read a desperate fan's message about, 'What if one of us were to die, and looking back I had the possibility of a reunion now'. My thoughts are, 'Yeah, and while you're at the show your baby accidentally kicks a candle and burns your house down, killing himself and the rest of your family.'

"Give me a fucking break. What's clear is that one of the two of us will die before a reunion and however sad, ugly or unfortunate anyone views it, it is how it is. Those decisions were made a long time ago and reiterated year after year by one man.

"There are acts that, once committed between individuals, they are what they are. To add insult to injury almost day after day, lapsing into year after year, for more than a decade, is a nightmare. Anyone putting his own personal entertainment above everything else is sickening."

Speaking about a possible Guns N' Roses tour, he added, "No plans, but there's talk. Management and our promoters are really excited with the offers coming in both here and worldwide."

Musical style

The music of Guns N' Roses is a fusion of punk rock, blues-rock, heavy metal and classic rock and roll. In the 1990s, the band integrated keyed instruments (played by either Rose or Reed, and accompanied on tour by Teddy Andreadis) into the band, and for roughly half of the Use Your Illusion tour, added a horn section to the stage. While Reed has remained on some of the Chinese Democracy demos, tours since 2000 have not included wind instruments, though the band has employed synthesized horns on some of their new songs.

A heavy influence on both the image and sound of the band was Finnish band Hanoi Rocks (singer Michael Monroe and Rose have collaborated on various occasions). Rose has stated that the band was massively inspired by bands like Queen, AC/DC, The Rolling Stones, and Rose Tattoo and also that the sound of Appetite for Destruction was influenced by AC/DC, Aerosmith, The New York Dolls and Hanoi Rocks.

Legacy

Guns N' Roses signed with a major label within eight months of their inception and topped national sales charts weeks after garnering late hours airplay on MTV. Appetite for Destruction was the second highest-selling debut album of all time, behind Boston's self-titled debut album.

Their peers in the music industry often spoke highly of the band: Ozzy Osbourne called Guns N' Roses "the next Rolling Stones." In 2002, Q magazine named Guns N' Roses in their list of the "50 Bands To See Before You Die". Also, the television network VH1 ranked Guns N' Roses ninth in its "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock" special, and also ranked 11th on "Top 50 bands". Appetite for Destruction appeared in the Rolling Stone Magazine special issue "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Guns N' Roses #92 on their list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time".

The band has not been free of criticism by the media. The flagrant alcohol and drug abuse by some members of the group, and Axl's fondness of Charles Manson T-shirts, were used by the media to portray Guns N' Roses as a poor example and negative influence on their young fans. The long periods of time that the band took to release albums were also a source of heavy criticism (the band's second album, GN'R Lies, was actually an EP and an old EP packaged together, and one of the songs was an acoustic cover of one from the band's debut album, it took from 1987 to 1991 to come up with a proper follow up to Appetite for Destruction, and it took over 15 years to release Chinese Democracy).

Frontman Axl Rose has become a source of both controversy and criticism since the other founding members left the group. His constant elusiveness, such as the fact that he has not held a press conference since 1994, has led to several stories claiming he is suffering from bipolar disorder. Music critics have blamed Rose for the break-up of the original group, have criticized him for continuing the band after the original members had departed and have questioned the constant change in band members. They also cite his neurotic behavior and sense of perfectionism as a cause of personal conflict and the long delays between albums.

Discography

Main article: Guns N' Roses discography

• 1987: Appetite for Destruction
• 1988: G N' R Lies
• 1991: Use Your Illusion I
• 1991: Use Your Illusion II
• 1993: "The Spaghetti Incident?"
• 2008: Chinese Democracy

References

1. Sugerman, Danny. Appetite For Destruction: The Days of Guns N' Roses.
2. Stenning, Paul (2004). The Band That Time Forgot: The Complete Unauthorised Biography of Guns N' Roses. Chrome Dreams. ISBN 1-84240-246-3.
3. John, Robert (1993). Guns N' Roses: The Photographic History. Little, Brown & Company. ISBN 0316466956.
4. Wall, Mick (1992). Guns N' Roses: The Most Dangerous Band in the World. Hyperion. ISBN 1-56282-951-3.
5. Slash (2007). Slash. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0 00-725775-1. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
6. Canter, Marc (2007). Reckless Road: Guns N' Roses and The Making of Appetite for Destruction. www.recklessroad.com . ISBN 978-0-9793418-7-8. {{cite book}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
7. Wall, Mick (2007). W.A.R.:The Unauthorized Biography of William Axl Rose. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0312377670.

External links

• Official website
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• Guns N' Roses discography at Discogs
• Template:Last.fm
• Template:MySpace
• Guns N Roses Videos On Demand