Trunk’s questions were predictably light and ass-kissy, and if you take a shot of Night Train Express every time he brings up the fact that the band had just played a three hour show, you’ll be unconscious and pissing your pants faster than Slash in his prime. You can watch the whole segment here, or skip down to the highlights.

As most fans know, the “original” cover for Appetite For Destruction, which portrayed a topless woman being raped by a giant robot, was promptly banned. But in this interview, Axl reveals that there was an “original original” idea before that one, that didn’t even make it past the label: The cover was to be the famous photo of the Space Shuttle Challenger exploding.

When Trunk asked Axl about Guns N’ Roses’ recently achieved eligibility for the Rock N’ Roll Hall Of Fame, Axl didn’t have much of an opinion, noting that he doesn’t really know who would be invited “in terms of the old band,” or what would be asked of them. At that point, the interview cuts to live footage. If Trunk had the balls to ask Axl if he’d even consider playing with Slash at a one-off induction ceremony, it was edited out. But I’d bet he didn’t.

Trunk also asked Axl about new music in a roundabout sort of way, and made reference to material that was recorded but did not make it onto Chinese Democracy, but Axl only offered that he was still trying to “figure that out,” while working with new management and exploring label situations.

What’s Axl listening to these days? He dropped Ben Harper, Jerry Lee Lewis, and when pressed further added Rose Tattoo and Angel City.

Ashba says the band is talking about it, throwing around ideas, and that Axl has “a lot of good shit up his sleeve.” He also promises it won’t take as long.

See you guys at the courthouse in about 10 years, after I leak it.

Thanks to The Syndicate for the tip.

Lord knows why a savvy businessman such as Irving Azoff would expect an “oral contract” with a musician not involving drugs to put two million bucks in his hand, but whatever.

It all got a little more interesting today when Axl filed suit against Azoff for $5 million he claims is owed due to a failure to promote GNR’s 2008 “comeback album,” Chinese Democracy, as well as a deliberate mishandling of concert dates that forced Rose “into a position where he would have no choice but to reunite with the original members of Guns N’ Roses for a reunion tour.”

The fact that such a tour never happened makes that claim somewhat dubious, even more dubious than the additional claim that Azoff purposely sought to cause Rose emotional distress by using his adopted name of William Bailey in his suit, rather than Rose’s legal name, W. Axl Rose. “Azoff knew that the name William Bailey carries significant emotional damage,” Rose’s suit claims.

Caught that? Now here’s the best part: For the loudest verbal face-slap since Frank Vincent told Joe Pesci to get his shine box, The New York Times reports that, upon being asked to comment today, Azoff replied: “On advice of counsel I cannot respond at this time, but will discuss in my upcoming book, My Life With William Bill Bailey.”

That’s some cold shit!

Last week, Current TV came down to my lawyer’s office to talk to him and I about the whole Chinese Democracy snafu. I had turned down a bunch of phone & Skype interviews that were sure to be pointless, but this one sounded fun.

I was excited to get David in front of the camera for you guys, because his commanding presence and voice has been at the forefront of my defense from the beginning, and yet completely unseen by most following it. Unfortunately, it’s hard to make him look silly (while I’m an easy mark), so they kinda made me the star, and he the sidekick. I assure you, in reality, it’s the other way around.

The interview lasted three fucking hours somehow. A lot was cut out. Such as me telling Ben I’d punch him in the face halfway through his tirade of insults were it not hypothetical. However, I’m glad they cut out the part where I found myself describing the FBI arrest using words like “annoying,” and “unnecessary,” rather than “terrifying,” and “worth every taxpayer dollar.” Wouldn’t want to rock that boat.

It originally aired Thursday, July 30th.

How do you replace the dirty swagger, the serpentine energy, the explosive chemistry of the band that brought an endgame to hair metal? The vacancies left by the original members seem too vast to be occupied by anyone else, and it’s been the upside of a decade since Axl Rose’s signature wailing dominated the rock landscape. I fully expected the same ugly disappointment and vicarious embarrassment I felt while watching GNR’s “big comeback” performance on the 2002 MTV Music Awards, where my attention was split between Axl’s surgically altered wax-museum face and his embarrassingly off-key performance.

