Tag: Guns ‘N Roses
0 ROTR: Guns N’ Roses, Avenged Sevenfold and Kid Rock Top 2014 Festival Bill
ROCK ON THE RANGE 2014
EXPANDS TO THREE FULL DAYS
GUNS N’ ROSES, AVENGED SEVENFOLD AND KID ROCK
TOP BILL OF MORE THAN 60 ACTS AFTER SELL-OUT IN 2013
PERFORMERS FOR AMERICA’S PREMIER ROCK FESTIVAL
MAY 16, 17 & 18 AT OHIO’S COLUMBUS CREW STADIUM
INCLUDE FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, SLAYER, STAIND, MOTORHEAD,
SEETHER, CHEVELLE, ALTER BRIDGE, MASTODON AND MANY MORE
Following last year’s expansion to include three nights of music, America’s premier rock festival–ROCK ON THE RANGE–has once again upped the ante by growing to three full days of music for this year’s annual event, May 16, 17 & 18 at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, OH.
Featuring headlining sets from Guns N’ Roses, Avenged Sevenfold and Kid Rock, the lineup includes more than 60 of the World’s hardest rocking acts including: Five Finger Death Punch, Slayer, Staind, Motorhead, Seether, Chevelle, Alter Bridge, Mastodon, Black Label Society, Killswitch Engage and many more (the full line-up is below). Beyond the expanded musical offerings, this year’s festival will include the return of ROTR Comedy Tent, featuring Jim Breuer, Jim Florentine and many up-and-coming comedians.
Weekend passes including Field GA, Stadium GA, hotel and VIP packages and a stadium 4-pack go on sale Friday, January 24 at 10:00 AM (ET). Additional details about the variety of ticketing, hotel and camping packages can be found at RockOnTheRange.com. Visit the website, http://www.facebook.com/rockontherange and http://www.twitter.com/rockontherange for the most up-to-date information.
Some of the ROTR 2014 artists weigh in with their thoughts on performing this coming May:
“We are so honored to be headlining Rock on the Range. We take pride in our show and always try to outdo ourselves from the time before. Rock on the Range will be the perfect place to celebrate with our fans from all over the world and put on the killer show that they have come to expect from us. We are pulling out all the stops.”
–M. Shadows, Avenged Sevenfold
“We have had legendary shows at ROTR. We always try to arrange our tour schedules so we can be part of this festival. It’s just a must do. Rock On The Range has become a destination event where people travel to from all over the country, if not all over the world.”
–Zoltan, Five Finger Death Punch
“Super excited to be a part of Rock On The Range this year!! I think it’s awesome to have an edgy band like Slayer on board for this round. Can’t wait to hit the stage!!!”
–Kerry King, Slayer
The full ROTR 2014 Line-Up:
Guns N’ Roses, Avenged Sevenfold, Kid Rock, Five Finger Death Punch, Slayer, Staind, Motorhead, Seether, Chevelle, Alter Bridge, Mastodon, Black Label Society, Killswitch Engage, Bring Me The Horizon, Theory of a Deadman, Down, Black Stone Cherry, Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Experience, Pop Evil, Of Mice & Men, Adelitas Way, Trivium, Gojira, Suicidal Tendencies, The Pretty Reckless, We Came as Romans, Fuel, Redlight King, Miss May I, Reignwolf, Thousand Foot Krutch, Texas Hippie Coalition, Rev Theory, Skindred, Kyng, Fozzy, Heaven’s Basement, Butcher Babies, Nothing More, Exodus, King 810, Devour the Day, We As Human, We Are Harlot, Kvelertak, Jim Breuer Band, One OK Rock, Twelve Foot Ninja, Avatar, WERM, Monster Truck, Wilson, Crobot and Truckfighters with comedians Jim Breuer, Jim Florentine and more.
“Sure it’s important to do this festival for the bands, but mostly we do it for the incredibly loyal rock fans…They truly are the lifeblood of Rock on the Range, and it’s really all about the value proposition to them,” commented Joe Litvag, Co-Executive Producer of ROTR for AEG Live. “So now we come with GnR, Avenged Sevenfold, Kid Rock and more than 60 other amazing bands starting at $99 to deliver on our commitment of ‘value’ to rock fans everywhere…It’s going to be an unforgettable weekend!”
“When ROTR sold out last year we knew the bar had to be raised. With these headliners along with Five Finger Death Punch, Slayer, Motorhead, Staind, Seether and so many more, there is no doubt now that Rock On The Range has become THE #1 rock festival.” said Gary Spivack, Co-Executive Producer of ROTR. “And since year one, Monster Energy has been a partner at the festival and we are excited to announce their expanding support; their dedication to the genre as well as breaking new artists is second to none.”
“Rock on the Range has emerged as a powerhouse event for our organization, the City of Columbus and rock fans from around the country,” said Columbus Crew President Mark McCullers. “We have invested in some significant facility improvements that will add to the Ranger experience and this year’s event will be another blockbuster show.”
Presented by Danny Wimmer Presents, AEG Live and Crew Stadium, ROCK ON THE RANGE is a multi-stage music and lifestyle event featuring a potent lineup of bands on three stages and is proud to be sponsored by Monster Energy, who return as the Main Stage sponsor; Crazy Dave’s Music Experience (an interactive exhibit that features all the elements that are involved in making music in in a professional band setting); the Ernie Ball Battle Of The Bands Contest (launching this Spring for your chance to play the stage at ROTR).
The nationally renowned festival, part of the World’s Loudest Month Festival Series, is centrally located in the heart of the country and has annually drawn huge weekend crowds since its inception in 2007, including a sold-out crowd of over 103,000 fans in 2013.
0 Rocklahoma 2013 Features Lineup Including Guns N’ Roses, Alice In Chains & Korn Memorial Day Weekend–May 24, 25, & 26–In Pryor, OK
ROCKLAHOMA 2013
FEATURES LINEUP INCLUDING
GUNS N’ ROSES, ALICE IN CHAINS & KORN
MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND–MAY 24, 25 & 26–IN PRYOR, OK
Rocklahoma celebrates its seventh year May 24, 25 and 26 with a stellar rock lineup not to be missed. Guns N’ Roses, Alice In Chains and Korn will headline the three-day camping festival which features the top current active rock artists and classic bands at “Catch the Fever” Festival Grounds in Pryor, OK. Rocklahoma is proud to be presented by Bud Light.
The initial list of performers for America’s biggest Memorial Day Weekend party includes: Guns N’ Roses, Alice In Chains, Korn, Bush, Cheap Trick, Bullet For My Valentine, Papa Roach, Skillet, Hollywood Undead, Steel Panther, Asking Alexandria, Ratt, Halestorm, Device (with David Draiman), All That Remains, Escape the Fate, Dokken, Clutch, Motionless In White, Big Wreck, The Sword, Young Guns, Thousand Foot Krutch, Otherwise, Red Line Chemistry, Mindset Evolution, Heaven’s Basement, We As Humans, American Fangs, O’Brother, and more.
In addition, the Retrospect Records Stage will feature performances from: The Last Vegas, London, Wildstreet, Mad Max, Bai Bang, Lynam, De La Cruz, The Glitter Boys, Black Tora, Sunset Riot, Firstryke, Ragdoll, Hessler, Switchblade Scarlett, Nasty Habit, Sister’s Doll, London’s Dungeon, Rhyme, Emerald City, Wicked, Down n Dirty, Station, Ruff Justice, Mystery, and Fist of Rage.
The lineup for the AXiS Campground Tent will be announced in the coming weeks.
“Bush is thrilled to be playing Rocklahoma with such great bands,” says Bush’s Gavin Rossdale. “We look forward to seeing you all out there.”
General Admission and VIP packages for Rocklahoma go on sale Friday, February 22 at 10am CST at www.rocklahoma.com. To get access to the Rocklahoma internet pre-sale, which will be held from Wednesday, February 20 at 10am CST through Thursday, February 21 at 10pm CST, go to www.rocklahoma.com and sign up to receive the Rocklahoma newsletter. Fans save by buying early, as ticket prices will increase in the coming weeks.
Camping tickets may be purchased by calling the Rocklahoma Camping Office at (866) 310-2288 or emailing [email protected]. Campgrounds open on Sunday, May 19 and will remain open though Tuesday, May 28.
“We’ve waited seven years, and we’re finally bringing the #1 most requested band by the fans to Rocklahoma, the one and only Guns N’ Roses! Couple that with the undisputed legacy of Alice In Chains, the unforgettable live spectacle of Korn and the hits of Bush, and we’re in store for a truly legendary weekend,” comments Joe Litvag, Executive Producer of Rocklahoma for AEG Live.
Rocklahoma is located just 45 minutes northeast of Tulsa, in Pryor, OK. The “Catch the Fever” Festival Grounds is a premier destination for a multi-day festival and includes onsite camping with access to restrooms and shower house, a general store for campers, VIP reserved seating, hospitality areas and much more.
Established in 2007 as a classic rock destination festival with the motto “life, liberty and the pursuit of rock,” Rocklahoma was revamped in 2010 as organizers teamed with AEG Live to create an event encompassing a much broader mix of classic, current and up-and-coming rock artists. In 2011, a record-breaking crowd of over 35,000 fans turned out for the festival, which raised over $10,000 for the American Red Cross as part of their tornado relief efforts in nearby Joplin, MO. In 2012, a national television audience was able to experience many Rocklahoma band performances in HD when AXS TV aired live coverage of the festival.
Rocklahoma marks the final event of the 2013 World’s Loudest Month. Created in partnership by AEG Live and Right Arm Entertainment, the World’s Loudest Month features the biggest names in rock music performing in five distinct U.S. concert atmospheres: Welcome To Rockville, Carolina Rebellion, Rockfest, Rock On The Range, and Rocklahoma. In 2012, the World’s Loudest Month featured over 100 artists playing for more than 200,000 rock music fans across the country on five consecutive weekends, confirming that rock music is as vital as ever.
Rocklahoma is proud to be sponsored by Bud Light, Hard Rock (presenting the Hard Rock 2nd Stage), Jägermeister, and Monster Energy.
ROCKLAHOMA – Life, Liberty & The Pursuit Of Rock!
0 Guns N’ Roses Reunion At the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? DREAM ON!
From the L.A. Times:
Early this morning, Pop & Hiss received a letter from Guns N’ Roses co-founder Axl Rose, through his publicist, announcing his decision to not attend the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Saturday in Cleveland. Written under the greeting, “To The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, Guns N’ Roses Fans and Whom It May Concern,” Rose explained specifically why he was declining his induction into the Cleveland music institution.
