The "New Album" Thread . The maybe, possibly, at some point, soon, whenever, wtf Axl thread🤞

[GoodOlJohnnyK]

It’s hard to argue with people’s tastes - you like what you like.

But I wish I could hear what everyone else hears with Perhaps and Atlas. They are just painful to listen to for me.

For the record, I’m hoping that there’s more in the vault than the Village Leaks, but I really don’t think so. And I’m really starting to think Axl doesn’t have any usable vocals on any of those songs other than Atlas, Perhaps, and SoG (another snoozer).

The only Village Leaks (outside of Hard Skool) that are interesting to me are Circus Maximus (and I like that more for potential of what it could turn into, rather than what it is) and Tonto, which I could see turning into a fun live tune with a proper vocal.

Unfortunately, I can’t envision Axl laying down vocals on any of these.

[Free Bird]

5 minutes ago, GoodOlJohnnyK said:

It’s hard to argue with people’s tastes - you like what you like.

But I wish I could hear what everyone else hears with Perhaps and Atlas. They are just painful to listen to for me.

For the record, I’m hoping that there’s more in the vault than the Village Leaks, but I really don’t think so. And I’m really starting to think Axl doesn’t have any usable vocals on any of those songs other than Atlas, Perhaps, and SoG (another snoozer).

...

Unfortunately, I can’t envision Axl laying down vocals on any of these.

You aren't to blame if you made it through this thread. It's a brainwashing thread and everybody who keeps responding to this football playing dude is responsible for that as well.

[ShadowOfTheWave]

Atlas is dull as dishwater. Perhaps has a great piano "riff", and great melodies and lyrics in the verses. The chorus is bland and the song is overall too repetitive however.

[GoodOlJohnnyK]

3 minutes ago, Free Bird said:

You aren't to blame if you made it through this thread. It's a brainwashing thread and everybody who keeps responding to this football playing dude is responsible for that as well.

I don’t know - I haven’t (and won’t) read 500+ pages of this shit, but as someone who’s been paying attention to Guns since the late 90s, it’s hard for me to disagree with Pele. 

[Free Bird]

1 minute ago, GoodOlJohnnyK said:

I don’t know - I haven’t (and won’t) read 500+ pages of this shit, but as someone who’s been paying attention to Guns since the late 90s, it’s hard for me to disagree with Pele. 

It’s not about agreeing or disagreeing with an opinion. It's about presenting an opinion as a fact over and over again.

[GoodOlJohnnyK]

3 minutes ago, Free Bird said:

It’s not about agreeing or disagreeing with an opinion. It's about presenting an opinion as a fact over and over again.

You seem like you know this thread better than I do, but I don’t get the “presenting opinion as fact” thing. This is a message board - we’re all presenting our opinions. Surely we don’t all preface our posts with “now this is just my opinion, but…”

[Gordon Comstock]

19 minutes ago, GoodOlJohnnyK said:

It’s hard to argue with people’s tastes - you like what you like.

But I wish I could hear what everyone else hears with Perhaps and Atlas. They are just painful to listen to for me.

For the record, I’m hoping that there’s more in the vault than the Village Leaks, but I really don’t think so. And I’m really starting to think Axl doesn’t have any usable vocals on any of those songs other than Atlas, Perhaps, and SoG (another snoozer).

The only Village Leaks (outside of Hard Skool) that are interesting to me are Circus Maximus (and I like that more for potential of what it could turn into, rather than what it is) and Tonto, which I could see turning into a fun live tune with a proper vocal.

Unfortunately, I can’t envision Axl laying down vocals on any of these.

 

What do you think of State Of Grace?

Atlas has some cool parts but it's kinda boring overall, it's like a weird middle-ground between CITR and Prostitute but it doesn't really work... it's another mid-tempo 'ballad' but it's kinda poppy and upbeat, and the transitions are clunky. Brian May is the clear highlight of the track IMO. Perhaps basically just needs another verse and a proper mix and it would be great.