The sleaze was on ten in the Gibson Ampitheater as Suicide Girls slithered through an attempt to pass themselves off as erotic art. Nineties rockers Helmet followed offered a spot-on performance, providing the night’s more biting, darker shades, but were met with a surprisingly lukewarm reception. Third preshow act Sebastian Bach, every bit the venerial Skeletor frontman he was in Skid Row, dominated the stage as if it were his band headlining the bill, swinging his shampoo-commercial hair like it was 1989. With a set clocking in at just over an hour, Bach bled the eighties nostalgia out of the room, but I’ll admit with surprisingly little shame that I rocked the hell out to set-closer Youth Gone Wild. 

Minutes after midnight, the revving intro to Welcome To The Jungle began as the crowd roared their ecstatic approval. We found ourselves strapped in and screaming down memory lane before any of us knew the engine was even running. A focused, happy-looking Axl ran around the stage like he was on fire, howling the theme song to Los Angeles as fists pumped throughout the crowd. Yes, the man actually shows up to his own concerts these days. 

The setlist played out less like the Best of GNR mixtape you made in middle school and more like a greatest-hits collection, flavored with scattered gems from each album and even a few impressive selections from Chinese Democracy, the near-mythical “comeback” Guns N’ Roses record Rose has labored over since the split of the original lineup. Of the new songs presented, the most impressive by far was the tremendous Better. Delivered with jaw-dropping power, it’s a classic waiting to happen; beginning as a muted nursery-rhyme melody, it explodes into a fierce, immensely addictive rocker with the blood of Use Your Illusion. 

The heat of the pyrotechnic blasts could be felt to the rafters as the band tore through ferocious renditions of It’s So Easy, Mr. Brownstone and You Could Be Mine with sharper and more layered intensity than the original lineup possessed; the trademarked slutty, throbbing energy soaked in Jack Daniel’s replaced with the slick mile-a-minute riffs and technical prowess of the finest musicians money– and the biggest name rock has seen in twenty-five years– can buy.

Axl’s hired hands, the latest entrants in a revolving door of names facing the impossible mission of honorably reviving the GNR sound in the 21st century, respectfully did justice to their roles with faithful, colored renditions of the songs that made me believe in rock n’ roll when I was a kid. In what was perhaps a passing attempt lend legitimacy to the atmosphere, original member Izzy Stradlin made an appearance, joining drummer Frank Ferrer, bassist Tommy Stinson, Illusion-era keyboardist Dizzy Reed and guitarists Richard Fortus and Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal on a handful of songs. Despite looking out of place and being out of tune onstage, Izzy was warmly welcomed as he contributed an unnecessary third rhythm guitar to a stage already brimming with six-string virtuosos. 

A third guitarist stood apart from the others both visually and sonically, effortlessly tearing through every riff and solo like a man possessed; think Jimmy Page on ecstasy. Even after Rose introduced the bearded, sunglass-wearing phenomenon by name, dressed like a cross between Jim Morrison and Chris Robinson, I still couldn’t believe I was looking at Robin Finck. Having proficiently handled axe duties for several years with Nine Inch Nails, Finck looked back then to be something out of the circus of the apocalypse, but the man played like the devil himself. Exuding a confidence no amount of posturing can imitate, he brought a searing intensity to each Guns song with impassioned intricacy and soul. His beautifully shredding five-minute solo following Better was a standout performance in a night full of highlights. 

Finck was great before his apparent bohemian awakening, but this was something else entirely. He was essentially running through a gallery of world-renowned portraits and landscapes, the best of their time and sacred to many, casting his own colors and impressions onto each canvas. Somehow, blasphemy be damned, he made improvements. 

Bumblefoot’s solo instrumental take on Don’t Cry was gorgeous enough to substitute for the real thing. However, the pace of the evening stumbled during his failed, entirely- too-long attempt at turning Mr. Grinch into a sing-along during one of Axl’s many departures from the stage. How many verses are in that damn song, forty? Points for the green smoke effects, but it would’ve gone over better as just a ten-second teaser.

Visually, the years may have done strange things to Axl Rose, but his signature wailing has never been better. Polished, commanding and in high gear from the start, his delivery only grew stronger as the band moved through an impressively solid set. The infamous temper tantrums of old weren’t at all present; Rose actually laughed at himself for slipping and falling on his ass early on. This man knows he has something to prove, and for a reputation such as his, it’s remarkable to see him actually behaving himself. The guy actually comes off as likable.

Sebastian Bach returned to the stage to share vocal duties on a blistering rendition of My Michelle, an appropriately shiteating grin on his face as he traded lines with Rose; after his set earlier in the evening he was offered a major-label record deal. Watch out world, hair metal returns… or something. 
 