The band, born in Los Angeles in 1985, was announced as an inductee in February alongside the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beastie Boys and Donovan, among others, leading to instant speculation whether the five core members of Guns N’ Roses circa “Appetite for Destruction” would appear together for the first time since 1993. Guitarist Slash officially departed the band in 1996, followed soon thereafter by other members Duff McKagen and Matt Sorum (original drummer Steven Adler had left a few years earlier, as had Izzy Strandlin).
Rose retained the rights to the band’s name, and over the next decade devoted his time to creating the album “Chinese Democracy,” touring with a revived Guns N’ Roses, and defiantly dismissing any suggestion of a reunion with the original members of the band.
Since February, Rose has remained mum on his plans, even as guitarist Slash has spoken out in favor of a Rock Hall reunion — and acknowledging Rose’s antipathy. “He hates my guts,” Slash told Rolling Stone in early April. “It’s over a lot of different stuff; I don’t even know. There’s just no communication between us. I talk to Duff and Steven, but when it comes to old Guns N’ Roses, there really isn’t anybody that makes decisions.”
In the letter below, Rose specifically criticizes comments by Adler, who speculated to Billboard magazine in 2007 that the band might reunite. Those comments were given by Adler while promoting his own Adler’s Appetite tour, which was timed to support his book, “My Appetite for Destruction.” “I want to finish what we started,” Adler told Billboard then (parentheses and elipses theirs), “and … with the love and support I got from those guys, I think we can (reunite). I’m gonna leave it up to Axl. That’s gonna be Axl’s call, and I love Axl and I know he’ll make the right call.” Below, Rose calls Adler’s comments “reunion lies.” Continuing attempts to reach Adler have not been successful.
0 Hard Rock Hideout Podcast #2 Now Available
The March Edition of the Hard Rock Hideout Podcast is available for streaming (below) and for download here (click and save).
In this podcast, we talk about the new tour with Def Leppard, Poison & Lita Ford, the new Queen Documentary “Days of Our Lives”, what is happening with Aerosmith, and The Guns ‘N Roses reunion at The Rock and Roll Hall of (Shame) Fame. You can check out a clip of the new Jeff Scott Soto Tune “Damage Control“, and another edition of Rock Anonymous. Check it out!
8 D Generation and Guns N’ Roses – Concert Review & Photo Gallery – U.S. Bank Arena – December 2nd, 2011
New York’s D Generation and Guns N’ Roses came to U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio on Friday December 2nd.
I have been more excited about this show than many concerts in the recent past, as I never got to see Guns N’ Roses live back in the day. D Generation took the stage sharply at 9 P.M. and played a high energy set which the large crowd seemed to enjoy. I have to admit that I am not very familiar with D Generation, but I liked the songs that I heard in their set. The last time the band played in Cincinnati, they opened for KISS back in 1996, so hopefully it doesn’t take them another fifteen years to come back to Cincinnati.
I have to admit that I had no idea what to expect with Guns N’ Roses. My expectations were somewhat low for this show. I didn’t know what kind of shape Axl Rose’s voice was in. I have never heard his current band play before. I have loved the original incarnation of Guns N’ Roses for so long, I never gave the new version of Guns N’ Roses a chance. With that being said, Axl Rose & company, BLEW ME AWAY!! Axl Rose is still singing at the top of his game, and his three guitarists DJ Ashba, Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal, and Richard Fortus, all trade off the lead guitar duties. Each one of these guys are tremendous musicians, and they all put on one hell of a show. DJ Ashba might be the guitarist to help take Guns N’ Roses back to the top. He gives Guns N’ Roses a recognizable face that fans automatically associate with. The cool thing is, Ashba, Thal and Fortus play together perfectly. Axl had no problem sharing the spotlight and gave his trio of axe slingers plenty of time to share the limelight. He even let bass guitarist Tommy Stinson handle the vocals on the cover of the Dead Boys tune “Sonic Reducer”.
Guns N’ Roses stage show was one of the biggest ones I have seen in quite some time. Video screens were set up on the far left and right hand side of the stage, as well as a massive video wall behind the stage. The lights and pyro were extremely cool. No matter where you were sitting, you saw a great show. Axl and company took the stage at 10:45 and played for nearly 3 hours with the set list below.
“Chinese Democracy”, “Welcome To The Jungle”, “It’s So Easy”, “Mr. Brownstone”, “Sorry”, “Shackler’s Revenge”, “Estranged”, “Rocket Queen”, “Live and Let Die”, “Riff Raff (AC/DC cover)”, “This I Love”, “Sonic Reducer (Dead Boys cover)”, “Street Of Dreams”, “You Could Be Mine”, “Sweet Child O’ Mine”, “November Rain”, “Don’t Cry”, “Whole Lotta Rosie (AC/DC cover)”, “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan cover)”, “Nightrain”, “Madagascar”, “Better”, “Patience”, and “Paradise City”.
This concert made me a believer in the current version of Guns N’ Roses. I used to dream about a Guns N’ Roses reunion, but after the show I saw Friday night, I do not long for a reunion anymore. I am anxious to see how far this band can take things in the current lineup. If you have been on the fence about going to see Guns N’ Roses in your area, you should buy a ticket. This was an amazing night of rock and roll, and easily one of the best concerts I have seen in lifetime.
Check out our D Generation Slideshow & Photo Gallery below!
3 What Does DJ Ashba Say About Replacing Slash in Guns N’ Roses?
Cincinnati rock station WEBN conducted a very cool interview with Guns N’ Roses guitarist DJ Ashba. Want to know what DJ said about replacing Slash in Guns N’ Roses? Check out the interview here!
0 SEBASTIAN BACH Announces Three Shows With GUNS N’ ROSES
Sebastian Bach and his solo band will support GUNS N’ ROSES on the following shows:
Nov. 19 – Hartford, CT – Comcast Theatre
Nov. 20 – Wilkes-Barre, PA – Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza
Nov. 23 – Albany, NY – Times Union Center
Bach’s new album, “Kicking & Screaming”, sold 6,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 73 on The Billboard 200 chart. The singer’s previous CD, “Angel Down”, opened with 6,400 units back in November 2007 to debut at No. 190.
Released in September on Frontiers Records, “Kicking & Screaming” was produced by Bob Marlette (BLACK SABBATH, SHINEDOWN, ATREYU, FILTER) and features young virtuosic guitarist Nick Sterling and drum pro Bobby Jarzombek (HALFORD, RIOT, ICED EARTH). The follow-up to 2007’s “Angel Down” was mastered at Precision Mastering in Los Angeles with Tom Baker.
Bach stated about his new solo material, “This CD follows along the lines of ‘Skid Row’, ‘Slave To The Grind’, ‘Subhuman Race’ and ‘Angel Down’. If you like rockin’ guitar riffs, high-energy songs and performances, deadly drums of doom, and ear-shattering screams, we got your rock right here!” He also described the songs as “heavy, interesting, classic sounding, modern sounding, completely rock ‘n’ roll — just how we like it!”
10 Vie’s Verses – Perhaps This Guns N’ Roses Tour Could Turn Out Well
Unless you’ve spent too much time at the Occupy Wall Street protests, you know that the Axl Rose version of Guns N Roses is embarking on a North American tour this fall. While this news has some fans excited, it has others wondering when the impending tour will implode, how long it will take Axl to go on a temper tantrum rage, and whether Slash T-Shirts will be allowed into the arenas.
The first thing that caught my eye after the announcement was made that Guns N Roses was going on tour this fall was the ticket prices. I immediately went online, expecting to see some astronomical cost that would immediately cause me to disqualify myself from attending any local area concerts. This would allow me the opportunity to produce a venom filled rage about how Axl was ripping off the fans and it wasn’t even the original band members.
However, when I looked online at ticket prices, I noticed immediately how affordable they were. That caught me by surprise. Ticket prices in the NY/NJ area ranged between $37 and $112 (and that includes the immoral fees that Ticketmaster adds). I could certainly afford $40 to see Guns N Roses. Ticket prices were not going to give me an excuse for an amusing rant.
That being said, there is still plenty to wonder about when it comes to an Axl Rose led tour of Guns N Roses. The first question I had was: who is in the band? Reports from the web confirm that DJ Ashba and Bumblefoot are both playing guitar and that Tommy Stinson is still on bass. While they aren’t Slash, Izzy, and Duff, they aren’t slouches either. Bumblefoot has done some amazing work on Chinese Democracy and DJ Ashba was fantastic with Sixx AM. So while it wouldn’t be the original incarnation of Guns, it’s not a bad replacement band. The band members failed to give me a good excuse to rant and rave about how I refuse to attend this show.
Okay, so maybe the ticket prices are affordable and the band members (while not the original) are solid, but the setlist can’t be great, right? It will probably consist of some Chinese Democracy songs and a couple of overplayed classics. There’s no way that Axl and the replacements would play some deep cuts from the early catalog. Well, after researching the setlists they’ve played overseas, it appears the band is digging deep on this show. If you like the classics (Welcome To The Jungle, Mr. Brownstone, You Could Be Mine, November Rain, Paradise City) they are all there. If you like the new material (Chinese Democracy, Better, Street Of Dreams), they are covered as well. And if you like the deep cuts (Estranged, Rocket Queen) they are also being played. Throw in some surprise covers and it all adds up to a magnificent setlist. Point blank honesty – I was shocked by how inviting the set looked.
Then there’s the last little bit about when the hell will the show start? Well, Axl isn’t changing his ways there, but at least they’ve warned the fans in advance. In a message posted on GnR’s Facebook page, it read the following: “Love it Hate it Accept it Debate it – You want 8 o’clock shows go find F-R-I-E-N-D-S or hit a cinema somewhere.. or you wanna be informed go catch the 10 o’clock news.. this is Rock N’ Roll!…This is Guns N’Roses and when the time is right the stage will ignite…”
All I can say is forewarned is forearmed. Bring a book. Grab an IPOD, or plan to do PLENTY of tailgating in the parking lot. Either way, don’t bother entering the building until at least 10:00PM (and even then you may be a tad early). While late start times bug the heck out of me, being warned in advance that they are going to happen makes it a whole lot easier to deal with.
So perhaps seeing the 2011 incarnation of Guns N Roses wouldn’t be that bad. What do you think? Are you going to see GnR on tour this fall?
