Yes, I perfectly know that we don´t have to accept anything, it´s just a way of saying things, but it´s a fact that the real gunners (nickname given to all members of the Guns n´Roses family, including band members and fans) always try. Maybe we´re just like those home abused housewives, we are hit, don´t like it, complain, say we´re gonna leave, but always come back. I don´t know but it´s a fact that in spite of all these problems and Axl´s ridiculous attitude, we are still want to see him sing the songs from our good times and we´re still feel the emotion of the old days when we see him running all over the stage and yes, we are still taking our chances buying expensive tickets for a concert we don´t even know if it will really happen (since we never know if he will leave the stage because of a bottle of water or a person dressed like Slash in the audience).

I don´t know how to explain it but the name Guns n´Roses is so big and such a big phenomena that even many years later, bringing almost nothing regarding the old times feeling, Chinese Democracy tour is passing by with sold out tickets months in advance in several countries besides a “very small” cache of 1 million dollars per show (only to the band). And I even dare to say that Axl´s singing is much better than at the end of the Use Your Illusion tour, when his voice was terrible alive making his particular scratchy tone sound like a sick parrot (I saw it with my own eyes in 1995). Some gossip people tell – and it makes some sense – is that all the polemic of leaving the stage in the middle of the concert because of fights with people from the audience who had thrown things at him was actually a big excuse to leave the stage since he knew he wouldn´t handle it to the end of the show. Of course this is only speculation but it´s not a shot in the dark.

For the “proud ex-fans” the band is over, Chinese Democracy isn´t a Guns album, Axl is decadent and there is no sense in this music. But I´d rather follow another line and still pay to see what will really happen, I need my eyes to see things before just following opinions. My intention here is not to lift a flag anymore but to introduce new arguments and refresh the subject.

Alright then...

When Slash and Duff left the band in 1996 and 1997, Axl immediately announced that he would carry the name and from that moment on, none of the fans should expect the same type of hard rock. He made it clear that the line would still be followed but added by experimentation, more modern tones, samplers and so on. In several statements Axl said, 15 years ago, that Chinese Democracy would not have anything in common with the previews albums. This is one of the reasons why I do not consider this album as some kind of “betrayal” to the fans. There is no reason to be surprised nor to feel deceived ´cause he told us...

Now let´s get to another point here: Do you really think there would be any sense to go on with the band playing the same type of music without Slash, Duff, Izzy and Matt? Would it be nice if the vocalist had tried to find some clones to keep the work in the same line? Sorry but I think he would really be decadent if he had done something like this. It would have been ridiculous.

In which concerns to strategy, Axl Rose did the right thing recreating the concept of a project which has gotten new leadership. He wasn´t the only leader before, we had Slash, Duff and Izzy as the main composers for a very uniform project. Axl was the front man, made songs as well, wrote lyrics but wasn´t the only one to command, Guns n´ Roses was really a group. When it was over, there were two possibilities; leave the band behind as part of history and go ahead with a solo career just like Slash, Duff and Izzy did (actually, Slash´s new album has just been released and it´s perfect) or find a new way to it, leaving the past as part of a present history, but bringing something new, just like Axl did, since the Guns´s history is always in the set list and in Axl himself, of course.

In my opinion Chinese Democracy would have been better accepted if it were an Axl Rose´s solo album but I also do think there is sense in the fact of his carrying the name.

Another big problem here, to me, was the long wait we all have to face for this release, 15 years is too long and of course we all got tired. I believe nobody was waiting any longer, not even me who only felt like listening to it almost two months after the release.

Has it lost the sense?

And here I am at the real point: Chinese Democracy is a great album but it´s a work that should have been released 15 years ago to make sense to most of the old fans, since all the polemic which was then involved was intriguing and curious. In 2009 and 2010 nobody really feels like talking about it.

For this I understand, although I don´t agree when they say Axl released an out of dated album. It´s a big mental confusion where the concept got mixed with the music in a way that both got lost. The music is actual but its concept got lost, it´s not interesting anymore. However, we shouldn´t get in the trap of saying that everything is bad and decadent because of it.

Another important point here is to show that there´s no sign of lack of quality in the entire album and all those selected to participate in the recording  or who are really part of the line-up are very good. As a musician I always try to put myself in the same shoes as those who are on stage and I know what a burden and how unfair it can be to sub for icons. We´re not here discussing about Slash´s charisma or comparing the old gunners to the new ones cause it would be ridiculous but the thing is: all new members are EXCELLENT musicians, great professionals and deserve A LOT of respect. The problem is that many people decided just not to accept and stated a final judgment without even checking who they are, what is there in their resumee, who they were before being chosen. This is why Silver and I decided to write this article, to help you, dear reader, keep informed or even increase your curiosity. Now I give the word to Silver, who prepared a small mini bio of each gunner after Izzy, Slash, Duff and Matt. We do not expect to make you change your mind but we want to help you create good arguments to stand your opinion for it or against it.

Stay Rock!
Maila

The New Gunners

Gilby Clarke

Robin Finck