The gritty jive of junkie-anthem Nightrain closed the first set, explosive and supercharged. Axl’s vocals were again undeniably perfect as he soared through the highest registers without so much as a strained note. The band exited the stage to thunderous applause, but for a production of this scale, nobody expected the night to end there. 

Three of the four encore songs were new, presumably a part of Chinese Democracy (due to hit stores on March 6– allegedly-  you know the drill). The first was the grinding, not-quite-epic title track, while IRS, another new overdrive-rocker, was more energetic and fun than the studio version circulating around the ‘net. It gives exactly the impression that Rose likely wants: it’s a logical step forward from Use Your Illusion, Rose’s narrative landscape and dramatic flair pushing the envelope just enough to avoid alienating fans. The magnetic pulse of Madagascar was irresistible, building steadily toward an epic climax with a Civil War vibe.

Red confetti filled the Gibson Ampitheater as the sticky-sweet “Paradise City” brought the show to a close, a wall of sparks showering down behind Axl while he wailed into the mic as if it were only yesterday that he ruled the rock world, white spandex shorts and all. There’s never been any shortness of theatrics associated with GNR, but these days costume changes and pyrotechnics replace concert no-shows and childish fits. 

The band took a final bow to ear-splitting cheers, every one of them smiling genuinely. The only true, classic Guns N’ Roses was buried before the turn of the century. Nobody’s denying that. Short of a seemingly-impossible reunion of the original members, this is the very closest Rose can come to bringing justice to the name while keeping these songs, these living legends, alive. It’s close enough for me.

Having canceled what was intended to be the remaining four dates of the tour to put the final touches on Chinese Democracy, Axl’s apparent new urgency is a good sign. It would seem that this is the last stretch before we finally hear what’s been in the works for a decade, but don’t hold your breath– it’s been said before. The new tracks are a very promising taste of things to come, and should he finally deliver on this latest deadline, one thing is certain:
2007 will belong to Axl Rose.

Setlist
1. Welcome To The Jungle
2. It’s So Easy
3. Mr. Brownstone 
4. Live And Let Die
5. Better
6. Robin Finck Solo
7. Sweet Child O’ Mine
8. Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door 
9. You Could Be Mine
10. Dizzy Solo (“Angie”)
11. The Blues
12. Jam
13. Rocket Queen 
14. Down On The Farm
15. Richard Fortus Solo
16. Out Ta Get Me
17. Jam / Axl Solo
18. November Rain
19. Think About You (w/ Izzy)
20. Bumblefoot Solo (Don’t Cry)
21. My Michelle (w/ Bach)
22. Patience (w/ Izzy) 
23. Nightrain (w/ Izzy)
24. Chinese Democracy
25. IRS
26. Madagascar
27. Paradise City

As a result, many old friends, new enemies, creepy strangers and reporters have been cramping my style; Asking questions, offering to help, threatening to injure / kill me, wishing me luck, wishing that I rot in jail for the rest of my life, hiding in my bushes, et cetera.

Of course, I’ve been consumed by more pressing concerns, and I haven’t been able to respond to any of it. But I wanted to take a moment to address some things today, now that my situation is a little more under control.

As this is a criminal case, I will not be discussing any of its details, with anyone, while it is open. Inquiries of any kind in any relation to this case should be directed to my attorney, David J.P. Kaloyanides, APLC, without exception.

I am trying to take full responsibility for my predicament. I consider the burden of legal fees ultimately mine to bear; I have independently raised the funds required to retain my attorney. However, it has definitely been by far the biggest expense I have ever faced in my entire life, and my resources are very limited while formidable costs shall continue to pile up. It’s beyond daunting, being a single independent citizen facing a full-force prosecution by the most powerful government in the world.

The United States Attorney’s Office has almost unlimited resources to prosecute. The FBI has nearly unlimited resources to investigate. And while by “resources” I mean taxpayer dollars of course, in this case they also have the added resource of the band’s lawyers, on which they have already relied.

Supporters have expressed an interest in contributing to a defense fund, so I’ve opened one up. You can send funds via PayPal to defense@antiquiet.com, or through this PayPal donation button:

We’ll be keeping track of every single contributor, and we’re exploring ways we can show our appreciation and thanks. If anyone out there wishes to donate anything our supporters may appreciate; CDs, concert tickets, anything- we’ll be happy to re-distribute them out to other donators, or auction them on eBay to benefit the defense fund. Either way, I will be auctioning off some of my own few valuable possessions, including a Gibson Les Paul BFG guitar that we may try and get autographed by one of the bands that Antiquiet has supported.