Follow RyoVie on Twitter at Twitter.com/RyoVie
2 GUNS N’ ROSES ANNOUNCE FIRST U.S. TOUR IN OVER 5 YEARS! TWO AND A HALF HOUR SHOW TO FEATURE ALL THEIR HITS
Guns N’ Roses have announced today they’ll be doing their first US tour in 5 years, kicking off October 28th in Orlando, Florida. The band will perform more than 30 concerts in the U.S. – fueled by Monster Energy – from October to New Year’s Eve. Before hitting the states, GNR will tour Latin America, starting with a sold out, headline slot for the closing day of the Rock in Rio festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on October 2nd , for 75,000 fans.
Guns N’ Roses are Axl Rose, DJ Ashba (guitar), Dizzy Reed (keyboards), Tommy Stinson (bass), Richard Fortus (guitar), Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal (guitar), Chris Pitman (keyboards) and Frank Ferrer (drums). GNR spent most of 2010 touring the globe, performing 71 shows in over 30 countries.
The two and a half hour show played to rave reviews everywhere including South America, Canada, Europe and Southeast Asia, playing close to one million fans worldwide.
Axl Rose started Guns N’ Roses over 25 years ago. Since that time, they have become one of the biggest bands in music history, selling over 100 million albums worldwide. GNR’s “Appetite For Destruction” has sold over 28 million albums in the United States alone.
The band’s most recent release, Chinese Democracy debuted #1 on the charts in thirteen countries. Chinese Democracy was released on Black Frog/Geffen Records in November 2008 and reached 3 times Platinum in Canada, Platinum in Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Romania, Switzerland, UK, Argentina, New Zealand and South Africa. The album is Gold in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Hungary, Holland, Sweden, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Brazil and Colombia. In the U.S., the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on February 3, 2009.
The tour is scheduled to hit the following cities:
Oct 28 Orlando, FL @ Amway Center Arena
Oct 29 Miami, FL @ American Airlines Arena
Oct 31 Greenville, SC @ Bi-Lo Center Arena
Nov 2 Atlanta, GA @ Phillips Arena
Houston, TX
Nov 5 Dallas, TX @ Gexa Energy Pavillion
Omaha, NE
Tulsa, OK
Nov 12 Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center Arena
Nov 13 Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center Arena
Chicago, IL @ All State Arena
East Rutherford, NJ
Hartford, CT
Wilkes-Barre, PA
Worcester, MA
Camden, NJ
Detroit, MI
Cincinnati, OH
Nashville, TN
Indianapolis, IN
Denver, CO
More dates, cities and venue information to be announced very soon.
About Monster Energy: Most companies spend their money on ad agencies, TV commercials, radio spots, and billboards to tell you how good their products are. At Monster Energy, we chose none of the above. Instead we support the scene, our bands, our athletes and our fans. We back athletes so they can make a career out of their passion. We promote concert tours, so our favorite bands can visit your hometown. We celebrate with our fans and riders by throwing parties and making the coolest events we can think of a reality. www.monsterenergy.com
9 Vie’s Verses – Is Guns N’ Roses Our Generation’s Led Zeppelin
In the early 70s, there was really only one band that defined the rock music of the time—Led Zeppelin. Sure, Black Sabbath was around making some incredible heavy metal, and Kiss was winning fans over with their songs about sex, drugs, and rock and roll, but if you wanted to hear true hard rock that was redefining musical innovation, it was Led Zeppelin that had to be played. Not since the Beatles (and perhaps Elvis before them) had anyone changed the stratosphere of the music scene in such a prominent and permanent way.
When Led Zeppelin split up shortly after the death of John Bonham, the rock world was devastated and stunned. It was thought that there would never be another band as innovative, stylistic, and amazing as Zeppelin had been. The rock world would feel the loss for years to come. Then in 1987, a little known band from Hollywood, California, released an album called Appetite For Destruction.
Appetite For Destruction put Guns N Roses on the metal map, but it wasn’t that album that launched them into the Zeppelin conversation. That would come later. If Guns N Roses had recorded Appetite and Lies and then called it a day, they would be well remembered in rock history, but they wouldn’t be considered icons.
20 years ago, Guns N Roses released two albums on the same day— Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II. It is these albums that really showed their innovative spirit and what these rock stars from California could do when they set their mind to it. Both Illusion albums would prove to be the band’s swan song (although they did release a covers disc two years later). It was a great mark to leave and 20 years later, the music on those records still holds up.
Zeppelin brought a whole new level of creating music with albums like Physical Graffiti and the untitled Led Zeppelin IV. Songs like “Kashmir,” “Black Dog,” and “Stairway To Heaven” had never even been conceived before, let alone heard. Guns N Roses produced a similar effect with the release of the Illusions.”Estranged,” “Coma,” and “Locomotive” are breath taking inspirations that only a genius could create. If “Stairway To Heaven” was the greatest rock song of its day, “November Rain” was the greatest rock song of its day nearly 30 years later.
Zeppelin was unique in all aspects of their music. From Jimmy Page’s incredible guitar and experimental styles, to Plant’s lyrics and song depth, Led Zeppelin had it all in a way that had never been witnessed before. Guns N Roses would follow in that suit. Slash’s solos on the Illusion albums are iconic and the depth of Axl Rose’s lyrics is for deep thinkers only. The way that each song was masterfully constructed truly left its mark on the history of music.
Led Zeppelin rarely recorded a bad song and the same could be said about Guns N Roses (if you don’t count the covers album). Each band has a catalog of incredible material that still holds up to this day and is better than most music being recorded in the modern era. Both bands would make a fortune on a reunion of original members (with son Jason replacing John on drums, obviously). Both bands called it quits at the height of their creative talents. Both bands were amazing in their own right and it would be a great challenge to find any other band that could be compared to either of these grand champions of musical invention.
If Led Zeppelin was the band of the 70s era generation, then Guns N Roses is the epitome of the 80s era generation. There will never be another Led Zeppelin. However, with that being said, there will never be another Guns N Roses either. Both bands are one of a kind and the sound of their generation.
3 Vie’s Verses – Will The Original Guns N’ Roses Ever Reunite?
As reported here at Hard Rock Hideout, Axl Rose is suing Activision, makers of Guitar Hero III, for using Slash’s likeness in the video game. Rose was supposedly informed that a replica Slash or appearances of his other group, Velvet Revolver, wouldn’t be used in the game. Axl allowed Activision to use Welcome To The Jungle based on this information. There are some internet reports that Axl is upset because of an alleged hatred of Slash. Some message board comments claim Axl is trying to sponge all memory of Slash from Guns N’ Roses. Personally, I don’t know what to think, but I don’t believe either of those statements.
In light of the recent Guitar Hero III news, it made me wonder – will the original Guns N’ Roses ever reunite? What would it take for this to happen? The new incarnation of Guns N’ Roses has been sporadically touring the world (with the exception of the US) in support of Chinese Democracy. As usual, there are rumors that the tour will come to North America (including the US) next year, but that remains to be seen. Velvet Revolver is no more (or on hiatus, as they claim) and Duff McKagan is no longer a member of Jane’s Addiction. As far as anyone knows, Slash has no further plans to further hit the road in support of his solo debut album. Steven Adler has been touring on and off with Adler’s Appetite, but I’m sure he could easily make himself available for a reunion with Guns. As for Izzy Stradlin, he released a new album, Wave Of Heat, this past summer. He is currently not touring in support of that release.
Knowing that all of the principle members of the band are available, is it possible that the original Guns N’ Roses could reunite? All 5 members are currently doing next to nothing. Duff recently showed up at a Guns N Roses gig and played a couple of songs on stage, which had everyone speculating if that was the beginning of something. But, supposedly, there is so much anger and hatred between Slash and Axl Rose, that it would quash any chance of a reunion.
There obviously have been no conversations about reuniting. Axl and Slash would need to sit in a room, work out their differences, and make up to a Jagger/Richards level (at least). Promoters must be salivating at the chance to produce a Guns N’ Roses reunion. The greedy corporations like Live Nation would love to offer the band a guaranteed $100 million and then turn around and rape the fans on ticket prices, merchandise, and everything else they could get their pudgy little fingers on.
I personally think this is one of those rare cases where money won’t solve the problems at hand. I believe that Axl is too stubborn and Slash is moving forward in life. There will be no reunion because the two principal players will never make up. Sure, Duff might be able to be an intermediary, and with a little luck he may be able to get them to sit down and at least be civil toward one another, but I just don’t see a reunion happening. I don’t feel that Axl has grown up enough.
What would you pay to see the original Guns N’ Roses? Knowing how sky high ticket prices can go for these nostalgic concerts, would you be willing to pay a Roger Waters-ish price of $250/ticket? More? Personally, I don’t think that I would pay more than $50, and I would want the concert to start on time. I know, sometimes I can be an old curmudgeon. One of the largest problems the original Guns N’ Roses had was starting concerts on time. In his autobiography Slash said that it was the one thing that bothered him more than anything else about Axl or the band. Concerts have to start on time, not when Axl chooses they should start.
Could they do it? Would Axl and Slash be able to make up long enough to do a reunion tour for the fans? If the Eagles can reunite, anything is possible, but I wouldn’t hold my breath. There’s still a lot of anger, confusion, and frustration inside of Mr. Rose. Until he decides to address those emotional demons, there’s not much hope for anything else. That includes a reunited Guns N’ Roses.
1 Axl Rose suing Activision for $20M over Guitar Hero III
Gamespot.com is reporting the following:
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock set a record in 2009, when it became the first multiplatform console title to generate more than $1 billion in revenue. However, it appears as if $20 million of that nine-figure sum may be diverted out of Activision’s coffers, as the game is now the target of a high-profile lawsuit.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Guns N’ Roses singer Axl Rose has sued Activision for its use of the virtual likeness of Saul Hudson (better known as the top-hat-donning axe legend Slash) in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.
In the court documents (available online from Radar Online), Rose alleges that Activision convinced him to lend “Welcome to the Jungle” to Guitar Hero III on the grounds that the game would not feature Slash’s likeness or the guitarist’s follow-up group, Velvet Revolver.
Slash was featured heavily in Guitar Hero III. He graced the game’s cover and was a playable character in the game. Further, songs from Velvet Revolver (“She Builds Quick Machines,” “Slither,” and “Messages”) were made available to gamers as downloadable content following the game’s release.
“[Activision] began spinning a web of lies and deception to conceal its true intentions to not only feature Slash and [Velvet Revolver] prominently in GH III but also promote the game by emphasizing and reinforcing an association between Slash and Guns N’ Roses and the band’s song ‘Welcome to the Jungle,'” the statement reads.
In addition, Rose claims that “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” which was used to market Guitar Hero III, was only authorized for the title’s predecessor, Guitar Hero II, and he is seeking reparations for that alleged transgression.
