GUNS N' ROSES: 'Chinese Democracy' Mania Hits Germany, Japan; Video Available
- Nov. 24, 2008
German TV station Pro7 aired a two-minute report on the release of GUNS N' ROSES' long-awaited new album, "Chinese Democracy", which included interviews with the band's fans and a short chat with Sven Kilthau-Lander, senior director of promotion at Universal Music Germany (international division). Watch the report below.
In other news, one GUNS N' ROSES fan has posted a short video clip of a truck advertising the "Chinese Democracy" album on the streets of Tokyo, Japan. The fan says, "It must have come past me about 5 or 6 times within an hour."
"Chinese Democracy" was released in the U.S. exclusively through Best Buy. The 14-song set is available on CD, vinyl, and as a download.
One new song, "Shackler's Revenge", debuted on September 14 through the Rock Band 2 video game, while another, called "If The World", can be heard in the new film "Body of Lies".
"Chinese Democracy" is the first album of new material from GUNS N' ROSES since 1991's "Use Your Illusion I" and "Use Your Illusion II".
German TV report:
Zoomer channel (Germany) report:
On the streets of Tokyo:
Swedish TV ad:
Dutch TV commercial:
German TV commercial:
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COMMENT | posted by : iamaxlrose 11/24/2008 10:50:38 AM
germans don't know what dr pepper is
COMMENT | That's right.. posted by : xdrunessx 11/24/2008 10:51:02 AM
It's not just Germany, this is worldwide and the haters can't fucking stand it for a second.
As much as Axl Rose sucks as a human being, he is truly one of the greatest musicians I've ever listened to. It's the insanity that makes him so great.
Good job Axl, and yes this is GUNS N ROSES!
COMMENT | Chi - dem is a amazing album posted by : RiotAct666 11/24/2008 11:00:20 AM
Welcome back Axl.
COMMENT | NOW WOULD BE THE TIME... posted by : cradleofme 11/24/2008 11:02:42 AM
to get the original GnR back together!! the whole world would emplode, good times!
COMMENT | WTF? posted by : Metalex 11/24/2008 11:03:27 AM
The top five latest stories on Blabbermouth are Gn'R related.
What an absolute joke.
COMMENT | ^^^^^ posted by : xdrunessx 11/24/2008 11:07:13 AM
Chinese Democracy has just begun
COMMENT | Would've made a great solo record posted by : JYeager 11/24/2008 11:07:26 AM
Chinese Democracy would've make a fantastic Axl Rose solo record.
Think about it. Expectations would've been more reasonable, not to mention that people would've gone into listening it with less hatred in their hearts. In other words, it would've been given a real, honest chance. It wouldn't even have prevented Axl from winning awards with it (see Jon Bon Jovi winning Grammy for his solo work). Right now, even people who THINK they're giving it a fair shake are subconsciously looking for the "Welcome To The Jungle" or "Paradise City" equivalents.
Never is this subconscious bias more evident than when people say "This I Love" reminds them of "November Rain". There is absolutely nothing in common between those two songs other than the fact that they're piano ballads sung by the same guy.
So even the people who praise the album are being influenced into seeing things that aren't there by the Guns N' Roses name on the cover.
Take that name out, and put what it really is : Chinese Democracy, by Axl Rose... and everyone's perception of the album changes. Some for the better, some for the worst. But it definitely gets judged more fairly than it is right now. Right now, because of that GnR name, some people are going to like it more than they should -- and others less than they should.
COMMENT | JYeager.. posted by : xdrunessx 11/24/2008 11:19:46 AM
Are you going to post the same thing after a gnr story?
Oh, and it is Guns N Roses too. Just cause Slash and Izzy aren't on it doesn't mean it's not and I'm leaving out Adler, Duff, and Sorum because they really don't matter.. they might as well be the hired guns that played on this incredible album.
COMMENT | MORE!!! MORE!! MORE!! posted by : SON of AXL 11/24/2008 11:20:06 AM
WE NEED MORE GNR NEWS!