We’re open to all creative suggestions; direct any you may have to defense@antiquiet.com.

You can also send mail to our PO box, anonymously or otherwise. Checks can be made payable either to myself (Kevin Cogill) or my lawyer, David J.P. Kaloyanides, APLC.

Your donation and / or correspondence can be kept completely confidential if you so desire.

Thank you,
Skwerl

After five or so other cases were presented, the United States of America presented her case against Skwerl. The proceeding was mostly about what his bail was going to be set at. The U.S.A. requested bail be set at $50,000. Skwerl’s court-appointed attorney thankfully called B.S. on that one and recommended his bail be $5,000 and that this case is the kind of case where the defendant should have been summoned to appear instead of being accosted by five F.B.I. agents at his home in a quiet neighborhood.

Interestingly, the Judge chimed in to add that he had actually recommended that it be a summons case and wasn’t sure why it went down as it did. He also dismissed the idea presented by the U.S.A. that squirrels be forbidden to use the internet.

In the end, the Judge ruled that his bail be in the form of a signature bond at $10,000. What that means is that Skwerl has to remain within the Central District of California until his next court date or someone has to cough up that 10k. So for now, he’s home… Stay tuned.

Moving forward, a preliminary hearing has been scheduled for September 17th at 4:30 PM and the arraignment for September 22nd at 8:30 AM. Both will be at the U.S. District Court Building, and the address is 255 East Temple Street, Third Floor, in Downtown Los Angeles.

Skwerl, Johnny, and I appreciate your concern and warm wishes during these hard times as we deal with Democracy.

UPDATE 9/2/08: David J.P. Kaloyanides, ALPC has agreed to defend Skwerl, and we are now accepting donations to help cover extensive legal costs. More information here.

Skwerl got himself hauled in by the FBI today over this whole GNR / Chinese Democracy leak fiasco, which seems to mean that people take this whole copyright thing pretty seriously. We weren’t going to make a big spectacle of this, since it’s obviously a pretty serious situation, but the plankton hacks over at the Los Angeles Times managed to pick up on the story and run it a highly suspicious impressive two hours after the incident went down. So here we are.

In all likelihood, he’ll be back fighting the good fight from his couch by this evening. But anyone who feels like getting as equally theatrical as the feds (who were anything but quiet and graceful during their ass-crack-of-dawn descent on Skwerl’s sleepy house this morning) can come show their support with Britney and I today at the LA District Court on 255 East Temple. 2 PM. Bring your MP3 players.

In the meantime, well-wishes in the comments, lawyer-fund donations in the PO Box, and on we rock.

First of all, I was very selective about who I talked to about this story. The list is short: Joel Stein of TIME / LA Times, Andy Greene at Rolling Stone, Eliot Van Buskirk at Wired. I also sent a few brief emails to Maura at Idolator. I did a brief live interview, talking shit with Stretch of Maxim Radio, on Sirius Friday morning, and I did a live interview with Martin Stanford of Sky News in the UK. And finally, I did an email interview with UK industry insider magazine Record Of The Day, which I’ll post here next week. Also, with the exception of Maura, all of these people reached out to me first. I was not sending out press releases.

Any part of this story told by anyone not on this list should be taken as speculation or hearsay.

Second, let me clarify why we did it. If we posted an article simply stating that we had new Guns N’ Roses songs, there’s no chance in hell that anyone would believe it. Roughly two weeks prior to our little stunt, I posted an editorial entitled Crying Chinese Democracy, where I warned that not only would no one believe any marketing, promotion, or even rumors, until they saw or heard it, but that it would eventually slip out onto the internet anyway (as anyone would have reasonably predicted). And I theorized that it would be irrelevant either way; leak or no leak, I said that the only way the album would be a net success would be if the music was good enough to move units for years to come. I am right, and I’m confident that in time, my actions and their commercial repercussions (or lack thereof) will help prove it.