Rose isn’t the first noted musician to sue Activision for rights violations in the Guitar Hero series. Last year, Kurt Cobain’s bereaved wife Courtney Love sued the publisher over the Nirvana singer’s virtual likeness in Band Hero.
0 Guns N’ Roses Added To the Rock ‘N Rev Festival
GUNS N’ ROSES FIRST U.S. PERFORMANCE IN FOUR YEARS! THEIR ONLY 2010 APPEARANCE IN USA!
Click HERE to watch the NEW Rock ‘N Rev promotional video!
Making their first U.S. concert appearance in four years – and playing their only U.S. show in 2010 – GUNS N’ ROSES has been officially recruited with DAUGHTRY to join the inaugural ROCK ‘N REV FESTIVAL and cement its assault on the legendary Sturgis Rally’s 70th Anniversary celebration in Sturgis, SD, at the newly constructed Rock N’ Rev Amphitheater at Monkey Rock USA.
GUNS N’ ROSES will headline the fifth and final night of the festival, as it moves to the Brand New Rock ‘N Rev Amphitheaterat Monkey Rock USA in Sturgis, adjacent to its original location. L.A.’s notorious rock ‘n’ roll bad boys – one of Q magazine’s “50 Bands to See Before You Die” – have combined forces with HDlogix and DC3 Global for this rare and very special appearance on home soil to bring the “full-out rock ‘n’ roll spectacle” (Spin) of their 2010 “Chinese Democracy World Tour” to Sturgis and finish off the hijacking of the world’s biggest, baddest biker event, Monday, Aug. 9 through Friday, Aug. 13, 2010.
GUNS N’ ROSES’ final night performance, immediately following previously announced Aug. 13 headliner Alice in Chains, is the ultimate climax to five full nights of undeniable rock ‘n’ roll bedlam, and now gives the ROCK ‘N REV FESTIVAL six of the most explosive, multi-platinum AMERICAN Active Rock Bands of 2010. DAUGHTRY, supporting its second consecutive #1 album, will join 3 Doors Down, Hinder and others on Aug. 12, the 4th night of the ROCK N’ REV FESTIVAL.
In order to welcome GUNS N’ ROSES and DAUGHTRY to the ROCK ‘N REV FESTIVAL, new festival owners HDlogix and its producers, DC3 Global, are starting construction immediately on the Rock N’ Rev Amphitheater at Monkey Rock USA, a new custom-built amphitheater on a 25-acre site at Monkey Rock designed to maximize logistical opportunities while enhancing the overall experience for everyone attending – from the bands to the fans.
“We are truly blessed to be able to announce the addition of GUNS N’ ROSES at this historic moment in the band’s history, along with DAUGHTRY, just as we relocate the ROCK ‘N REV FESTIVAL to our own Amphitheater at Monkey Rock USA,” said DC3’s co-founder, Daniel E. Catullo III. “Monkey Rock’s vision to create a nationally recognized brand among the world’s top motorcycle rallies is a perfect fit for us, and we couldn’t be more excited to welcome them as our partners.”
ROCK ‘N REV FESTIVAL’s relationship with Glencoe Campground is amicable amid the change in logistics. As such, they are working together to arrange special VIP accommodations at the festival for all Glencoe campers that week.
Raising the insanity level to previously unimaginable heights, GUNS N’ ROSES and DAUGHTRY are just the latest high octane multi-platinum rockers to join the growing list of bands at the ROCK ‘N REV FESTIVAL. They unite with fellow headliners Stone Temple Pilots, Godsmack, Creed, Alice in Chains and 3 Doors Down to establish the ROCK ‘N REV FESTIVAL as “The Home of Rock’s Hardest New Chart Toppers” – a different one topping each night’s lineup.
Tickets for the ROCK ‘N REV FESTIVAL are $45 per day, general admission ($150 for a five-day pass), and ON SALE NOW through Ticketmaster.com and rocknrevfestival.com and at all Ticketmaster locations, or by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also will be available in person beginning August 5, 2010 on location at the Festival’s on-site box office. For more information on exclusive VIP packages ($150 for a single day, $300 for all five days or $1,000 5 day platinum packages), including backstage access to a VIP area to special, air-conditioned tents with private bars, motorcycle parking, luxury bathroom facilities and more, go to rocknrevfestival.com.
GUNS N’ ROSES has sold more than 110 million albums worldwide, including over 46 million in the United States. The band’s 1987 major label debut, Appetite for Destruction, is the highest selling debut album of all time, with sales in excess of 38 million copies worldwide. In addition, it reached No. 1 on the United States Billboard 200 and charted three Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including “Sweet Child o’ Mine,” the band’s first No. 1 smash. Their 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 and 35 million worldwide. GUNS N’ ROSES’ fusion of punk rock, blues-rock, heavy metal and classic rock ‘n’ roll prompted Ozzy Osbourne to call the band “the next Rolling Stones” and Rolling Stone to include them among their “100 Greatest Artists of All Time.”
Earlier this year, Rolling Stone hailed the Canadian leg of their “Chinese Democracy” tour as “a high-energy three-hour marathon of new material and classic GNR hits.”
For nearly three years, the only thing keeping pace with the growing number of miles on DAUGHTRY’s tour bus has been the band’s list of achievements. After charting three #1 songs from its five-time platinum debut and spending more than two years on the road, Daughtry released Leave This Town (19/RCA). The album entered at the top of the Billboard 200, making it the band’s second #1 album. The album’s first single, “No Surprise,” extended the group’s extraordinary streak of #1 singles to four. The third and current single, “September,” continues to climb steadily on radio charts, approaching the Top 10. Recently, Daughtry completed its hugely successful, first-ever headlining arena tour, which began last summer. The ROCK ‘N REV FESTIVAL is just one of the group’s select U.S. dates this summer. The massive production adds another dimension to the band’s electrifying stage presence and musicianship, with a unique stage design showcasing album artwork by legendary comic book artist Jim Lee, which was featured in the Leave This Town album packaging.
With an unrivaled lineup of twenty bands over five nights and spectacular fireworks displays each night at Monkey Rock USA, the ROCK ‘N REV FESTIVAL promises to be the hands-down largest party ever thrown at the world’s largest motorcycle event, which annually draws over a half million patrons. World famous showman Jim Rose and his circus are set to emcee the five-day event and help give attendees a show they will never forget.
ROCK ‘N REV FESTIVAL’s sweltering lineup also includes Three Days Grace, Hellyeah, Cage The Elephant, Theft, Sweet Cyanide, Charm City Devils, Rev Theory, Eagles of Death Metal, The Darling Stilettos (featuring former GNR drummer Matt Sorum), Pop Evil, Skillet, and Swayback — just some of the bands making massive music at this colossal biker bash.
Everything about the ROCK ‘N REV FESTIVAL will appeal to the “leather and chrome” sensibilities in everyone who attends…from those who embody the biker lifestyle to the more casually minded weekend warriors and their families. The Vendor Village will be overflowing with an assortment of food, clothing, gear and other accessories, top tattoo artists and the best barbeque and related cooking specialists from the nation’s sauciest hotspots such as Austin, Memphis, Chicago, and New Orleans. The overall Mardi Gras atmosphere will recall some of Europe’s top festivals, with a decidedly American flair. After all, biking and rock ‘n’ roll are two of America’s greatest heritages.
THE ROCK ‘N REV FESTIVAL LINEUP
Monday- August 9th
GODSMACK
THREE DAYS GRACE
HELLYEAH
POP EVIL
DARLING STILLETOS
Hosted By Jim Rose and Performances by Jim Rose and The Jim Rose Circus
Tuesday- August 10th
CREED
SKILLET
THEFT
SHAMAN’S HARVEST
Wednesday- August 11th
STONE TEMPLE PILOTS
WOLFMOTHER
EAGLES OF DEATH METAL
CAGE THE ELEPHANT
SWAYBACK
Hosted By Jim Rose and Performances by Jim Rose and The Jim Rose Circus
Thursday- August 12th
3 DOORS DOWN
DAUGHTRY
HINDER
BAD CITY
SWEET CYANIDE
Hosted By Jim Rose and Performances by Jim Rose and The Jim Rose Circus
Friday- August 13th
GUNS N’ ROSES
ALICE IN CHAINS
CHARM CITY DEVILS
REV THEORY
Hosted By Jim Rose and Performances by Jim Rose and The Jim Rose Circus
0 Slash with Myles Kennedy on Tour
Christy Borgman from LA Woman Photography captured a few videos from Slash’s live show at the Roxy on April 10th. I have been curious to see how Alter Bridge’s Myles Kennedy would handle those Guns N’ Roses & Velvet Revolver tunes. Judging from the clips below, he does a great job. This fueled my fire to catch them live at Rock on the Range even more. Check out the clips below:
Sweet Child O’ Mine
Slither
Paradise City
You can watch the rest of the clips at this link.
10 Guns N’ Roses Chinese Democracy Tour Starts in January!
Starting January 13th, GUNS N’ ROSES will embark on a North American tour in support of their Chinese Democracy album. Axl Rose will be joined by Frank Ferrer, Tommy Stinson, Richard Fortus, Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal, Dizzy Reed, D.J. Ashba and Chris Pitman, on this run of dates.
Jan. 13 – Winnipeg, MB @ MTS Centre
Jan. 16 – Calgary, AB @ Pengrowth Saddledome
Jan. 17 – Edmonton, AB @ Rexall Place
Jan. 19 – Saskatoon, SK @ Credit Union Centre
Jan. 20 – Regina, SK @ Brandt Centre
Jan. 24 – Hamilton, ON @ Copps Coliseum
Jan. 25 – London, ON @ John Labatt Centre
Jan. 27 – Montreal, PQ @ Bell Centre
Jan. 28 – Toronto, ON@ Air Canada Centre
Jan. 31 – Ottawa, ON @ Scotiabank Place
Feb. 1 – Quebec City, PQ @ Colisee Pepsi
Feb. 3 – Moncton, NB @ Moncton Coliseum
Feb. 4 – Halifax, NS @ Metro Centre
7 GUNS N’ ROSES NAMES DJ ASHBA AS BAND’S NEWEST AXEMAN
Guns N’ Roses is proud to announce that guitarist n’ songwriter Dj Ashba has joined the band for an upcoming tour. Ashba, who officially replaces current NIN guitarist Robin Finck, is best known as co-founder of hard rock bands Sixx AM and Beautiful Creatures.
