As has been the history of Guns N' Roses, pure silence ensued for most of 2003, 2004, and 2005, save for a heartfelt press release being issued by Axl in March of 2004 in which he informed the fan base that Buckethead was no longer a member of the band. At the end of the letter he expressed that they hoped to announce a release date for Chinese Democracy "within the next few months." Those months would come and go and fans would have to wait until early 2006 before hearing any other concrete news from the band, or seeing the band perform live. In another strange twist, while in New York City preparing for their warm-up performance before the band's European tour, Axl Rose wound up making a surprise visit on Eddie Trunk's radio show after his friend Sebastian Bach called him during a guest appearance. During the show, Axl would disclose that the new CD would come out in the Fall, after their tour of Europe. The band would go on to tour 21 countries and perform over 70 concerts in 2006, but the year would finally come to a close without the release of a new album. On December 14th Axl would write another heartfelt letter to the fans expressing his and the band's gratitude toward the fans, and the hope that the band would be able to release Chinese Democracy in March of the following year.

The band would go on to perform concerts in the summer of 2007 outside the U.S., but the year would come and go without any further word on their decade in the making album. Further mystique would surround the album as the soft drink company Dr. Pepper issued a challenge to the band on March 25th of this year. In the challenge, Dr. Pepper promises to give everyone in America, save for Slash and Buckethead, a free can of Dr. Pepper if Chinese Democracy is released anytime in 2008. A few days later, as a possible sign that 2008 may in fact finally be the year, Axl responded that the challenge came out of the blue, but that he would share his Dr. Pepper with Buckethead since his contributions will be heard on the record.

As 2008 slowly began to slip away, there became more and more signs that this may finally be the year that the world would get a chance to hear a new Guns N' Roses record. In July it was announced that a new song by Guns N' Roses would be released on the video game Rock Band 2. Then, months later, rumors abounded that Best Buy would be the exclusive seller of the new CD, and that another track ("If The World") would appear in the credits of the film Body of Lies, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe. Finally, on October 22nd, the band announced an official release date of November 23rd along with the airing of their first single "Chinese Democracy," which can be heard on their official website GunsNRoses.com.

For fans, and even casual observers, the wait has been excruciatingly long. No doubt, it's been an even more excruciating wait for the band and all involved in releasing this album. The full story for the reason behind the delays, and certain tour cancellations, may never be fully explained, but as of November 23rd it will no longer matter. It'd be impossible for any album to live up to the hype and anticipation of a 17 year wait for new material, and this album shouldn't have to be judged alone by that factor. Instead, it should be judged by its own merits and the quality of the music.

All of us at Wicked Info hope for an enjoyable album that will serve as a relaunch for one of the greatest rock bands of this generation. Guns N' Roses has long been a band full of mystery and intrigue, and that's one of the reasons why they have such a strong fan base. For fans, the wait is sometimes what makes the band relevant and worth caring about; whether it's waiting for the band to come on stage a bit late (and the excitement factor of asking the fans next to you "Do you think they'll show?"), or waiting for an album that has long been talked about but not heard. On November 23rd, you too can finally sit back, drink a Dr. Pepper and judge Chinese Democracy for yourself.

The current band lineup and album details are as follows.

Lead Singer - Axl Rose
Guitar - Robin Finck, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal, Richard Fortus
Bass - Tommy Stinson
Drums - Frank Ferrer, Bryan "Brain" Mantia
Keyboards - Dizzy Reed, Chris Pitman

Tracklist:

1. Chinese Democracy
2. Shackler's Revenge
3. Better
4. Street of Dreams
5. If The World
6. There Was A Time
7. Catcher In The Rye
8. Scraped
9. Riad N' The Bedouins
10. Sorry
11. I.R.S.
12. Madagascar
13. This I Love
14. Prostitute

To take advantage of Dr. Pepper's offer, visit DrPepper.com on November 23rd and register to receive a coupon for a free 20-oz. Dr. Pepper. The registration will only be open for 24 hours, so you must register on November 23rd if you wish to receive a free Dr. Pepper.