The most quoted piece was the most sensational one; the Rolling Stone article. I’ve got nothing against Andy Greene, but he’s a reporter, and he did his job and pulled the best story he could out of all that I told him. Here’s a couple less exciting, but more accurate ways he could have told the story:

I was quoted as referring to the first FBI visit as “kind of an ambush.” The truth is, the two FBI Special Agents were very discreet, and no one at my office even knew who they were or who they were there for, until I told them after in a brief, private heads-up. I was quoted as saying that it was “creepy” that they knew where I worked. I’m not an idiot, my resumé is easily found online and they’re the fuckin’ FBI. Andy was asking me silly things like “wasn’t that creepy, that they knew where you worked?” And if I said, “kinda, but…” he took it as a yes. Furthermore, not that Rolling Stone contradicted this, but to be clear, I invited them to my apartment the following day, picking the time myself, and gave them the files they were after. They didn’t bust in and raid my shit. Both encounters were mutually respectful.

No big deal. But I wanted to clarify that.

The only part that bothered me was when he quoted me as saying “it’s a legal grey area since it wasn’t for download.” I swear I’m not that ignorant. I’ve worked in the music industry, and I wouldn’t be so naïve. There were many questions about legal ramifications over the course of a few phone conversations, and I never had any clear answers. In one of the last ones, I had said who knows, it might be a grey area given that they weren’t up for download (what makes streaming different than unauthorized radio broadcasts?) …And as for ownership, the way I understand it is that while it was Axl’s lawyers that contacted me, it’s the record label that actually owns the recordings. I could be wrong, but I never claimed to be sure one way or the other, and I won’t now.

Joel Stein is a much better writer than Andy Greene, and as such his piece managed to be much more entertaining without the need for sensationalism. He told the story of a chance encounter with my girlfriend that brought us all together, mostly from his perspective. His editor cut a few important but boring paragraphs on the music industry, which I hope to get my hands on and post here at some point in time… But I expected that. Aside from a couple over-simplifications, I completely approve of the TIME story.

I’d like to recognize the guys at Wired for reporting the story responsibly and as accurately as possible. I’ve always been a big fan of Wired. I think I’ll finally subscribe, like I’ve been meaning to.
And Martin Stanford at Sky is awesome.

I originally reported that the tracks were “mastered, finished” versions. After one listen, compared to everything that had come before, I thought they were. Listening closer, some tracks sound like they could be, some not so much. I apologize for that assumption.

Many news outlets are alleging that the songs were given to me by either the record label, or the band’s management, and that it was all part of a publicity stunt to drum up hype for Chinese Democracy. Undercover goes so far as to doubt my very existence. Which I of course find hilarious. While I acknowledge that this has been the most believable and legitimate publicity the album could have possibly gotten after so many false alarms, I assure you that there’s no collusion. How fucked would that be, if they slipped me the album to leak, and then sent the FBI to mess with me?

I’ve been asked if my legal troubles are over. The answer is that they haven’t begun. I’ve only been questioned thus far. Any day now, I could get served with papers. All I can do in the meantime is hope for the best, and get back to business as usual here on Antiquiet. We’ve rocked this boat enough, and we’re moving on, God willing. This wasn’t the first, and it won’t be the last.

Six of the songs have previously leaked in unfinished form (There Was A Time, Better, Madagascar, IRS, Better and the title track), but these new versions are considerably more sharpened and polished, brimming with new dynamics, and clearly the closest thing to the real deal that any of us has ever heard. Two of the new songs are titled Riyadh And The Bedouins and If The World, while the third title is still unknown.

Does the music justify the wait? Let me put it this way: if ten of history’s greatest composers were brought back from the dead, formed a supergroup and decided to collaborate on what they hoped to be the greatest body of music ever written, how long would it take them? It’s a ridiculous hypothetical so we can’t say for sure, but the fact is that Axl came as close to that level of grandiosity as anyone ever has, enlisting nothing short of an army of the greatest living musicians and producers throughout the mythically laborous making of Chinese Democracy. If you’re asking whether or not any piece of music can justify a fifteen-year gestation period, the answer is, unequivocally, hell no.

But are these songs mind-blowingly awesome? Fuck yes they are.

Here’s a track-by-track rundown of what we’ve heard so far from the finished Chinese Democracy.

Riyadh And The Bedouins- Who knows what the hell Axl’s ranting about, but from the moment Robin Finck’s guitar suddenly appears out of the pulsing bass throb and binaurally slaps the shit out of you, there’s no turning back from this breakneck assault. The guitars are slick beasts of awesome, the melody is simple and irresistible, and the short breakdown is like surfacing for air before diving into an obscenely fantastic solo. The evidence of years of tinkering is clear on this one, where the smallest, slightest subtlety has been crafted to the millisecond and there’s overdubs hidden all over the place. It’s gorgeous, it’s amazing, and it’s exactly why I feel perfectly justified in freaking the hell out over this album.