“Dj’s a gifted, energetic guitarist that Guns N’ Roses is proud to have on board!!” exclaims Axl Rose. “We’re very excited to have the opportunity to work together. Guns’ radar has silently been aware of Dj’s presence for quite some time! He brings a fresh approach to our particular brand of mayhem expanding the tapestry of Guns N’ Roses live. Once Dj’s name was in the hat, the hat disappeared!!” “It’s an honor to have the opportunity to be a part of a band that I have always loved and respected,” said Dj Ashba. “I’m looking forward to working with Axl, who is not only one of the few great front men of our generation, but a true artist.” Dj Ashba co-wrote and co-produced Motley Crue’s latest album “Saints of Los Angeles,” which garnered a 2008 GRAMMY nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance, as well as co-wrote and co-produced the Sixx AM album “Heroin Diaries.” Robin continues to be part of GN’R, by virtue of Guns’ history and his involvement in Chinese Democracy.
Now, one step closer to the abyss, Ashba joins a band who’s all time roster is nearly as long as it’s founder Axl Rose’s rap sheet!
3 Chinese Democracy Goes Gold
GUNS N’ ROSES’ Chinese Democracy sold 21,000 copies in the United States in its sixth week and is at #30 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD has now sold more than 502,000 copies since it was released on November 23rd at Best Buy stores.
1 Guns n’ Roses Guitarist Denies “Chinese Democracy” Tour Rumor He Allegedly Started
From Rolling Stone.com:
Well, that was fast. Just days after telling a St. Louis newspaper that Guns n’ Roses were planning a two-year tour set to embark in March, guitarist Richard Fortus is now saying he was “misquoted” in the article. “OK, it seems that I am being misquoted once again,” Fortus told fans in a statement. “I never said that Gn’R would be playing St. Louis, nor did I say that we will be doing free shows or that we are starting a two-year tour in March! Selective hearing. Never said it.” Fortus’ denials come after the article printed quotes regarding Fortus and Rose joking about Gn’R’s return to St. Louis.
Let’s face facts: Fortus probably made some passing comments about an upcoming Chinese Democracy tour, but when word spread of Fortus’ interview Guns’ management probably told him to can the rumors. The “two-year tour” rumor did seem overly long, however, especially considering Axl Rose’s involvement. Still, sources previously told Rolling Stone that Gn’R plan to tour in some capacity in 2009.
Denying statements you just made has become somewhat of a tradition lately in the Gn’R camp: Just yesterday, Fernando Lepeis denied the band’s “Better” video was being held up legally by Metallica’s Lars Ulrich, despite Lepeis making that exact statement just hours earlier. And this has been your last Guns n’ Roses post of 2008 … we think.
1 Lars Ulrich Holding Up Guns N’ Roses Video?
Rolling Stone.com is reporting that Axl Rose and Guns n’ Roses are finally making an effort to promote the poorly selling Chinese Democracy, and oddly enough a member of Metallica might be hindering their plans: Is the album’s long-promised music video for the track “Better” being delayed by Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich?
That’s the story coming from the MyGNRForum, where Fernando Lebeis — the son of Axl’s personal assistant — told fans, “Tell Lars to OK the vid and it’s done. That’s all that is pending.” When pressed to explain who Lars was, Lebeis responded, “Lars Ulrich. We are pending his release form to be signed.” In a message board chat weeks ago, Rose promised the “Better” video would be released in the near future and would feature live and backstage footage. Among the footage, supposedly, is Lars not only backstage with the band but also performing with Gn’R at a concert in Oakland, California in December 2006.
Of course, just hours after Lepeis posted on the forum and the firestorm began, the post was quickly pulled. Lepeis then personally contacted Blabbermouth.net, who picked up the story, and told them the post “was a fun comment and not an attack on Lars.” An official statement from Gn’R soon followed which reads, “Lars isn’t holding anything up with our video. Our message board comments were meant casually, in fun and amongst friends. Unfortunately, someone with Blabbermouth may have taken things a bit out of context and made them into a bit more than they are in reality. Our apologies to anyone who may have been confused. We hope to have our video out shortly. Thank you.”
So, we may or may not be waiting on Lars Ulrich to finally see the “Better” video, which would be the first Guns’ clip since that 1994 “Since I Don’t Have You?” video which starred Gary Oldman.
13 Hard Rock Hideout’s Top 15 of 2008
As good as 2007 was for new releases, 2008 blew it away. At the beginning of the year, I don’t think anyone expected to have new releases by AC/DC, Metallica and Guns N’ Roses all in the same year.
This year Rocknrollcoastie joined the HRH team and I asked him to submit his picks for 2008 as well. This way you get a double dose of the The 15 Albums from Hard Rock Hideout.
The following are Rob Rockitt’s Top Picks for 2008!
15. Guns N’ Roses – Chinese Democracy
What’s this? Have I lost my mind? When Chinese Democracy came out, I expected Hell to Freeze over. Much like many of you, I didn’t expect this album to ever see the light of day, much less in 2008. I didn’t give this album the best review when it was released. After the first couple of listens, I didn’t like it very much. Lets face it, this more like the Axl Rose Project than a true Guns N’ Roses CD. There is no Slash, no Izzy, No Duff. The album has very few sounds that resemble the old band that once cranked out some awesome hard rock.
I didn’t give up on this album and kept it in my playlist. After a couple of weeks of repeat plays, I have warmed up to this disc. Sure it doesn’t sound like the old band, but there is some pretty good music to be found if you give this the proper chance.
14. Thunder – Bang!
When Rocknrollcoastie reviewed this CD earlier this year, I previewed all of the clips, then quickly purchased the CD. I have liked Thunder since their Backstreet Symphony CD, and this disc is on par with that one in my opinion. It is a great sounding bluesy hard rock disc Buy it!
13. Jaded Sun – Gypsy Trip
Ireland’s latest rock act delivers the goods with their excellent debut CD, Gypsy Trip. I have been playing this CD a lot as of late. I think you will be hearing a lot more about these guys in 2009.
12. Black Tide – Light From Above
Somebody must have forgotten to give the young men in Black Tide a calendar. These guys rock like is 1988. You have to love it when a new band can reproduce that classic 80’s metal sound. Light From Above is a great debut for these Florida rockers.
11. Shinedown – The Sound of Madness
I have never been a huge Shinedown fan, but this CD changed my mind. “The Sound of Madness” is the first Shinedown CD that I could listen to all the way through without wanting to skip a track or two. I like all of the songs on this disc. This is a very solid record, and one of 2008’s nice surprises.
10. JORN – Lonely Are the Brave
Jorn Lande has been bringing us great new hard rock every year for several years now. Whether it is a solo CD, or another project he is working on, you can always expect Jorn Lande to be fairly consistent. Lonely Are The Brave is a little darker than most JORN CD’s but is a very good disc. Take one listen to the songs “Night City”, “Shadow People” or the very Black Sabbath with Dio like tune, “Soul of the Wind”, and you are bound to love this disc.
9. Metallica – Death Magnetic
This album has divided fans with its sound, but I thought this was a pretty good disc from Metallica. Sure, this disc doesn’t live up to their classic thrash metal from the 80’s, but at least they gave it their best shot. They should take notes from Testament next time around.
8. Testament – The Formation of Damnation
In my opinion, Testament one upped Metallica for best Thrash album of 2008. Heavy and killer! No thrash metal fan should be without this.
7. Motley Crue – Saints of Los Angeles
With S.O.L.A. Motley Crue turned in their best album since Dr. Feelgood. This one is still in heavy rotation in my play list today.
6. Disturbed – Indestructible
From the opening air raid sirens of Indestructible, you can almost tell immediately that you are about to take in one excellent album. In my opinion, this is Disturbed’s best work ever. The songs on this disc have an excellent heavy groove, that will satisfy the majority of headbangers out there. There are a ton of awesome guitar licks on this disc by Disturbed axeman Dan Donegan. Disturbed even got nominated for a Grammy for their song, “Inside The Fire”. Don’t miss this!
5. Alice Cooper – Along Came A Spider
Alice Cooper is an artist that has always been hit or miss with me. When I first read about the new concept album, “Along Came A Spider”, I rolled my eyes and dismissed this disc as another Alice Cooper album that would not deliver. Boy was I wrong! “Along Came A Spider” is one of the better Alice Cooper releases. The story behind this disc is creepy and cool. Slash plays on a track, and this is probably the only place you will hear Ozzy Osbourne playing a harmonica. Cool stuff!
4. Black Stone Cherry – Folklore and Superstition
Black Stone Cherry has been one of my favorite newer hard rock acts, since 2006 or so. Folklore and Superstition wasn’t quite as heavy as their debut, but is still as solid as ever. “Blind Man”, “Soulcreek”, “Please Come In” and “The Bitter End” are as good as it comes.
3. Whitesnake – Good To Be Bad
David Coverdale nearly pulled an Axl Rose, by making us wait so long for this new disc. While Good To Be Bad isn’t as good as ’84’s “Slide It In”, or the fabled self titled album from 1987, it is a return to the sound that Whitesnake fans love, and easily one of the top discs of 2008. Doug Aldrich could be the best guitarist to take the stage with Coverdale since John Sykes. Don’t believe me? Give this one another listen!
2. AC/DC – Black Ice
I am sure a lot of folks will disagree with me, but I think “Black Ice” is the best new AC/DC CD since “The Razor’s Edge”. Some of the songs on this disc may go down as AC/DC classics.
1. Tesla – Forever More
Tesla is a band that rarely disappoints me. If you have ever seen my Last FM playlist, you know I play the hell out of this band. Tesla’s 2004 CD “Into The Now” was probably my least favorite out of all of Tesla’s releases. With that being said, it made Tesla’s CD Forever More sound that much better. I like every song on this disc, and I never grow tired of listening to it. This is easily one of the best discs that the band has releases to date. For my ears, it was the highlight of 2008!
RocknRoll Coastie’s Top 15 of 2008!
Man! What an amazing year both musically and personally. With releases from bands like Motley Crue, White Lion, Dokken, Alice Cooper, & Whitesnake, just to name a few, it felt more like 1988 than 2008. So much great music came out this year and it showed me more than any other year that hard rock is very much alive and well.
Personally it was a great year because I happened to not only stumble across HardRockHideout, which I happen to think is the best hard rock site on the internet. I harassed Rob Rockitt a few times and of all things he invited me to jump on this train that HardRockHideout has become and come along for the journey. Damn what a wild ride it has been so far not only have I made a good friend, I have been introduced to so much new music it is not even funny and let’s face it, it isn’t everyday a person pisses off a whole country but somehow I managed to do just that by giving a Hungarian band a bad review. As wild and crazy as it has been this year I have the feeling it is only going to get better.
