Music Review - Chinese Democracy

OK... I've just recently listened the new Guns N Roses album after hearing it's a more friendly album compared to Appetite For Destruction or Use Your Illusion... During the album's pre-release, it sparked headlines not because people are glad GNR are back but because it got banned in China because um... Look at the album title also know why lar...

Ironically, my liking to this album can finally bring me out of Metal Addiction due to it's softer style. Initially I thought it would be more demonic than the previous Guns albums sue to the participation of Metal guitarists like Buckethead and Robin Finck.

It is true. It does not sound like the traditional Hard Rock during the Slash, McKagan and Izzy Stradlin era... Instead it sounds more like a combination of softer music like Elton John, U2, Muse, Good Charlotte and also reminds me of Weezer's "Perfect Situation" and some of Fightstar's music. It's a far cry from GNR's music from the 80's and 90's... They've become like an alternative rock band... Biasalah, nowadays the mainstream rock bands aren't as naughty or demonic as their predecessors. Even my sister says it's better than the old Guns N Roses.

There are also less "heavy songs" in the album. Instead, there's more ballads that are accompanied by orchestral instruments like the Illusion song "November Rain". Only the first two songs are quite heavy. The single "Better" is very very similar to Muse while "Street Of Dreams" resembles November Rain(Elton John style pianos with some guitars thrown in.).

The love songs in the album are more deep than the popular "Sweet Child O' Mine" but more like Weezer's "Perfect Situation". To be honest, the love ballads from Democracy sounds better from the Illusion ballads such as "Don't Cry" or "Estranged".

I know many Guns N Roses fans dislike the new album because they prefer the more brash, heavy and violent sound of Appetite and Illusion. But to me, I prefer Democracy because it can help bring me out of Heavy Metal finally because even the heaviest song of the album is not as dirty or violent as "Welcome To The Jungle". It's more like Linkin Park's "Somewhere I Belong"

What about the guitar solos? Don't worry, Buckethead's and Bumblefoot's shredding based solos can be quite unique and deep not to mention fast. Robin Finck's solos reminds me of Scorpions' love ballad style solos with a little bit of Slash's blues style.

So is Democracy a good album in it's own right? Yeah. But i still don't consider it to be Guns N Roses because Guns N Roses broke up in the mid 90's. But I really enjoy the love ballads of these songs. Not really love ballads because it's more of the story of a man after his breakup. And throughout the whole album, I've only heard the "f word" less than 3 times unlike in Appetite or Illusion, the "f words" are everywhere.

I'm not saying Chinese Democracy is a "holy" album. It's just less demonic than the hard rock bands like AC/DC or the old Guns N Roses. If you're trying to get out of Metal, I would recommend it. Hey, getting rid of Metal is not overnight process okay. It's as addictive as smoking.