Looks like Axl may actually be delivering this year. The first single is hitting the radio today and the release date Nov. 23 has been posted up on best buy w/ a track list. Don't know if anyone else here has heard the leaked tracks but from what I've heard it's some pretty good stuff. You just can't listen to it expecting classic GNR or you'll probably be dissapointed.
This may sound weird but, I liked their music better without Axl singing. I hate his voice and not to mention that the stories I hear about him make him sound like a douche.
I'll keep an eye out for it... no idea whether I'll like it much (while I'm not exactly a huge GnR fan they made some legendary songs back in the day; things have changed a lot several times since), but you never know. I am, after all, the sort of guy who listens to bands like Dream Theater for the radio-friendly material.
I've heard the leaked tracks, and I'll buy the album. If you don't like Axl's voice, stay away. If you're looking for Appetite, you'll get a track or two, but this seems to be an older, more mature Axl. What you will get, though, is incredible attention to detail and some pretty incredible multi-track recording. The music seems to be much more influenced by other genres. Of the 9 leaked tracks, 2 were piano ballads in the mold of November Rain, but the other tracks had balls. Fair warning. Unlike Appetite, sometimes the balls-out rock just came during the solos, but it's clearly there.
http://www.q1043.com/pages/news/gunsnroses/ For anyone who wants to listen to the first single. Blows the leak out of the water. The new riff bumblefoot plays really gives the song a gritty feeling it was missing.
The new music may be good or bad, but they can't really be Guns n' Roses when the only remaining member is Axl. He may have cheated the other guys out of the official name, but that band still broke up in the early 90's. Appetite still blows away any of the crappy rock coming out these days and I expect the new one too. XShrike... when did Gun's NOT have Axl as a singer?
They haven't, it is just their songs tend to have long intros that are great. Then he starts to sing.....
Saw him here in Brisbane last year on the Chinese Democracy Tour. He made the crowd wait for an hour and a half after Sebastien Bach had finished his set. It was gone 11.30pm before he hit the stage. People were boo-ing and so he starts off with the immortal line: "I don't have to fucking be here you know!" Great way to win the crowd - all of whom had paid $100 each to be there. . . Undoubtedly a great talent but a real shit-head too.
Ah okay, I just misunderstood you then. Yeah, Axl is a bit of an asshole, he didn't show up at a concert in Vancouver and there was a riot outside the arena as a result.
I've talked to Barry Squire (one of the guys who used to manage them, ect.) and a few other guys who've had experience with Axl and he's just a pain in the ass to work for/with from what I hear. The new song is decent, nothing fantastically new, but, the guitar sounds great, however, I'm not quite fond of Axl's melody on it, nothing very memorable or very clear. He's lost a lot of his charm as a vocalist for me. And I agree, without Slash, Duff and all of them, it isn't really GNR, it's just....Axl.
Ok, so I suppose I'm borderline fanboi. It appears that Axl's infamous antics during the "Use Your Illusion" tour haven't changed. To his fans, he's a tool. After listening to Velvet Revolver heavily, it's clear that's where the GnR "sound" went, for obvious reasons. Still, something feels missing. To me, it's similar to Megadeth without Marty Friedman or Dave Ellison. Listening to the new GnR tracks, the music is tight, but it surely is "all Axl", for whatever that's worth. As a purely amateur karaoke wannabe who's ordered both Guitar Hero World Tour and Rock Band 2, I've emulated Axl during my formative years in finding my own voice. So I eagerly await the full album. That being said, I'd never go see him because he's a tool when it comes to his fans.
