British journalist / author Joel McIver, whose upcoming book length feature "The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists" is scheduled for release during January 2009 through Jawbone Press, has penned a guest feature regarding Guns N' Roses' new album "Chinese Democracy" for Lucem Fero. The following is an excerpt:
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The problem here is that Axl has had too long to fool around in the studio, with no guiding hand to push him in the right direction. With a Rick Rubin or a Jim Steinman at the controls, Waxl might have found a coherent theme and a consistent sound across the songs: as it is, the album is unfocused and doesn't really know where it's going or what to do when it gets there. Axl has come up with some decent-ish songs (“Better” and the title track are the obvious examples) but there are too many tunes that try and fail to sound like "Appetite for Destruction"-era Guns for us to take them seriously.
"The power ballads that make up about a third of the album want so badly to be “November Rain” that it h urts -- and the sub-industrial guitar tone of many other tracks sounds a decade old. Finally, the arrogance of including a snatch of Martin Luther King's “I have a dream” speech as an audio sample is breathtaking, and not in a good way.
"Time to reform the "Appetite" line-up, tour the world and retire, Axl. "Chinese Democracy" is an embarrassment."
To access the entire feature, go to Lucemfero.com.