When Rob asked me if I wanted to put together my top 15 albums I thought there is no way because there has been so much great music come out in the past year. Then I was faced with do I go with the popular choices loved by the masses or do I stick to my guns and go with the bands and albums that I loved? I decided to go with the bands and albums that I loved this year, I guess I should warn everyone not to expect a lot of big name bands on my list. NOBODY forced me to choose these albums, I chose them of my own free will so love’em or hate’em here they are:
15. The Wildhearts – Stop Us If You’ve Heard This One Before Vol 1
Yeah I know it is a covers album which has almost become a cliche in itself. But this isn’t your everyday run of the mill covers album with songs from Warren Zevon to the Toadies to Fugazi it is a pretty eclectic choice of songs here. To be honest the Wildhearts are probably one of the few bands that could get me to listen to the 90’s alternative music on here.
14. Theory of a Deadman – Scars & Souvenirs
I pretty much spent most of the summer cranking the third release from this Canadian band. Finally out of the shadow of Nickelback the guys really stepped out on their own with Bad Girlfriend, I Hate My Life, & Little Smirk just to name a few.
13. From The Inside – Visions
The second release from Danny Vaughn’s Journey inspired project. Tons of great music here including Light Years, Making Waves, Listen To Your Heart, and 21st Century.
12. Big Cock – Motherload
Taking sexual innuedos to a new level Robert Mason and the guys 3rd release simply rocks. I wish these guys would take themselves seriously and go on tour I could guarantee they would be one of the best shows out there. If you haven’t heard Breaking My Balls, Bump and Grind, or M.I.L.F. you are missing out.
11. Hinder – Take It To The Limit
I can see most people rolling their eyes at this pick and to be honest when I heard Hinder had a new album coming out I wasn’t expecting much. But the guys put out an album filled with good time party anthems and let’s be honest it is going to be bands like Hinder, Buckcherry, and Nickelback that are going to keep straight up rock in the limelight in the 21st century. Besides what man can resist a video filled with hot Playboy cybergirls??
10. Talon – Fallen Angels
This California band came out of nowhere and completely blew me away. Melodic rock at it’s finest, Chandler Mogel is a monster singer with a great voice and Jim Kee is a phenomenal guitarist. Burn, Baby Jane, What About Me, and Always Be My Baby are all great songs.
9. 7th Heaven – U.S.A-U.K.
This is another band that came from out of nowhere and blew me away. From what I understand these Chicago natives have been around for a while but replaced their former singer with Kevin Semple before recording this album and he is an awesome singer. If you are a fan of “Hysteria” era Def Leppard you have to get this album you would be hard pressed to tell the bands apart if you didn’t know the songs.
8. Marcello/Vestry – Self Titled
Another slab of melodic rock, this time it comes from Danger Danger axeman Rob Marcello and vocalist Frank Vestry, with a little help from Danger Danger’s Bruno Ravel who played bass and produced the record. Great catchy sing along songs like Fireworks, All I Wanna Do Is U, and Gone fill this record. It is exactly what you would expect from members of Danger Danger and I for one am not complaining at all.
7. House of Lords – Come To My Kingdom
After the fiasco that was the Power & the Myth, James Christian started pretty much from scratch with House of Lords and released World Upside Down in 06. In ’08 the band came back even stronger with Come To My Kingdom dare I say the best HoL album to date. James’ voice still sounds great and Jimi Bell, B.J. Zampa, and Matt McKenna have made the band even stronger. I don’t think there is a weak song on this album.
5. Extreme – Saudades de Rock –
One of the first albums I reviewed for HRH. 13 years is a long time to wait between albums but honestly I think it was a good thing for the guys in Extreme. They came back stronger than ever with some strong kick ass songs and the addition of Kevin Figueiredo was an awesome decision. I liked this album when it was released but the more I listened to it the more I loved it.
5. Tesla – Forever More
Four years between new albums also did Tesla a world of good. Forever More is head and shoulders above 04’s Into The Now and like Extreme the addition of guitarist Dave Rude did wonders for the band. I Wanna Live, Just In Case, All of Me, and Pvt Ledbetter are just a few of the stand out tracks on Forever More.
4. There is no number 4 because of a tie for third.
3. The Quireboys – Homewreckers & Heartbreakers (Tie)
One of my all time favorite bands returned in ’08 with a new album their first in 4 years and all I can say is Wow! Homewreckers & Heartbreakers is the best Quireboys album since A Bit of What You Fancy. Bluesy Faces inspired rock at it very best, Spike has never sounded better than he does on this album. Mona Lisa Smiled, I Love This Dirty Town, Louder, and One For The Road are a few of the highlights on this album. In case you didn’t know Spike also released a great solo album titled So Called Friends around the same time definitely worth checking out.
3. Badmouth – S/T (Tie)
If I had a song of the year hands down it would be Rivethead by these Swedish ass kickers. Just that one song makes Badmouth’s debut worth the money but on top of Rivethead this album is filled with straight up rock n roll anthems like Pedal to the Metal, Kick It Up, and Cocaine Girl. Throw in a couple of songs like Last Train and Take Your Toothbrush With You that remind me of one of my favorite bands Backyard Babies you have a can’t miss album.
2. Backyard Babies – S/T
This album was my choice for my number 1 for the longest time but it was dethroned when the band at number 1 now released their new album. But this album from Sweden’s finest has everything a great rock record should great sing a long in your face songs, great solos, a hell of a lot of attitude. Degenerated, Come Undone, Nomadic, Abandon, and Back on the Juice are just a few of the ass kickings you have in store when listening to this album.
1. D-A-D (Disneyland After Dark) – Monster Philosophy
Is it just me or did Scandinavian bands kick a lot of rock n roll ass this year? Another of my all time favorite bands and I know there may be only one person in the states that agrees with me here but hands down Monster Philosophy is the best album of the year. 22 years and 10 studio albums and still most rock fans in America have no clue who D-A-D are. In one word LEGENDS, this album is filled not only with great songs but great vocals from Jesper Binzer and the sounds Jacob “Cobber” Binzer gets from his guitar are unbelievable. I can’t forget Stig Pedersn on bass or drums by Laust Sonne. While there are albums that may have three great songs and the rest of the album are good songs, on Monster Philosophy there are 13 great songs and each one sounds completely different from the others. Maybe some person at an American record company will pull their head out of the sand and sign D-A-D and get their albums released and re-released here in the states but if they don’t I will keep paying the import price because every one of their albums are worth the money.
I hope you enjoyed our top picks for 2008. If you would like to see what other hard rock and metal writers have picked as their top albums of 2008, check out the following links below:
Heavy Metal Addiction — http://hardrockheavymetal.wordpress.com/
Heavy Metal Time Machine — http://metalmark.blogspot.com/
Bring Back Glam — http://bringbackglam.squarespace.com/
Rock And Roll and Meandering Nonsense — http://rnrnonsense.toomanyvoices.com/
All Metal Resource — http://allmetalresource.com/
Imagine Echoes — http://www.imagineechoes.com/
Metal Excess — http://metalexcess.wordpress.com/
The Ripple Effect — http://www.ripplemusic.blogspot.com/
Rock Of Ages — http://rockofages.wordpress.com/
Layla’s Classic Rock — http://laylasclassicrock.blogspot.com/
Hair Metal Mansion — http://hairbangersradio.ning.com/
The Metal Minute — http://rayvanhornjr.blogspot.com/
0 Axl Rose Breaks The Silence
Reclusive GUNS N’ ROSES singer Axl Rose broke his silence last night (Thursday, December 11) by answering fan questions on the message boards of two of the most popular GUNS N’ ROSES fan sites on the Web — MyGNR.com and Here Today… Gone To Hell!
BLABBERMOUTH.NET has collected some of the more interesting bits from the question-and-answer session and is re-posting them here for your reading enjoyment. (Note: Some of Axl‘s responses were slightly edited for clarity.)
Q: How come you always come on stage so late at gigs?
Axl: “I’ve been an after-midnight type since I was sneakin’ out of my house in junior high [school]. With [the] old GUNS [lineup], we preferred [to take the stage at] 12:00 a.m. or so. When we moved to theaters etc., obviously that changes but it’s never changed inside me. Doesn’t matter what I do, so generally that’s when I’m more myself. This isn’t to mess with anyone that has an early schedule to keep, it’s just personal preference. And in regard to the size [of] venues, I’m on record as preferring whatever venues allow for our schedule, but management and promoters can do a lot in their own interests behind the scenes that can rarely be avoided and their greed or whatever leads to a lot of double talk and ugly behind nonsense that generally eventually ruins things for everyone. Translated: once a tour is scheduled, however, it’s like parting the seas to change. As far as being late, I’ve been that way my whole life. It drove Izzy [Stradlin] crazy but he would check himself and freely admit I was generally actually doing something that had to get done rather than watching basketball, etc.”
On a video for the new GUNS N’ ROSES song “Better”:
Axl: “The ‘Better’ music video will be out in a week or so. Monumental promotion will start very soon!”
Q: Who do you listen to for hardcore blues? I’m a blues singer and I can tell from your work that you have at least got way into a couple of blues records.
Axl: “BESSIE SMITH, ZEP 1, ROBERT JOHNSON, TUMBLEWEED CONNECTION, JANICE [presumably referring to JANIS JOPLIN — Ed.].”
Q: Axl, do you really have two or three other albums of material?
Axl: “For now, we’ll concentrate and keep our focus on this album, but I will say I’ve always thought of it as a double. And no offense, but no one’s trying to talk in parables. The issues are a bit more complex than anyone would like.”
Q: Hey, Axl, is the [unreleased GUNS N’ ROSES] song “Atlas Shrugged” as epic as the book? Who is your favorite character from the book?
Axl: “Song doesn’t have all that much to do with the book other than trying to do what you believe in and a line about shoulders not being wide enough.”
Q: Axl, was there ever a cover B and cover C for “Chinese Democracy”?
Axl: “Yes, there are. There are two more covers/back-cover combos and the real booklet that is all artwork that will be out shortly in some form. It’s been an ugly battle that hasn’t made any sense to anyone and whether anyone cares about such things the booklet or artwork has always been something I’ve been passionate about and to release the album with unapproved and unseen final artwork with a first work-only error-filled draft when others more recent were readily available still has not been explained but is finally getting cleared up. My fave is the ‘How Are You’ grenade cover.”
Q: Axl, how do you feel about KANYE [WEST‘s new album] outselling “Chinese Democracy”? Do you like KANYE‘s music?
Axl: “I met Kanye at the Versace awards. He was very gracious. I love ‘Gold Digger’ and told him so. I’m a big fan of his stage performance as he seems to go for it physically which I relate more to. Before our release, I sent him a message that any nonsense from the media had nothing to do with us and wished him the best. I’m humbled we’ve done as well as we have considering.”