P.S. CHINESE DEMOCRACY STARTS NOW!!
COMMENT | Chin Dem posted by : Gondor 11/24/2008 11:23:40 AM
Matters not if it's an Axl solo work or not... He has editing, writing, arrangement, mixing, producing, piano, guitar credits on this record. Compare this with Velvet Revolvers recordings. It's clear that Axl IS Guns N' Roses. This will be considered a timeless classic in the years to come.
COMMENT | xdrunessx posted by : JYeager 11/24/2008 11:32:38 AM
xdrunessx 11/24/2008 11:19:46 AM
> Oh, and it is Guns N Roses too. Just cause Slash and Izzy > aren't on it doesn't mean it's not.
Okay, but you failed to mention what means it IS.
Seriously, how is this any different from David Lee Roth putting out a country album under the name Van Halen without any of the other Van Halen members? After all, DLR was the original voice of Van Halen too, right?
I can see your comeback now : "That's different." Backed-up with absolutely nothing argument-wise, just like your quoted sentence above.
Don't tell me stuff like that if you can't back it up. Give me some arguments. Give me some facts. Give me SOMETHING other than "you're wrong, but I can't tell you why".
I happen to like Chinese Democracy. Been listening to it since the proper versions were leaked last week, and I intend to purchase the CD later today (even though I clearly don't have to) simply because I appreciate these songs for what they are so much.
However, it's not a Guns N Roses record. None of these songs sound like they could've been on any previous GnR record. None of the band members (other than Dizzy) are on this one. The production style is completely different, and the one thing this record has in common with the previous ones is Axl's voice.
That's why I'm saying people would give it more of a chance if it were an Axl solo record. Why do you have such a problem with that? If the songs are good, wouldn't they be just as good without the crutch of the GnR name?
Being this adamant about the GnR name tells me you don't believe the songs stand on their own. Maybe I'm more confident about this album's strengths than you are.
COMMENT | Gondor posted by : JYeager 11/24/2008 11:34:41 AM
Gondor 11/24/2008 11:23:40 AM
> Matters not if it's an Axl solo work or not... He has editing, > writing, arrangement, mixing, producing, piano, guitar > credits on this record.
Wanna try telling me again how this shouldn't have been an Axl Rose solo record? ;-)
COMMENT | posted by : Daisy May Tinklepants 11/24/2008 11:38:55 AM
to be fair, germany also has hassellhoff mania
what do they know....?
COMMENT | Daisy May Tinklepants posted by : JYeager 11/24/2008 11:42:16 AM
> to be fair, germany also has hassellhoff mania > what do they know....?
To be fair, the U.S. has Parismania, Lindsaymania and Britneymania... which I believe trumps every other country's questionable manias.
COMMENT | posted by : me...? 11/24/2008 11:49:07 AM
"he is truly one of the greatest musicians I've ever listened to."
that my friends, is the problem with axl fans. (try listening to something else once and a while)
COMMENT | Chinese Democracy sets a new record posted by : JudasRising 11/24/2008 11:51:26 AM
This must be a new record, in terms of the number of news articles that are related to the release of one particular album, which Blabbermouth publishes in a single day. Even Death Magnetic didn't get as many news articles on one day as Chinese Democracy. Which is perfectly reasonably, because whereas Death Magnetic is a mediocre record with a poor mastering job, Chinese Democracy is a really great (rock) album.
COMMENT | holy fuck posted by : ozzyforprez 11/24/2008 11:52:57 AM
STOP with the gnr posts! holy hell. sorry to break it to everyone, but gnr sucks. sorry. i used to like them, until one day i was listening to appetite, and i was like wow.... this blows ass. its juvenile, stupid music (see motley crue). only song i can still stand is sweet child o mine, and barely. fuck chinese democracy, never has so much hype surrounded such a steaming hunk of shit before. and axl needs to die. only good thing to ever come out of this band is slash, and then he went and made velvet revolver. apparently everyone in the band is an idiot....