Circus Maximus definitely has the potential to be turned into something epic. Zodiac, Tonto and State Of Grace seem like they should've been part of the same project, they fit well together.

[Martin Riggs]

4 minutes ago, GoodOlJohnnyK said:

I don’t know - I haven’t (and won’t) read 500+ pages of this shit, but as someone who’s been paying attention to Guns since the late 90s, it’s hard for me to disagree with Pele. 

Sometimes it’s crazy to think about how many years one has followed this saga of a band. On the one hand, some things have occurred that we never could have reasonably expected...On the other, so much wasted potential. Time waits for nobody so hopefully there’s some more cool shit planned and it actually happens before too long. 

[GoodOlJohnnyK]

17 minutes ago, Martin Riggs said:

Sometimes it’s crazy to think about how many years one has followed this saga of a band. On the one hand, some things have occurred that we never could have reasonably expected...On the other, so much wasted potential. Time waits for nobody so hopefully there’s some more cool shit planned and it actually happens before too long. 

Absolutely. I was 13 years old in 1999 and I thought I’d never get to see this band live. Then in 2002, they appeared at the VMAs for a truly bizarre performance, but I didn’t care because it got me excited for *something.* Then Chinese Democracy limped out *six fucking years* later and it both over and underwhelmed me at the same time. It was way better than I thought it’d be - I think it’s a great album - but it just kinda came out and then…nothing.

Then in 2016, with Slash and Duff rejoining, my fandom reached an absolute peak to the point where I even joined this fucking message board with you maniacs. And now…we’re pretty much still in the same spot, 5 years later.

A truly, truly bizarre saga.

 

 

[GoodOlJohnnyK]

34 minutes ago, Gordon Comstock said:

 

What do you think of State Of Grace?

Atlas has some cool parts but it's kinda boring overall, it's like a weird middle-ground between CITR and Prostitute but it doesn't really work... it's another mid-tempo 'ballad' but it's kinda poppy and upbeat, and the transitions are clunky. Brian May is the clear highlight of the track IMO. Perhaps basically just needs another verse and a proper mix and it would be great.

Circus Maximus definitely has the potential to be turned into something epic. Zodiac, Tonto and State Of Grace seem like they should've been part of the same project, they fit well together.

I’m not a fan of State of Grace. It never builds to anything. It just kinda plods along. There seems to be a lot of stuff like that on the Village Leaks - mid tempo, sludgy riffage that to my ears is pretty unremarkable unless it’s paired with an absolutely killer vocal melody, which State of Grace and Perhaps both do not have.

Zodiac, State of Grace, Perhaps, and even Tonto sound very dated now - they *sound* like the late 90s/early 2000s when that kind of stuff was at its peak. But that was a truly terrible time for hard rock for me, and revisiting it 20 years later isn’t something I’d be interested in hearing this band do.

What’s ironic is that, as Axl is finally getting around to releasing his attempt to “modernize” the Guns sound in the mid-late 90s with the trends of that day, the *classic* Guns sound would be more in vogue today.

To me, Tonto sounds like it could be easily “Slashed-up” to sound like classic Guns, a la Hard Skool and Absurd, but I’m not sure what Slash could do with State of Grace. There’s no strong melody there.

Atlas Shrugged is a complete song - there’s a melody there, just not one I like. It’s too major key for my tastes. The verse isn’t awful, I suppose, but the prechorus/chorus is dreadful. There’s no liftoff to the song either, just sort of the same dynamic through the entire song.

[WhazUp]

6 hours ago, Draguns said:

Whether you like it or not, Jarmo has a point. Slash is still being asked GNR questions. If GNR released an album now then the level of interest in SMKC would be diminished. It's actually common sense. 

Yeah, say what you will about Jarmo but it is logical

[SoulMonster]

6 hours ago, Pele said:

I believe there are no new songs and therefore we'll never hear any.

You think there are new songs but you'll always defend them as the years roll by without you hearing any.

Same result.  Nobody hears new songs.  I'm just not expecting them.

