Note to Wrack in case she's expecting my entry in the story contest; I'm working on it, but it's not done yet. >> Give me a few more days and I'll have it up.

Anyway, normally I don't do this kind of thing, but I figure since it's been waited on for twelve years, I would.

So, Guns N' Roses has finally released another studio album. It's not out, but it's livecasting on ######## and I got sent a link. How is it? Well, it's not the Gn'R you remember. That's not to say it's completely awful, it's just undeserving of the name. Maybe more of Axl's first solo attempt, especially since he's the only remaining original member.

Being a computer guy/nerd/geek first, guitarist second, vocalist third, bassist fourth and drummer fifth, and considering why Slash left, it's hard for me to not be bias to hate Axl, but I'll try.

The album's first track is also it's title track. This one is, well, strange. If I got the meaning right it's about a political uprising in, well, China, as you can guess by the name. It starts with talking in Chinese fading in. Then the musical part of it begins with a punk-y set of chords. Axl screams the song in. Then you hear his overdubbing of his voice and you realize what years of heavy smoking, drinking and drug use have done to the voice you remember from AfD. This one definitely has a punky feel to it though, not Gn'R's old hard-rock feel. Axl needs to visit a vocal clinic though and get his voice fixed before Gn'R/his solo career's next album though.

After that we go into Shackler's Revenge, which we all know as the track in Rock band 2. It's...rappy. And I don't mean that in a good way. Plus again we're dealing with Axl overdubbing himself. But yeah, this one has a feel like nu-metal meets rap. Which is not a good thing. The guitars and bass sound more like a synthesizer than strings, again, I don't mean that in a good way. Axl is definitely going a different way with this though. The solo is very Buckethead-y IMO though, so this one is clearly from when he was with them.

Better, the albums third track, has a poppy feel. For once so far on the album, Axl isn't overdubbing and is showing off his voice again. And it actually sounds like the voice Gn'R fans love. The guitars definitely don't sound like Slash and Izzy, but it's still a good sound, just not the Gn'R sound. Whichever guitarist recorded the first solo on this was trying to wah like Slash though, and failing. The second solo has a Gn'R-y feel though. This is definitely the closest the album has come to old Gn'R though.

On the fourth track, Street Of Dreams, again Axl is showing his voice again. This song has a Gn'R feel to it. You can tell it's not the old Gn'R, but it's Gn'R, albeit more poppy than they were before in 1996. Axl is slamming the ivory keys on this one, and it actually goes over well. Again, this definitely feels like Gn'R.

Track 5, If The World seems to be thinking to the apocalypse and lost love. Again, this has a modern poppy feel, which is getting annoying. There was something about it that just didn't click with me though. Not much else to say about this one.

There Was a Time again has that poppy feeling that's really grating on my nerves. It's Gn'R, one of the definitive hard rock bands, not a pop band. It ditches that feel about a quarter in though, only to take it back. This is more ballad-y than the previous tracks, and the wah about 4:30 in is pretty good. This number is definitely becoming a single though, I'm saying that now.

How can I put this? It's hard for me to appreciate a song called Catcher In The Rye considering how important that book was to the man who killed John Lennon. This is isn't too bad though. And Brian May from Queen is playing lead on this, and he's one of my favourite guitarists, so I like it for that as well.

Axl the soul singer! That's what the intro to Scraped sounds like. This has that nu-metal feeling though, or some genre along those lines. Not necessarily a bad thing, but not Gn'R-y.

Track 9, Sorry is a slow song, and sounds like Axl trying to stab at Slash for leaving the band, and be saying "Your the fool, not me". As I take Slash's side on him leaving, this one just annoys me.

Riad N' The Bedouins, this is somewhat Gn'R-y, but somehow I find it annoying. Quite possibly because Buckethead, Bumblefoot, or whoever played the guitar part doesn't sound like Slash. It sounds like something from a new band. Not Gn'R.

I love the title for this one. I.R.S. It sounds like this is about someone using the government for something, I'm not sure though.

Madagascar, again, no idea what it's about, but Axl's voice on it annoys me.

This I Love doesn't make sense. It's a love song. From Gn'R. That being said, it's a good bit of illogic. It's the kind of song you'd play at a dance.

I'm not sure if I can say this songs name here, but if not I'll edit it. Prostitute, well, I don't think I can really explain the meaning of this song without violating the rules.

Verdict; The album barely has any flow. And it's definitely not Gn'R. That being said, if you can ignore the name Axl is putting on it and the lack of flow, it's actually a decent album. It's not Guns N' Roses though. Mr. Rose, please let Guns N' Roses die with it's dignity intact and have this as the beginning of your solo career.