I'll admit it — I wasn't a believer before tonight. Until my ears were physically christened with the opening notes to the title track of Chinese Democracy soaring through my thoroughly overwhelmed computer speakers as it streamed off of the Guns N' Roses MySpace page, I did not believe that Axl Rose would wade through the insanity of his genius and bring us what has become the Holy Grail of rock music.

But what once seemed like an untouchable, unattainable vision in the head of a madman — destined never to be realized – has now thankfully become reality. And those fans who have yearned for years to once again gain access to the ingeniously conceptual and chaotically invigorating world of rock and roll that only Rose can create will not be disappointed.

Chinese Democracy is the ultimate rock and roll album. It announces GNR's reemergence in the world of metal with a sonic explosion that cuts through the status quo like a razor blade, beautifully sharp and piercingly deadly. Axl combines the raw ferocity of Appetite for Destruction with the soaring and dramatic compositional approach the band took on their Use Your Illusions albums, combining those formidable forces in a shell of layered, electronic sound that is thick and powerful. Electronic beats and melodies pour over Axl's ballads like the lofting "Streets of Dreams" and rage over rockers like the buzzsaw guitar-laced jam "Better," creating an affluence of sound that assaults and consumes its audience completely.    

Every note and every vocal coursing through this record are placed perfectly into the overall mosaic that only an artist like Axl can create. Each track is strong in its own intrinsic way, drawing on the various influences that swirl through his consciousness, giving the listener a unique sensory experience as they journey through the landscape of the record as it unfolds.

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