The biggest shock, given the protracted recording time, is that it's not a self indulgent mess. It's also not as bad as some of the reviews are making out. It's obvious that it's not a master piece but it is a good record (especially if your a fan) and whilst you can't here a whole 15 years of work you can hear that it's been painstakingly put together and obsessed over.
Guns N' Roses main asset was always Axl's trademark voice and it remains in fine fettle on all the songs on this album. There's plenty of variety too. There's hints of Industrial, Nu Metal, Flamenco guitars and on at least one of the piano based songs hints of Meat Loaf too. But it's never less than exciting.
At 14 songs and 70 minutes it's probably a touch over long. The first six tracks are despatched and each one is good.. At this point your thinking the wait, while not perhaps worth it (Could any album be worth a 15 year wait? I think not), has certainly produced the goods.. A couple of songs in the middle drag but the run to the finish line produces some quite epic numbers.
The lyrics are probably the weakest part.. there's some great couplets and lines but Rose apparently still thinks everyones 'Outta to get me' just like they where during Appetite for Destruction. The rest seems to concern his epic heartbreak and he doesn't hold back.
To summarise it's a good if not great record thats better than it has a right to be really. Let's hope the next one doesn't take another fifteen years.
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