Guns N' Roses Album Chinese Democracy This November

The impossible is suddenly possible! We all knew it was coming; we just didn't think we would live that long. I speak not of the rapture, but of the long-awaited album Chinese Democracy from Guns N' Roses, whom you most likely recognize from songs such as "Welcome to the Jungle," "Sweet Child o' Mine," and "November Rain." Yes, Chinese Democracy is being released on November 23! Yeah, this year! I couldn't believe it either. Guns N' Roses last original studio album, Use Your Illusion, was released in 1991. If you do the math, that is a 17 year gap in Guns N' Roses studio albums (I know, I'm good).

It was a long journey, Chinese Democracy. We laughed, we cried. Well, we mostly cried. As a teaser and a way to make Harmonix and MTV happy, Guns N' Roses released a song from Chinese Democracy for Rock Band 2 called "Shackler's Revenge." Here's another fun anecdote: on March 26, 2008, Dr. Pepper announced that they would give everyone in America a free can of Dr. Pepper if Guns N' Roses released Chinese Democracy in 2008. I sincerely hope they do, if for no other reason than to laugh at Dr. Pepper for being wrong. They can expect a low profit margin in the next fiscal quarter, that's all I'm saying about it.

The history of Chinese Democracy is a tumultuous one. It all started back in 1994, when Axl Rose announced plans to start recording the new Guns N' Roses album. Unfortunately, conflicts among Guns N' Roses band members led to a slight delay. Recording resumed again in 1998 at Rumbo Recorders. Guns N' Roses made a few changes to the line-up: guitarist Buckethead and drummer Bryan "Brain" Mantia. If you follow the history of their tours after this point, it's somewhat humorous: they missed many, many shows. Still, fans around the world have been screaming Guns N' Roses songs since the 80's, and it's good to hear that Chinese Democracy is actually coming.

More recently, Guns N' Roses has had songs featured in Guitar Hero 2 and Guitar Hero 3: "Sweet Child o' Mine" and "Welcome to the Jungle," respectively. This undoubtedly has led to a revival in Guns N' Roses popularity, especially among younger generations. Earlier this year, a young man named Kevin Cogill leaked nine songs from Chinese Democracy on his blog and was charged with a felony. Clearly the anticipation for Chinese Democracy has reached a fever pitch. Stay tuned in the next month for more news about Chinese Democracy, which is set to hit Best Buy on November 23 as an exclusive retailer. Even better, Chinese Democracy is said to be only one album in a new trilogy of Guns N' Roses albums, and the next one can be expected in a few years. Who knows, it might be American Socialism by then.