Q: Just wanted to ask if you had any fond memories from the U.K. leg of the tour from 2006, particularly the concert in Glasgow in July?
Axl: “Glasgow was great. I think that’s where I got to do a lot of slides on the stage. Was like a race track or something, right?”
Q: Axl, thanks for “Chinese Democracy”, which I personally think is your best work. What’s your pick for album of the year? And have you heard the new METALLICA album [“Death Magnetic”]?
Axl: “Ours, of course!! Yes, [I have heard the new METALLICA]. I like it.”
Q: Axl will you tour Australia next year, and when are you looking at doing so? If you could work with [former GUNS N’ ROSES guitarist] Buckethead again, would you have him just in studio, or also would you welcome him in the touring lineup?
Axl: “Austrailia’s great and the crowds are really alive. No plans [to tour there] yet but I’m sure there will be.
“I have no issues with Bucket. It’s hard to tell what was real or not in things we were told by Merck [former GUNS N’ ROSES manager Merck Mercuriadis, who was fired by Axl Rose in December 2006 — Ed.]. He’s more than welcome to tour with us in some form or other provided we’re both interested at the time and come to some type of reasonable terms. Personally, I have a blast with Bucket on tour and get a big kick out of the guy. A lot of feelings were hurt on this side of the fence in how things went down, and unfortunately, others used our silence and the public’s not knowing for their own purposes at both Bucket‘s and our expense.”
Q: Now that you said that, please tell us if Robin‘s [Finck, GUNS N’ ROSES guitarist who is currently on the road with NINE INCH NAILS] out or not… because, otherwise, we’ll be reading several “Axl wants Bucket back and Robin/Bumble/Richard out”-type of threads for the entire ’09 year and these threads annoy us, the new lineup fans.
Axl: “It really is what it is. No decisions have been made by either him, I or us that I’m aware of. When we’re touring or working in the studio, or there’s social things like a friend’s dinner or party, whatever, we would hang. But as people get older, they have their own lives. The STONES aren’t going bowling every Tuesday, etc.
“Robin leads one of the most different lives I know of, starting with the trapeze in his backyard to the TV in his closet.
“Robin‘s work on the next is done so there’s not lots for him to do here except the elusive promo and he’d rather be on stage. It’s more about seeing where things are when GUNS decides it’s right for a tour and if we’re able to make agreements we both are comfortable and can live with at that time.”
Q: As a native Colombian, I must ask: In 1992, while performing “November Rain” in Bogota (in November), it rained. Wait no….it poured. How weird was that, eh?
Axl: “Very surreal and religious feeling. So was being chased by the military in our plane down the runway gettin’ outta Dodge there!!”
Q: Just wondering what stops you from playing more guitar live?
Axl: “Skill.”
Q: Axl, I’m fixing to pack everyhting I own into my car and drive out to L.A. from Arkansas to give a career in music a shot. Any advice? Or should I just shit in my pants, dive in and swim?
Axl: “Follow your heart, don’t sell out, and read every book on the bix [music business] you can find.”
Q: “Catcher N’ The Rye” is one of the best songs on the [“Chinese Democracy”] album. Why no Brian? [QUEEN guitarist Brian May recorded a guest appearance on the track back in 1999, but his contributions were removed from the final album version of the song.]
Axl: “There’s a few reasons, and none of them all that big and definitely not in spite or to slight anyone.
“First off, obviously I knew people liked the song, but the Brian appreciation really only showed up in force publicly after we had moved on in GUNS. In fact, not many seemed to care and most comments were aimed at why Slash, in their opinions, should be here.
“Brian‘s solo itself is a personal fave of mine and I really couldn’t understand, as he’s such a rock legend, why it wasn’t openly appreciated more at the time.
“In actuality, all that feel and emotion referred to now had a lot to do with Sean [Beavan, one of the producers who worked on ‘Chinese Democracy’] and I and the parts I chose out of Brian‘s different runs, versions, practice runs, etc., to make sure we had those elements in one version. It’s entirely constructed from edits based around one specific note Brian hit in a throwaway take. And though Brian seems to have warmed a bit to it, at least publicly, he was unfortunately none too pleased at the time with our handiwork. I remember looking at Brian standing to my left and him staring at the big studio speakers a bit aghast saying, ‘But that’s not what I played.’
“Sean Beavan and I were not in any way tring to mess with Brian, we just did what we do and then try and do our best to stand up for our decisions.”
Go to this link at Blabbermouth to read the rest!
0 Guns N’ Roses Chinese Democracy Sales Plummeting
U.S. sales of GUNS N’ ROSES’ Chinese Democracy album plummeted in it’s second week of release. The album sold under 57,000 copies, landing at #18, a 78% drop from the previous, first-week sales.
BBC Radio 1 reported that Chinese Democracy dropped out of the Top 10 on the UK Top 40 Album Charts on December 6th. It is currently sitting at #11.
Source: Bravewords
0 Guns N’ Roses Member Found In Sex Tapes
SexTapes front man, Chris Pitman is a member of the legendary rock band Guns N’ Roses. Between playing multiple instruments (for studio recording and live in concert), co-writing and co-producing for the new GNR album, “Chinese Democracy,” he is also a co-writer with front man Axl Rose on the song, “If The World,” in the new Warner Bros. Pictures and Ridley Scott film, Body Of Lies. The interrelated relationship between the two bands means that all in-store SexTapes™ will also be available along with GNR at stores near you.
SexTapes consists of co-writer/founding member Kelly Wheeler on guitars, Marko Fox on bass, Ryan Brown on the drums and co-writer/producer Chris Pitman on lead vocals and guitar synth. The band originated out of sheer perverse amusement with a series of informal jams by Wheeler and Fox in a cluttered garage. There, amid a bewildering array of audio electronics in every conceivable state of condition, promising sonic experiments continued with slated vocalist Pitman’s enthusiastic blessings, even though he was about to embark on a mammoth tour as an integral part of Guns N’ Roses (GNR). In fact, in addition to the GNR tie, the resume of the first three members shows a shared musical history with less than a “six degrees of separation” scenario. You see, prior to Jane’s Addiction, Wheeler had played bass with his then roommate Perry Ferrell in Psi-Com, a regular in the L.A. underground scene in the mid-80s. Afterwards he brought on Karmageddon with drummer Danny Carey, now of Tool notoriety. Pitman, too, had been in various bands with his University of Missouri Conservatory of Music bro, Carey, both in their defiant K.C. days, and later in Zaum (along with Fox), adding synth textures on Tool’s multiplatinum album “Aenima.”
Now, with this debut album two years in the making, SexTapes is ready to rock.
With the addition of Brown, the band moved from a garage into a spacious studio lockout in North Hollywood. There they began cherry-picking from the early demos, keeping in mind their goal of creating an originally addictive record. In 2006, the drum tracks were laid down, with Wheeler and Fox also tracking their parts with Pitman’s production. Finally back from being on the road with Guns N’ Roses, Pitman recorded the lead vocals, afterwards enduring the meticulous process of adding multiple layers and roughly shimmering guitar-synths, which, at times, are reminiscent of his masterful arrangements on Lusk’s “Free Mars.”
Recorded at The Pass Studios in Hollywood where rock legends like Smashing Pumpkins recorded “Zeitgeist” and The Red Hot Chili Peppers recorded “Stadium Arcadium,” the debut album was produced and mixed by Chris Pitman. All songs are written by Kelly Wheeler and Chris Pitman.
SexTapes is future hard rock. The music is a bit psychotic, but with plenty of melody mixing up the punk and psychedelic overtones. SexTapes is unique, so it doesn’t really sound just like any other band, but as a reference, some say SexTapes™ sounds like a cross between Jane’s Addiction, Led Zeppelin and Queen with a modern twist. You be the judge.
Check them out on myspace at this link.
0 Guns N’ Roses Out of Ammo?
Guns N’ Roses returned to the U.S. pop charts this week with their first studio album in 17 years … but had to settle for a disappointing No. 3 slot.
“Chinese Democracy” sold a modest 261,000 copies. The tally paled against those of the band’s last studio efforts, “Use Your Illusion I” and “Use Your Illusion II,” which debuted at Nos. 2 and 1, respectively, with sales of 685,000 and 770,000 after being released on the same day in 1991.
Best Buy Senior Entertainment Officer Gary Arnold had predicted “Chinese Democracy” would be the week’s top seller, but it ended up being bested by Kanye West’s new release “808s & Heartbreak” with 450,000 copies and country star Taylor Swift’s former champ “Fearless” with 267,000.
What happened? Wasn’t “Chinese Democracy” one of the most-anticipated and talked-about albums of all time? Wasn’t it so steeped in myth and lore that a massive debut week was all but assured? Maybe not.
The October release of AC/DC’s “Black Ice,” while not a perfect comparison, comes to mind. Like Guns N’ Roses, AC/DC was a band that had been off the radar for a while and opted to partner with one retailer — Wal-Mart — for the release of its own long-awaited new album. “Ice” ultimately chilled with 784,000 copies in its debut week — the veteran group’s best sales frame since tracking firm Nielsen SoundScan started in 1991.
And now we have GNR’s album, in an exclusive deal with Best Buy (and iTunes). And it starts with much less.
So, why didn’t GNR’s number even get close to AC/DC’s?
Wal-Mart gave AC/DC the red-carpet treatment. The retail giant made sure the album had the appearance of an event record — something every Wal-Mart shopper needed to own. If that didn’t convince consumers, maybe their famed store-within-a-store display did.
But at Best Buy, based on reports from Billboard staffers on the ground during release week, the promotion was on a smaller scale.
Beyond the retail promotion of “Chinese Democracy,” what about the intangibles?
Maybe the public got tired of waiting for an album that was probably never going to live up to their expectations? Maybe fans were turned off by the ever-shifting lineup of band members? Maybe it would have sold more had reclusive frontman Axl Rose and his bandmates made a promotional appearance in support of the release? Perhaps it would have started stronger had it been available to all retailers?
Or, maybe pundits should just take a step back, breathe and see where the album goes from here. There very well may be quite a long, healthy road ahead for “Chinese Democracy.”
West may have also been disappointed with the 450,000 start for “808s & Heartbreak.” Many pundits, including some at his Universal Music Group label, had expected his fourth album to have a better week.
His last album, “Graduation,” started at No. 1 with 957,000 last year. Before that, “Late Registration,” chalked up an 860,000-unit entry at No. 1 in 2005. His freshman effort, “The College Dropout,” started at No. 2 with 441,000 in 2004.
