THE GENERAL - MONSTERS - Official Discussion Thread. NO LINKS OR ASKING FOR LINKS

[Sonic Reducer]

With so many people praising them I'm hoping that what I listened to on YouTube was not the official version and was instead some fake stuff by fans or something.

[bangit]

Still nothing picked up in the music media.... Probably don't give much of a shit! Interesting though. This stuff normally gets coverage. 

[GNFNRUK]

FYI (because it’s been discussed here) the majority of fans on Reddit like the SKOOL bell on HS…

 

The poll results are in!!

 

[Coma16]

6 minutes ago, GNFNRUK said:

FYI (because it’s been discussed here) the majority of fans on Reddit like the SKOOL bell on HS…

 

The poll results are in!!

 

Means nothing, Reddit is full of beta males

[Mikey Whipwreck]

12 minutes ago, GnR Chris said:

I really don’t understand why some people think GNR’s management or the band leaked the songs. This would have been a valid conspiracy theory 20 years ago, maybe. But there is no reason to leak songs now. You can surprise drop them on Spotify and Apple Music.

There is no net gain for them to purposely leak songs. It isn’t “great marketing.” No one outside of diehard GNR fans knows right now. 

It’s just another GNR clusterfuck. The type we’ve become accustomed to. They could have dropped them on Halloween and then maybe said a few words about the songs and the meaning behind them. But they could have done a lot of things that they just refuse to do.

A very GNR chain of events. Letting fans know one day before the release that it was delayed, initially with no explanation. Followed with a brief social media post a day or two later blaming vinyl quality. 

A semi-competent operation would have announced the delay earlier, with full details, and a digital release. 

"We regret to inform you that the vinyl copies we received did not meet an acceptable standard of quality. As a result, physical shipments have been delayed until December 8. The General and Monsters will be released for digital purchase and streaming on October 27."

Everyone is happy. But no. That would be too simple and logical.

[GnR Chris]

“Hard Skool” becoming school-themed is cheesy as hell, even if we suspect the locker image was a nod to the locker leaks. The bell made me think it was fake when I first heard it (which wasn’t on Spotify yet in the US). Or that someone put it in the real song as a joke. I still hate the bell. Not a dealbreaker.

Someone mentioned Alice Cooper’s “School’s Out,” but the lyrics are literally about school ending. “Hard Skool” has nothing to do with actual school.

[Cosmo]

6 minutes ago, GnR Chris said:

“Hard Skool” becoming school-themed is cheesy as hell, even if we suspect the locker image was a nod to the locker leaks. The bell made me think it was fake when I first heard it (which wasn’t on Spotify yet in the US). Or that someone put it in the real song as a joke. I still hate the bell. Not a dealbreaker.

Someone mentioned Alice Cooper’s “School’s Out,” but the lyrics are literally about school ending. “Hard Skool” has nothing to do with actual school.

That school bell is cringe AF. The single cover is also pretty cheesy. Even if it's a nod to the locker leaks. 99.9% of the people would never know, and it would give that Green Day Dookie vibe that's so outdated and cringe.

[Chris 55]

7 minutes ago, GnR Chris said:

“Hard Skool” becoming school-themed is cheesy as hell, even if we suspect the locker image was a nod to the locker leaks. The bell made me think it was fake when I first heard it (which wasn’t on Spotify yet in the US). Or that someone put it in the real song as a joke. I still hate the bell. Not a dealbreaker.

Someone mentioned Alice Cooper’s “School’s Out,” but the lyrics are literally about school ending. “Hard Skool” has nothing to do with actual school.

I think it was because it had "school" in the title. I never would have tied the locker image with the storage locker. That's a bit of a stretch 

[Skamos66]

58 minutes ago, estrangedtwat said:

"would have"

literally, nobody cares. Bro has to be a Dadud alt account or something, constantly instigating lol. It's a GNR forum not an honors english class. 🤣

[chester]

39 minutes ago, GNFNRUK said:

FYI (because it’s been discussed here) the majority of fans on Reddit like the SKOOL bell on HS…

 

The poll results are in!!

 

Reddit is a cesspool.

[Petr]

I cannot stop listening to Monsters. For me it is one of the best GNR songs, I can't help it. The smile is not leaving my face when the song is on - Axl's bridge, the chilled choruses and guitar solo. Both Slash and Axl on this song are just wow. Somehow the song reminds me of Sympathy for the Devil and Sentimental Movie but simply different league/level. 

[Skamos66]

This basically confirms there is a digital release pending right? Having metadata would mean there is a digital version, so not just vinyl exclusive. 

[ShadowOfTheWave]

1 hour ago, Tom2112 said:

Well... That's kinda bullshit. I get that we're underserved with new music and info and treated with a bit of contempt (well this forum) but when the band is actually putting stuff out and they are just trying to get the quality of the finished product up to their standard AND then someone leaks the tracks? I think that's a bit shit of whoever leaked it.

Yes, they should have announced the delay earlier than the day after the original shipping date😄, but whatever! A few extra weeks is no big deal. We want it all yesterday. When we had nothing it was "I'd just like to hear anything" then we got one song, then it became "when are they releasing more". Underserved but we're also insatiable.

Anybody still hoping for gnr to suddenly be this slick operation that hits all the targets, nope. That is never going to happen. Would be great, but no. 

It's not just that they should have announced the delay before the last minute. They should have had their ducks in a row with the mix before they made it available to pre-order back in August. Hell, per Slash these reworkings we're done during 2020 and they were still listening to mixes in June of this year while on tour. Insanity. So I don't have any sympathy for them on this either. Is it wrong to release someone else's content without their permission? Yeah, but not to the extent that I have to feel sorry for them in this case. They've had years to work on getting this right.