Are you moving the goalposts now? Let's be clear, we are both talking about more old songs being released after having been reworked by Slash and Duff. I am not talking about entirely new songs written by the triumvirate, because Slash has just stated such songs don't exist. So with us now being on the same page about "new songs" meaning songs that haven't been released before (hence "new") and that most people have never heard, then I can confidently say I expect that we will get to hear more such new songs next year and that this is the band's intention. We even got to hear two such new songs this year. 

So we are hearing such new songs, and you'd be a moron not to expect more such new songs when the band has expressed a desire to release them and we know they are finished.

[Free Bird]

9 minutes ago, WhazUp said:

Yeah, say what you will about Jarmo but it is logical

Slash will always get asked about GNR, he got to answer GNR questions even when he was 20 years out of the band. If there was a GNR record ready, why don't postpone the SMKC album? What Jarmo said would make sense for any other band, but everytime Slash releases a record, a few people try to convince others that he's responsible for the lack of new GNR material... totally ignoring the fact that there were years without a Slash record and still without a sign about a GNR album as well.

[Gordon Comstock]

13 minutes ago, GoodOlJohnnyK said:

I’m not a fan of State of Grace. It never builds to anything. It just kinda plods along. There seems to be a lot of stuff like that on the Village Leaks - mid tempo, sludgy riffage that to my ears is pretty unremarkable unless it’s paired with an absolutely killer vocal melody, which State of Grace and Perhaps both do not have.

Zodiac, State of Grace, Perhaps, and even Tonto sound very dated now - they *sound* like the late 90s/early 2000s when that kind of stuff was at its peak. But that was a truly terrible time for hard rock for me, and revisiting it 20 years later isn’t something I’d be interested in hearing this band do.

What’s ironic is that, as Axl is finally getting around to releasing his attempt to “modernize” the Guns sound in the mid-late 90s with the trends of that day, the *classic* Guns sound would be more in vogue today.

To me, Tonto sounds like it could be easily “Slashed-up” to sound like classic Guns, a la Hard Skool and Absurd, but I’m not sure what Slash could do with State of Grace. There’s no strong melody there.

Atlas Shrugged is a complete song - there’s a melody there, just not one I like. It’s too major key for my tastes. The verse isn’t awful, I suppose, but the prechorus/chorus is dreadful. There’s no liftoff to the song either, just sort of the same dynamic through the entire song.

 

The leaks obviously sound dated, but with Slash back in the band there's at least an album's worth of songs that could be Slash'd up, or given a 'modern UYI' kind of sound. Hardschool is more 'classic Guns' than most of the CD era so it's a step in the right direction, I guess. It was funny reading comments about Absurd sounding like a Prodigy song, though.

State of Grace is a slow-burner but I usually like those type of songs, it's kinda like Sorry but heavier. It's another one that has potential to be something great. Atlas is the song that I would say never really builds to anything.

[19AT5]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds the Village Leaks to be a pretty mundane listening experience. Granted I have only heard some of the instrumentals, of which Zodiac was the only one to really jump out at me, but it's difficult to get overly excited about a Tommy Stinson bass part (no offence Tam) played at +0.5db from August 2003... in 2021. 

For what it's worth (and I accept that is fuck all), up until hearing some of the leaks, I was likely fairly optimistic that Axl had some decent stuff up his back pocket. I was even excited about hearing Atlas Shrugged after reading some of the reviews here. Then I heard it and I vividly remember going "what the actual fuck is this bullshit!" It is 'that' chord change after the verse triggers me here! If that's the smoking gun in his arsenal... then it's about as much use as a limp tadger! That thing ain't firing any glory shots any time soon!

[SoulMonster]

6 hours ago, Pele said:

If you are still interested, when after 12 years of nothing, their 'new' single is a 20 year old awful throwaway, then it send a clear message they can deliver utter, utter garbage and people will still give them their money.

On the other hand, if you found Absurd to be great fun and Hard Skool to be a great rocker, then getting these songs after 12 years and also knowing additional songs is in the works, is a very great thing. 

