Guns N' Roses are known for their 80's rock genre and their best-selling album, Appetite for Destruction released in 1986. But after all the original band members left GNR, except for Axl Rose (Vocals) and Dizzy Reed (Keyboard), the band recruited new members, which completely changed the style of music for the band.

The newly formed band had to jump numerous hurdles to finally complete the making of Chinese Democracy. The band couldn't find any record companies to work with, after previously trusted record company Geffen refused to work with them because of some minor issues. Then finally in 1999, Geffen finally agreed to work with them for the new album, and production began. Guns N' Roses promised a release in 2003. It didn't happen. After years of touring all over the world, and minor tweaks, they finally released Chinese Democracy on November 23rd, 2008. The Chinese Democracy crew consisted of William “Axl” Rose for vocals, Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal, Robin Finck, and Paul Tobias on guitar, Bryan “Brain” Mantia on drums, Tommy Stinson on bass, and Chris Pitman and Dizzy Reed on keyboard & Synthesizer.

Some tracks I enjoyed were “Better,” “Catcher in the Rye,” “Street of Dreams,” and “There was a Time”. These four sounded exactly the same because of the unique guitar settings and arrangement of Vocals. “There was a Time” had the best guitar parts in my opinion. “Better” probably had the title of best chorus. “Catcher in the Rye” and “Street of Dreams” had the most unique guitar and vocals I have ever heard. These were the only songs of glory on this CD for me. Songs such as “This I Love,” “Scraped,” and “Riad and the Bedouins” were songs I listened to, and then I never wanted to hear again in my life. “Riad and the Bedouins” was basically the same lyrics over and over again. “Scraped” was heavy rock, but it was really freaky in my opinion. Freaky is not always bad but musically, it didn't make much sense at all. “This I Love” was a freaky love song that wasn't Guns N' Roses' style. They aren't known for weird love songs, they are known for rock.

This CD was okay, and just okay. The new album just didn't wow me like the others. It disappointed me, I was looking forward to another rock album that everyone would like enjoy listening to, just as Appetite for Destruction was like. It also didn't meet a rockers needs. I felt that it was too calm, but I have to give it some credit for its originality. At first I didn't know what to classify this music as. So I figured it is rock, just an unheard of style of rock. I would recommend this album to rockers that enjoy some light, some heavy, and some that are freaky love songs. I rated Chinese Democracy by Guns N' Roses a C+.