COMMENT | posted by : I Live Again 11/24/2008 11:57:41 AM
CHINESE DEMOCRACY HAS STARTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have listened to the album now about 50 times and each time it gets better. Axl is obviously a genius.
COMMENT | posted by : ozzyforprez 11/24/2008 12:01:14 PM
did all of axls split personalities make an account on here and are posting that the album is awesome? cuz seriously. this many people cannot still think gnr is good
COMMENT | . posted by : elexcomulgado 11/24/2008 12:03:19 PM
I LOVE METAL!!!, THATS WHY I NEVER GAVE A SHIT FOR BUNS AND POSERS
COMMENT | whatcha gonna do when posted by : deth n roll 11/24/2008 12:21:05 PM
gnr mania is running wild on blabberfools!?
COMMENT | jyeager posted by : Gondor 11/24/2008 12:21:19 PM
Call it Axl Rose solo record or Guns N' Roses. Does not matter to me... It's great and clearly superior to anything VR has done. Axl IS Guns. Slash and VR sound like a bar band compared to Chinese Dem ;-)
COMMENT | posted by : madeinquebec 11/24/2008 12:30:25 PM
FOR ME TO POOP ON...
COMMENT | ok.. posted by : xdrunessx 11/24/2008 12:37:01 PM
I'm not being adamant because without the name I wouldn't like the songs, which makes sense..
I hate to make this argument on blabbermouth, but is Megadeth supposed to be called the Dave Mustaine Band after the Peace Sells... line up? Bands go through various line-up changes, it's inevidable, but giving up a name you helped create is bogus.
Sure, Axl more or less made the rest of the band walk away, but as long as the main entity is still intact keep the name. Chinese Democracy could be country for all I care, but it's just a name.
AC/DC is AC/DC, Alice in Chains is Alice in Chains, Misfits is Misfits, Opeth is Opeth, Velvet Revolver will be Velvet Revolver with the new singer that steps in, Pain of Salvation is Pain of Salvation, and Guns N Roses is Guns N Roses
COMMENT | elexcomulgado posted by : /\/everMore 11/24/2008 1:04:24 PM
BUNS AND POSERS???
that was seriously the most fucking retarded thing i have ever seen somebody say.
How about locating Axl? I wonder if he knows his album has been released.
COMMENT | Gondor posted by : JYeager 11/24/2008 1:30:47 PM
Gondor 11/24/2008 12:21:19 PM
> Call it Axl Rose solo record or Guns N' Roses. Does not matter > to me... It's great and clearly superior to anything VR has done. > Axl IS Guns. Slash and VR sound like a bar band compared to > Chinese Dem ;-)
All I'm saying is that Axl Rose's name is worth as much as the GnR name, and that he didn't need the GnR name to go platinum with this. His name, and the songs themselves, are good enough.
It's a can't-win situation when you're using the GnR name to do industrial pop. I love the record. I downloaded it and will buy it even though I don't have to. But it's not a GnR record.
Yes, VR sounds like a bar band next to this record, but that's what GnR was : a bar band greatly improved by Axl's songwriting and perfectionism. Mix Chi Dem with VR and what you get is essentially Guns N Roses.
Paradise City, Welcome To The Jungle, You Could Be Mine... all those songs sound like a cross between Chi Dem and VR. Take the "bar band" element out of GnR and what you have left is Chi Dem. Take Axl Rose out of GnR and what you have left is VR.
However you want to slice it, neither Chi Dem nor VR are Guns N Roses. Guns N Roses was a mix of the perfectionism AND the bar band.
Not saying GnR was better. Just saying Chi Dem is an Axl Rose solo record. Because it is. What's so wrong about that? There's nothing wrong with it.
Jon Bon Jovi could've called his Blaze Of Glory solo record a Bon Jovi record, but he didn't. Instead, he made it his first solo record. And it stood very well on its own. He had no problems marketing it as a solo record. Axl wouldn't have needed the GnR name to make Chi Dem go platinum.