There are so many fans who kind of endure the down time of this band, who slog through the years being frustrated about the lack of new music, but still keep on waiting and hoping, waiting and hoping, waiting and hoping, years after years, that eventually the band will release new music. Give me a cent for every time someone here with confidence has stated the band will never release anything ever again, and I'd buy me a soda. Some of these fans have been so very frustrated, so very close to giving up on the band. I feel tremendously happy for them and the fact that they got two new, original songs from GN'R this year and likely will get more next year. I can't really express how happy I am for them and that they are kind of being rewarded for their patience. 

And I get that some fans are unhappy because they didn't like Absurd (just like some fans were unhappy because they didn't like Better, or Ain't it Fun, or You Could Be Mine) and that some fans are unhappy that it won't be Slash songs that are released but rather reworked (and possible improved) Axl songs. I get it. Any individual songs are not for everybody and some fans have waited too long to now suddenly realize they don't care that much after all. That must be a bitter pill to swallow.

Still, GN'R is releasing music again. And that sentence really ought to be capitalized with a large font size. It is exactly what most fans have wanted for so long. It's great.

[Bansidhe]

26 minutes ago, 19AT5 said:

I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds the Village Leaks to be a pretty mundane listening experience. Granted I have only heard some of the instrumentals, of which Zodiac was the only one to really jump out at me, but it's difficult to get overly excited about a Tommy Stinson bass part (no offence Tam) played at +0.5db from August 2003... in 2021. 

 

Is that the one that sounds like the Grange Hill theme? Can't remember off hand but I've a feeling it was.

[19AT5]

8 minutes ago, SoulMonster said:

On the other hand, if you found Absurd to be great fun and Hard Skool to be a great rocker, then getting these songs after 12 years and also knowing additional songs is in the works, is a very great thing. 

There are so many fans who kind of endure the down time of this band, who slog through the years being frustrated about the lack of new music, but still keep on waiting and hoping, waiting and hoping, waiting and hoping, years after years, that eventually the band will release new music. Give me a cent for every time someone here with confidence has stated the band will never release anything ever again, and I'd buy me a soda. Some of these fans have been so very frustrated, so very close to giving up on the band. I feel tremendously happy for them and the fact that they got two new, original songs from GN'R this year and likely will get more next year. I can't really express how happy I am for them and that they are kind of being rewarded for their patience. 

And I get that some fans are unhappy because they didn't like Absurd (just like some fans were unhappy because they didn't like Better, or Ain't it Fun, or You Could Be Mine) and that some fans are unhappy that it won't be Slash songs that are released but rather reworked (and possible improved) Axl songs. I get it. Any individual songs are not for everybody and some fans have waited too long to now suddenly realize they don't care that much after all. That must be a bitter pill to swallow.

Still, GN'R is releasing music again. And that sentence really ought to be capitalized with a large font size. It is exactly what most fans have wanted for so long. It's great.

Jesus man, that's a bit rose tinted for me... sorry. Two songs released 12 years after the last album, which most fans had already heard before... excuse me if I leave the bunting in the cupboard! 😅

[SoulMonster]

As for the Village leaks. If I take many songs I like and strip away the vocals, I am left with something I wouldn't particularly appreciate. I am not one for instrumentals in general, especially not instrumentals that were written to accompany a vocal melody. Just take the version of Better found on the Village leaks. Is this an instrumental I would have listened to over and over again? Nope. Have I listened to Better from CD over and over again? Yep! So it is kind of easy to fall in the trap of expecting too much from instrumental tracks that are intended to have vocals. Still, there are definitely instrumentals and instrumental parts from the Village leaks that I enjoy as they are, either because they have cool riffs or solos or nice chord changes or arrangements. I absolutely believe that many of these instrumentals could be made into fantastic songs when Axl get to add his vocals to them. Take State of Grace. As as instrumental is it a grinding, slow builder. Add Axl's maniac vocals at the end and it becomes a master piece (in my opinion, of course). Another example is the early version of Shackler's found on the Village leaks. To me it is unbearable  But it was reworked into a proper song that I find to be one of the highlights on CD. Also a song like There Was A Time, which had vocals back then, has been tremendously lifted by the addition of Bucket's solo. Can Slash do something similar? YES.

