6/19/2008

The (very brief) Rise and Fall of 'Democracy'

Yesterday afternoon the folks at Antiquiet briefly posted on their website six allegedly mastered tracks and three previously unheard demos from the loooooooooooong-awaited Guns 'n' Roses album Chinese Democracy. The songs were loaded onto a media player in streaming audio for all the world to hear. Well, not quite.

Prompted by reps from the GnR camp, the site disabled the player almost as soon as it had set it up and apologized for the leak. Antiquiet may face legal repercussions for the unauthorized post. Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, after 15 years and a supposed $13 million in recording costs, Chinese Democracy has allegedly been completed and GnR management is said to be negotiating with the band's label for a release. Not counting the covers album, The Spaghetti Incident? (1993) and the Greatest Hits compilation (2004), the band has not released an album since 1991's Use Your Illusion I and II. GnR's classic 1987 debut, Appetite for Destruction has sold over 15 million copies in the US and 28 million worldwide. It is the fourth best selling debut in US history.