0 Double Talkin’ Jive – A Hard Rock Tribute To Guns N’ Rose (Release Year – 2008)
It seems like three or four times a year a new hard rock tribute CD comes out. Name a big band from the 80’s and they probably have one. In light of Guns N’ Roses “Chinese Democracy” finally seeing the light of day, I decided to check out the latest tribute to L.A.’s finest sleaze rockers.
The song selection on this CD is a pretty good mix, and there are a lot of talented musicians involved on this disc including John Corabi, Jason McMaster, Joe Lynn Turner, Ron Keel, Tracii Guns, and Blues Saraceno.
If anything, this tribute CD made me appreciate just how good Guns N’ Roses really were when the original band was together. Some of my thoughts on the songs included are below:
Jason McMaster is up first with his rendition of “Welcome to the Jungle”. Jason is a good choice to sing this song. He has a similar style of vocals as Axl Rose. The thing is, his voice is not as strong, as Rose’s, and it shows just how powerful the originally tune really was. Richard Kendrick does his best to play those awesome guitar parts by Slash, but he falls flat.
Before this CD, I haven’t ever heard of Rose Reiter. This Canadian songstress turns the G N’ R Classic, “November Rain” into a cool piano based ballad. This gives the song a very melancholy type feel. You will hardly recognize this as a Guns N’ Roses song, but it is a very cool version.
Chris Catena takes a very cool Guns tune, and practically destroys it. He doesn’t have the vocals for “Out to Get Me” and it shows. The backup vocals are practically just as bad. Blues Saraceno is the highlight here. His guitar licks smoke on this track. It is too bad that the vocals don’t fit the music.
Corey Craven handles the vocals and guitar duties on “Dust N Bones”. I haven’t heard of him before, but his vocals are solid enough, and his guitar work is solid enough. The song is pretty much the same rendition of the original song, but it sounds good.
As a whole, this disc made me realize just how much I like the original Guns N’ Roses tunes. When the artists involved in this tribute try to reproduce the original songs they often fall flat. Only the songs are given a unique treatment are truly worth checking out. This is a tribute CD for the Guns N’ Roses die hard fans only.
Rating: 
Out of 10
Track Listing:
- Welcome to the Jungle – Jason McMaster/Richard Kendrick
- I Used to Love Her – John Corabi/Tracii Guns/Randy Castillo
- 14 Years – Harry Slash/Felix Hanemann/Arno Hecht/Steve ‘Budgie’ Warner/Tony Moore/Artie Dillon/Joe Lynn Turner
- Locomotive – Urban Preacher
- November Rain – Rose Reiter
- Outta Get Me – Chris Catena/Blues Saraceno
- Dust N’ Bones – Corey Craven
- Don’t Cry – Ron Keel/Randy Cantor
- My Michelle – Charlie Bonnett III
- Move to the City – Chris Heaven/Tracy G
- You’re Crazy (acoustic) – Katet
- Double Talkin’ Jive – Lee Thompson & The Jonez
1 No #1 Album For Guns N’ Roses This Time
Hits Daily Double are reporting that GUNS N’ ROSES’ Chinese Democracy will land at #2 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling approximately 300,000 copies in it’s first week out. The album will be topped by KANYE WEST’s 808s And Heartbreak.
Chinese Democracy scored a record 8.4 million streams when the album debuted on MySpace beginning midnight on Thursday, November 20th through midnight Sunday, November 23rd. The premiere of Chinese Democracy was the biggest promotion in MySpace’s five year history, with every MySpace territory signing on to participate.
Chinese Democracy (Black Frog/Geffen Records) is available on CD and vinyl (accompanied by a free digital download of the tracks) at Best Buy and Best Buy.com in the US, and digitally through iTunes.
1 GUNS N’ ROSES’ Original A&R Man Kicked Out Of ‘Chinese Democracy’ Listening Party
Tom Zutaut, the man who signed GUNS N’ ROSES to Geffen Recordsback in the mis-’80s, was unceremoniously booted out of the “Chinese Democracy” listening party, held at the Roxy Theater in West Hollywood, California last Tuesday (November 18).
Tom tells Classic Rock magazine, “Yeah, sadly it is true that I was escorted out of the Roxy by a beefy security guy just prior to the last three songs of the playback. I did stand on the sidewalk and hear the last three anyway.
“I believe that love and hate are a complicated thing but ultimately the same thing. I love Axl and think ‘Chinese Democracy’ is a genius body of music. Although I had heard most of the album in an unfinished form six-seven years ago, and more recently through some of the leaks, I really wanted to hear it played back over a loud PA in its final form as imagined by its creator, W. Axl Rose.
“It is sad and disappointing to me that those around Axl would lie to him to fuel his hatred towards me with imaginary events used to drive a wedge between us. I love him deeply, will always love him and wish only the greatest success to one of the world’s last true creative musical sparks with a god-given voice. I am proud of my contributions to his career and am always there for him should he one day become enlightened to the truth of what surrounds him. It is also sad that he doesn’t mention the hard work I put in on my short involvement with ‘Chinese Democracy’with even a ‘Thank You’ considering lesser players are credited or thanked in the liner notes — even those who ridiculed him, belittled and made fun of him behind his back while I defended his genius ’til those around him poisoned him against me with distortions and lies.
“I wear his hatred as a badge of honor as it would be far worse for him not to care at all.”
Source: blabbermouth.net
4 Classic Video – Guns N’ Roses – Better
Today is it….the day many of you have been waiting for! Hell has frozen over! The official release of Guns N’ Roses Chinese Democracy is available for sale in all Best Buy stores today. Go get a copy!
Don’t forget to go to Dr.Pepper’s website and your coupon for a free Dr. Pepper! This will only be on their website today only!!
Enjoy the live video of Guns N’ Roses new song, “Better” below.
15 Guns N’ Roses – Chinese Democracy (Release Year – 2008)
It is hard to talk about Guns N’ Roses without mentioning that this disc is some odd thirteen years overdue. Millions of dollars were spent in creating this much ballyhooed album. I don’t think anyone expects this album to meet their expectations (self included).
I for one am glad this album is finally out, and Axl Rose can finally get this King Kong sized monkey off of his back. Long before this album was released, I heard leaks of several of these tunes. I wasn’t very impressed by the the rougher versions of these songs. I must admit the final product is much better than I thought it would be.
At times, it seems as if the multitude of producers tried to help reproduce Slash’s guitar tones, in order to preserve that classic Guns N’ Roses sound. The end result is an album that won’t sound completely unfamiliar to Guns N’ Roses fans, even though Axl Rose is the only remaining member of the original band.
I have not been a huge Axl Rose fan in the past, but I have to admit it is pretty damned good to hear his distinct voice one more. It has been far too long. The opening and title track “Chinese Democracy” is a pretty rocking good way to start off this disc. Almost immediately, I thought this disc might be a lot better than expected. “Shackler’s Revenge” on the other hand left me scratching my head. This song doesn’t seem to know if wants to be hard rock, Industrial, or techno. It seems to blend elements of all three. It actually isn’t too bad, once you get past the beginning of the song.
I believe “Better” could be one of the best Guns N’ Roses songs ever. Even though this song has some unusual guitar sounds mixed through it, it still feels like a modernized G N’ R song. This is easily my favorite on Chinese Democracy.
“Street of Dreams” was completely unexpected. This is a piano driven ballad with a fairly decent guitar solo in the middle. Early in this song I thought Axl’s voice sounded odd as he was hitting some unusual low notes with his voice. His pure singing voice (thankfully) takes over quickly. What this song is missing is Slash. With Slash’s guitar playing, this could song could have been another taken to new heights. Even still, this song is pretty good, and definitely one of the better ones on “Chinese Democracy”.
Is it just me, or does “If The World” sound like a Lenny Kravitz tune? This is a pop tune with a hard edge and a rhythm with a little bit of funk in it. I wouldn’t expect to hear something like this on a hard rock record, especially a Guns N’ Roses record.
“There Was A Time” has a 70’s classic rock vibe that reminds me a bit of the Moody Blues mixed with some harder guitar parts. This is one of those songs that has the potential to grow on you if given the chance.
At this point in the album, I could have used a really hard driving song. “Catcher In the Rye” is definitely not that. This song also has a classic rock vibe about it, but it doesn’t sound like a G N’ R tune.
I really dislike the intro on “Scraped” but the rest of the song is pretty cool. There is a pretty good groove all throughout “Scraped”.
Riad N’ The Bedouins has more of that familiar Guns N’ Roses sound that I prefer. There are a lot more heavy guitar parts on this song, than on most of the tunes on Chinese Democracy.
“Sorry” sounds as if Axl was trying to channel his inner Pink Floyd. I like Pink Floyd, but I don’t want to hear it on a Guns N’ Roses album. It just sounds odd to me.
The first time I heard I.R.S. I thought the song had a heavier slant to it. This finished product adds a dated keyboard sound, which detracts from the industrial edge it had. It isn’t a bad tune, but I liked the previous versions I heard better.
I didn’t care for “Madagascar” the first time around, but after a couple of listens, I started to realize that this song is a lot better than I originally thought. This song has an epic feel to it that reminds me of “November Rain” somewhat.
Chinese Democracy closes out with two piano based numbers “This I Love” and “Prostitute”. Both songs are solid enough, but not what I would expect to hear from this band.
If you are listening to “Chinese Democracy” for the first time, and are looking for another “Appetite for Destruction” you aren’t going to find it here. This album seemingly expands on the sounds of the Use Your Illusion records, but has a much more experimental feel to it. There are moments of brilliance on “Chinese Democracy”, but those looking for a quick hard rock fix may not give this album a chance to find them.
Was this album worth the wait, and all of the hoopla? Probably not. I would recommend checking out the songs for yourself on the Guns N’ Roses myspace site.
Rating:
Out of 10
Track Listing:
- Chinese Democracy
- Shackler´s Revenge
- Better
- Street Of Dreams
- If The World
- There Was A Time
- Catcher In The Rye
- Scraped
- Riad N´ The Bedouins
- Sorry
- I.R.S.
- Madagascar
- This I Love
- Prostitute
0 Hard Rock Nights Radio Show on ClassXradio.com – Special GUNS N’ ROSES Edition!
With Chinese Democracy set to hit the store shelves tomorrow, Hard Rock Nights will be celebrating with a special two-hour GNR-themed show tonight! Be sure to tune in to catch some of the best Gunner tracks ever recorded, as well as some of the bad boys’ side project material and other related songs and artists. It’s Saturday night, November 22, 9-11 pm eastern on classxradio.com!
Hard Rock Hideout 