Chinese Democracy- If you’re afraid of Ewoks or you’re tripping (and Jesus I hope you’re not both, man, or you’re fucked) hold on tight through the first minute or so. Rose comes screaming in like a massive, attacking mechanical falcon in what’s bound to be a crushing juggernaut of a song, shredding guitars layered through what sounds like Axl channeling a grizzly bear singing Cause it would take a lot more hate than you to even the fascination. Can’t help but love how he somehow legitimizes lines like Blame it on the Falun Gong… Who else but maybe Neil Fallon of Clutch could pull off references like that? The harmonies are a spine-tingling reminder of the glory days, bringing back the Paradise City wail in full force.

Madagascar- An anthem ballad that takes a page out of Illusion’s November Rain book, but without Slash’s searing solo. Chock full of orchestral arrangements, MLK and movie quotes, it feels both familiar and futuristic, classic and new. Rose’s initially low, gravely delivery contributes to the rising sound as the song builds, offering a sample-heavy breakdown and an even-energy return to the chorus rather than the big-payoff crescendo you’re expecting. One of the crucial bridges between the classic old GNR sound and the new, this track could easily be a single.

Better- This crushingly epic track begins as a muted nursery-rhyme melody over a distorted guitar whine, exploding into a fiercely addictive rocker infused with the blood of Use Your Illusion. A logical step forward from where GNR left off so many years ago, Rose’s narrative landscape and dramatic flair push the envelope just far enough to avoid alienating fans. With groundbreaking guitar work and a solo nothing short of brutally awesome, a screaming bridge and circular melody are a jaw-dropping guarantee that Chinese Democracy could move massive units based on this song alone- that is, if it’s ever released.

IRS- Acoustic to electric to acoustic then HUGE and back again, the song is mean and bi-polar, with a soaring vocal performance by the eagle-lunged Rose. The live drums add considerable depth to the song (the original leaked demo featured a hollow, programmed beat) but the hook lyrics add a cheese factor that the blistering intensity just doesn’t fully compensate for. Easily among the lower ranking tracks of the bunch, but it’s well above mediocrity.

New Song #2- I had an eyebrow fully cocked on this one until the chorus hit, somehow putting the rest of the song into context. That classic Axl power falsetto fits perfectly at home over a multi-instrumental onslaught like God’s orchestra (if God were into programmed beats, that is) on speed. A beautiful Massive Attack-esque piano finish ties this one off nicely.

If The World- Flamenco guitars? What the hell? This hot-summer-night bluesy jam can do no wrong and, despite being completely alien to anything ever to carry the GNR name, it’s perhaps the sexiest thing Axl’s ever pulled off. If the world would end today / All the dreams we had would all just fade away… Insightful? Not exactly. But the atmosphere is thick, sweet and glorious, and it wouldn’t be any surprise to see John Frusciante’s name in the liner notes of this one. 

The Blues- A clean, Elton John piano intro, matched with Rose’s trademark golden wail sends you back to a time when things were simpler, when all we had to worry about was Axl getting to the next show on time, instead of spending fifteen years making a goddamned album with everyone on earth but the actual members of Guns N’ Roses. All the love in the world couldn’t save you / all the innocence inside/ you know I tried so hard to make you / to make you change your mind. Not really, man. You holed up and hid from the world for a decade and a half. This song’s not great, in fact it’s the only song of the bunch worth skipping, but it’s put together well. 

There Was A Time- With a disarming rainforest church choir that fades into a trip-hop welcome mat, T.W.A.T. straps on a hell of a heavy load from the word go. Axl’s earnest, straight delivery over rising orchestral synths, a digital beat and a Slash-toned backdrop does more than hint that something of epic, anthemic proportions is headed our way, and we’re in good hands; Rose has always been a master architect of the wait-for-it moments of shining musical genius, and There Was A Time is no exception. The song freakin’ delivers. An unforgettable, shredding solo weaves perfectly into a choir of Axls as the song rapidly downshifts out, finishing the way it started. The individual pieces of this track are gorgeous on their own, but the sum of their parts are nothing short of one of the best Guns N’ Roses songs ever written. Yeah, it’s the Axl Rose project now, it doesn’t count as GNR- whatever. This song is fucking awesome.

Here’s to hoping recent events have lit a new fire under Mr. Rose, ’cause anticipation for Chinese Democracy is now more intense than ever. And if these tracks are any indication, we’re in for a hell of a ride once the full album hits.