COMMENT | JYeager posted by : 11:11 11/24/2008 1:43:29 PM
you put up a good argument. I agree fully. The album is fantastic. ...and I WANTED to hate it before I heard it. I went into it w/ a neagative outlook because of all the hype and the endless failed release dates over the years... Turns out I actually like the record a solid 7.5 out of 10... maybe an 8 after a few more listens. I see your point though... it maybe could do as well w/o the Guns name on it. I think you are missing a huge part of this whole ball game between VR & Axle and that's EGO, brother. Prima donna bull shit in the immortal words of JB. Either way... aside from all the politics... it's a great pop-rock album. Nice work Axle & Co.
COMMENT | Why call it Guns N' Roses? posted by : evildemon13 11/24/2008 2:06:50 PM
Here's why. Axl was afraid that no one would buy an "Axl Rose" solo album. especially those that have been burned by his antics over the years. Personally, when I hear the name "Axl Rose", the first words I think of are "crybaby bitch". If I saw an Axl Rose solo album on the shelf, I'd have a little chuckle, then move on. A new Guns N' Roses album? I'm on it. Then I'd be pissed because it is nothing more than an Axl solo album in disguise. I'm gonna check out the new album, and hope I can hear it objectively, without expecting to hear "It's So Easy" or "Sweet Child O' Mine" quality songs on this one. Or it could simply be Axl Rose owns the name, so he feels he has the right to do so. But I honestly think he KNOWS he wouldn't have sold NEARLY as many albums if it were labeled just Axl Rose.
COMMENT | 11:11 posted by : JYeager 11/24/2008 2:08:59 PM
Nice name, I was born on Nov 11th. ;)
My favorite song is Shackler's Revenge. And since I'm a fan of industrial/loops, I like it as it is.
BUT...
If you were to remove the industrial aspects from it. If you were to give this song to Slash and Duff (whom, by the way, knows how to write contemporary stuff, if you've heard his band "Loaded") and let them re-arrange it... what you'd probably get is the same song, GnR-style.
It would be a bit more human, and a little less "perfect" sounding. A bit more "band", and a little less computer. But it would still be, at the root of it all, written and composed by Axl.
What you'd get, ultimately, is something that would PROBABLY sound right at home on Appetite, or UYI.
Would you and I have liked the song better with Slash & Duff's involvement? Maybe, maybe not. Not every song will sound better as a GnR song. For instance, "Closer" by NiN would totally suck as a GnR song.
But Shackler's Revenge would've been a Guns N Roses song, for better or worse, with Slash & Duff aboard.
Right now, it's not. It's an Axl Rose song. That's why I'm saying this album should've been an Axl Rose record. I mean that's what solo records ARE, by definition : examples of what an individual member of a band would sound like on his own.
COMMENT | I am deeply sorry to say... posted by : razvan 11/24/2008 2:47:35 PM
but Axl has lost his voice. I love Guns n Roses since i was a kid, i love Axl, but why no one admits that this is not his voice anymore ? It sounds awful. I waited for this album and i am so sad while listening. Axl is just a shadow of what he used to be. I don t blame him, i respect Rose for what he s done for rock, but Guns is over. Anyway, let s not be like jackals. The man gave us so much. i hate the way people put down the bands they once loved, just because they have downsides. A band u love is like a friend, u don t run when they are in need, and u forgive them when they make mistakes. Otherwise u are just a fake friend... fake rocker. I will not listen to Chinese Democracy too often but i still know that they once ruled the world. The age gets us all.... Peace !
Look at all the millions of dollars they are spending to try to sell this piece of garbage.
As I've said, it will sell well for the first week or two but will slide off quick once all the 30-35 year old fans buy their 5 copies and the other fanboys who refuse to hear the album for what it is.
I'd even rather listen to that shitty "spagetti" album over this disjointed boring album. And that is saying a lot!
And I know there are people that may like it, they also like Maroon 5, but don't say it is a masterpiece. Don't be silly. This is no masterpiece. You just sound stupid.
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