In short: I see a lot of potential in the Village material and I can't wait to hear how some of these songs have evolved since then and with Slash and Duff's contributions. 

Then there is also a possibility that we get to hear songs that weren't part of the Village sessions. We know the band worked on music after this. This I Love, Prostitute and Scraped are not found on the Village session discs, neither is (likely) The General. What else exists? No one knows. Not even Pele (!). I am hoping we get to hear something we have never heard of before. Regardless, I am so 100% okay with getting Village material in updated versions. Bring it on!

2 minutes ago, 19AT5 said:

Jesus man, that's a bit rose tinted for me... sorry. Two songs released 12 years after the last album, which most fans had already heard before... excuse me if I leave the bunting in the cupboard! 😅

What do you mean? I am not saying these two songs suddenly make GN'R isn't a prolific band or anything  I am saying that if we can't be happy when the band we are hoping will release music, actually start releasing music - then what is wrong with us?

Edited October 27, 2021 by SoulMonster

[19AT5]

32 minutes ago, SoulMonster said:

What do you mean? I am not saying these two songs suddenly make GN'R isn't a prolific band or anything  I am saying that if we can't be happy when the band we are hoping will release music, actually start releasing music - then what is wrong with us?

Possibly too little too late for some folk? Plus the quality is not all that great? There's two subjective reasons as to why some fans are just like meh when it comes to new GNR. 

To provide an analogy... Axl is like the boy who cried wolf. He's promised so much, delivered so little, so when he does...

Edited October 27, 2021 by 19AT5

[SoulMonster]

2 minutes ago, 19AT5 said:

Possibly too little too late for some folk? Plus the quality is not all that great? There's two subjective reasons as to why some fans are just like meh when it comes to new GNR. 

Of course it is too little, too late...for us all  That's elementary, But if you are starving in the desert and then find a tiny trickling stream of water and realize it comes from an little oasis further up, then it is time to be happy, isn't it? You are not then going to sulk because you didn't find this water days ago? 

As for people not liking Absurd or Hard Skool. I think I made a point of saying that I get that some people don't like these songs, didn't I? That's entirely fine. Nowhere have I argued that people should be dancing in the streets over these songs. I was talking about the concept of Guns N' Roses releasing new music. Not raving about the qualities of Aburd  Still, even if you don't like these two songs, chances are you might like something that will be released in the future. And if you are confident that you won't, then that's not a big problem either, the world is full of great music and not everybody has to be a fan of GN'R anno 2022. You have already in quite a few posts over the last months pointed out that you aren't and take any opportunity to express your dislike for the released songs and the potential of the Village demos. We get it

[Bitchisback]

Just release something at this point.  We know it's coming, hard skool and absurd are both proof of that.  I like almost every GnR song I have ever heard.  CD2 might not be the best album ever created but I'm sure it'll be something I at least enjoy. I'm excited for SMKC4 and I'm excited for this too.  Bring on 2022!

 

[19AT5]

15 minutes ago, SoulMonster said:

You have already in quite a few posts over the last months pointed out that you aren't and take any opportunity to express your dislike for the released songs and the potential of the Village demos. We get it

You're clearly not reading properly then sir. Because I've also said I think Hard Skool is a decent track... let down by bad production. Over quite a few posts. In a quite a few weeks. Which I have confidence you will get! 🙂🙃

[Alexmee239]

If HS or Atlas Shrugged, the same songs as they are now would've been released on lets say UYI, nobody would complain about them and ppl would say they are great songs. It's all a matter of timing and perception.

[MildlyArtistic]

Some goof on Reddit is pretending they've got access to songs called "Devious Bastard" and "Zodiac 13" with vocals and posting absolutely zero evidence lmao