[Petr]

9 minutes ago, chester said:

Reddit is a cesspool.

 

12 minutes ago, chester said:

Reddit is a cesspool.

I don't know, maybe it is weird for Americans and others that have this bell sound at school. As ours is different I do not find it cheesy. Would the song work without it? Absolutely. 

I always found the Robin's demo guitar intro weird (while I actually really appreciate his other CD stuff) so I am much happier with Duff's bass that make it sound more GNR-esque.

[Petr]

1 hour ago, Sonic Reducer said:

With so many people praising them I'm hoping that what I listened to on YouTube was not the official version and was instead some fake stuff by fans or something.

First time I heard the songs on the phone I thought it might be fake. Not anymore. No one but Axl could possibly create this. So unique.

[betterman]

1 hour ago, Sonic Reducer said:

They both sound terrible, I'm glad they were not included in CD. Even Absurd sounds better and that's the weakest single they've released so far.

You cant be serious! 

The general and Monsters are the two best GNR songs since CD and also better than at least half of CD.

[megaguns1982]

24 minutes ago, Petr said:

I cannot stop listening to Monsters. For me it is one of the best GNR songs, I can't help it. The smile is not leaving my face when the song is on - Axl's bridge, the chilled choruses and guitar solo. Both Slash and Axl on this song are just wow. Somehow the song reminds me of Sympathy for the Devil and Sentimental Movie but simply different league/level. 

I feel the same, personally I think it’s better than anything they’ve done pre 1993

[jacdaniel]

3 hours ago, THELINESMAN said:

Slash needs to write a new riff, Axl needs to write new lyrics and sing to the riff, repeat X 10, killer album 

Yeah pretty much. 

A back to basics, simple approach would be great. 

[Nick85]

As good as these are, the audio quality (likely a result of however these were ripped) is still quite poor. I expect the actual release to sound much more crisp. 

[F*ck Fear]

After a dozen listens of both tracks I ha e to admit that while I like things about The General musically, the lyrics leave a lot.to be desired. Not really my cup of tea. Maybe a better mix with the official release will change that.

Monsters is an absolute beast, though. I have a hard time understanding people who prefer Absurd.

[GnR Chris]

12 minutes ago, betterman said:

You cant be serious! 

The general and Monsters are the two best GNR songs since CD and also better than at least half of CD.

He probably doesn’t like Chinese Democracy either. 

9 minutes ago, jacdaniel said:

Yeah pretty much. 

A back to basics, simple approach would be great. 

Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators

This thread is basically a loop at this point. So I’ll say again if GNR ever do go back to a “simpler” song, then I hope it’s an acoustic number like “You’re Crazy” or “Patience.” That would be dope.

[kiwiguns]

29 minutes ago, ShadowOfTheWave said:

It's not just that they should have announced the delay before the last minute. They should have had their ducks in a row with the mix before they made it available to pre-order back in August. Hell, per Slash these reworkings we're done during 2020 and they were still listening to mixes in June of this year while on tour. Insanity. So I don't have any sympathy for them on this either. Is it wrong to release someone else's content without their permission? Yeah, but not to the extent that I have to feel sorry for them in this case. They've had years to work on getting this right.

You seem to think the band has control over this process. I put it to you that they don't and the process is being forced upon the band by the record label. We know for a fact, that the live era release was driven by the record label and individual band members stepped in to tidy up the mix as they weren't happy with what they had heard.. 

Perhaps interms of quality and video production has the signs of the band being fully involved in the process.

I would not be surprised if the video content recorded by the band on tour used in the Perhaps video is exclusively owned by Guns N Roses. 

UMG are on the other side of the fence as the aren't making money from the band touring... 

To me, the record label are trying to get in on the money wagon, and the band have pushed back, via controlling the product, taking there time collectively (Axl, Slash and Duff) to make sure its right. 

 

 

Edited October 31, 2023 by kiwiguns

[jafeijo]

5 hours ago, bangit said:

and down the rabbit hole we go.... 🤣  

Lots of speculation about that one, largely assumed that is him on Monsters but debate exists on TG because it appears to be less certain that it's the final version. 

My 50 cents on the leaks (been away from the forum last couple of weeks and this happens) 🤯

Monsters:
To my ears it's cristal clear that Slash/Duff are present, not a doubt. Not only the guitar parts but the overall harmony progression differs from all we've heard from the CD era (despite the odd mix and odd guitar tone), the song gives me a Velvet Revolver meets Trent Reznor/NIN kind of vibe.

Very excited to hear a final version of this song, since it's clearly a rough mix. 

The General:

Awesome song, didn't like that much at first listen but it grew on me. The vocals are a bit weak for my taste, as if it was Axl's first take. Also, am I the only one who gets the impression that this one comes from a lot earlier than the Monsters? The mix is raw, very much like the The Village Leaks. Wonder if this is any close to final mix we're getting in December.

[Nick85]

2 minutes ago, F*ck Fear said:

After a dozen listens of both tracks I ha e to admit that while I like things about The General musically, the lyrics leave a lot.to be desired. Not really my cup of tea. Maybe a better mix with the official release will change that.

Monsters is an absolute beast, though. I have a hard time understanding people who prefer Absurd.

Agreed. The chorus is strong, but like many of Brain’s remixes, it repeats/goes through the same basic musical elements throughout and isn’t much of a journey. Monsters, on the other hand, ticks all the boxes and gets richer with every listen.

[jafeijo]

4 minutes ago, GnR Chris said:

You cant be serious! 

The general and Monsters are the two best GNR songs since CD and also better than at least half of CD.

That Tommy Stinson interview where he express frustration by mentioning that his favorite songs didn't make the CD comes to mind.