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Guns N' Roses - "Shackler's Revenge" Review
Axl takes a trip into hyper industrio pop metal.
by Spence D.

September 16, 2008 - The hype and circumstance surrounding the eventual release of Chinese Democracy is so thick you'd need a chainsaw dosed in napalm, lit on fire, and buzzing at 33,000 RPM just to cut through it.

Axl Rose's charge to resurrect the GnR name in modern times has been plagued by the worst of all demons: delay. For whatever reasons Rose has yet to make good on his promise to release a new GnR album, other than give us a title, a few start-and-stop live shows, and "Shackler's Revenge," the first "official" release from his camp. Keep in mind that even though Rose has jumped on the Rock Bandwagon, he still has yet to announce an official release date for the album (which by all rumored accounts is finished).

Honestly it's tough to review "Shackler's Revenge" without slipping into a slight Op/Ed mode. Furthermore, it's nigh impossible to listen to the "new" GnR and not compare it to the "old" GnR. If Axl didn't want the comparisons he should have jettisoned the name and started fresh (but c'mon, GnR is nothing more than a b(r)and at this stage of the game anyway. Besides since Coke survived the whole "New" versus "Classic" debacle, chances are Rose will ride this one out as well).

To put aside all the baggage that comes with the names Axl Rose and Guns n' Roses'”if only for a moment--and judge the track on a purely musical platform, "Shackler's Revenge" sounds unforgettably dated. The core elements of the track sound as if they have been culled from early NIN, pre-Mechanical Animals Manson, and leftovers from the short-lived Nu Metal push of the late '90s. Toss in some Motley Crue circa Dr. Feelgood and some pop hooks that sound like think Bon Jovi on steroids and you've got the nuts and bolts of the song. It's rife with sorely outdated and somewhat cliché musical ideas; it sounds as if it were recorded 10 years ago, locked away in a vault, and just recently dusted off.

Driving detuned skirl licks and thickly treated wah-wah rhythm guitar kick start the whole affair. Axl's voice starts off in a low Stygian stepchild mumble that eventually fades out to a shell of his former caterwaul greatness. His voice growls, careens, and weaves around the speedball cadence of the music, grinding to the turgid beat with delayed frenzy. More often than not his trademark timbre gets buried underneath a wall of industrial tinged aural slop. Since this is a GnR track and guitar has always been at the core of any good GnR song, there is the requisite solo, albeit a brief one. Tucked into the middle of the track it's a short burst of crystalline riffage that ultimately feels just as generic as the rest of the song itself.

Despite the routine nature of "Shackler's Revenge", repeated listens eventually find the track soaking into your pores, but only because of its innocuous intent. This is meth fueled ear candy for the ADHD set and nothing more.

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that "Shackler's Revenge" will be a hit on commercial radio; it's the kind of neo-generic metal-cum-industrial-cum-modern rock mash-up that the general populace has come to embrace with open arms these days (if only because that's all they're being offered on a mass scale). Additionally, at a mere 3:43 running length, it's been time-tailored perfectly for FM radio's short attention span programming style.

What made early GnR so seminal was that their music was born out of sense of desperation, depravity, and hunger (not to mention the band's well known battle with heroin and other substances). There was an urgency to the music that made it connect with the masses and still makes it relevant to this day (this is the case with all lasting music, really). And yes there was Slash, a bona fide axe slayer who embodied the sheer essence of rock 'n roll at a time when most folks had forgotten what it meant to be a rock and roll musician.

In stark contrast "Shackler's Revenge" reeks of affluence, sounding more like a one-time wizard of rock playing with ProTools and faceless hired guns in his bedroom palace, creating a song that will ultimately be a disposable hit without any legs to stand on. It's the sound of a man who no longer battles addiction, flirts with Victoria's Secret models, and plays Jagger to Slash's Richards. Instead it's the sound of a musical recluse who has lost touch with the ideals and emotions of his core audience. To this end "Shackler's Revenge" is ultimately a sad, sad song.

Once upon a time GnR were the leaders of the pack, with other bands emulating their style and sound. Now it just sounds as if Axl is grasping at musical straws. After making fans wait for more than a decade for new material, to unleash a song that sounds this slapped together is a travesty. Shouldn't the fans deserve more? After all they're the ones who made Axl famous in the first place.

I was wondering if GnR fans would be disappointed if an official version of "Chinese Democracy" was released before Christmas that basically featured the 9 leaked songs from Antiquiet plus "Shackler's Revenge?"  I personally think what we heard in June was what Axl planned for Geffen to release eventually as Chinese Democracy.  But since that version was leaked they dusted off "Shackler's Revenge" from the studio archives to spark renewed interest in the record. 

Would people be disappointed with only getting a 10 song, appx 50 minute long Guns n Roses album after the 15 year wait?  Or would longtime fans just be happy that Chinese Democracy is actually done & in the stores, so Axl can get on with his life and musical career? 

Considering the tracks "Chinese Democracy," "Madagascar," "Riyadh & The Bedouins" and "The Blues" have been circulating in live form since 2001.  And "Better," "I.R.S." and "There Was A Time" have been around for 3 years, the only actual "new" tracks we'd be hearing are "Prostitute (new song 2)," "If The World" and "Shackler's Revenge."  I personally hope Axl fills out the remaning 15 minutes of space on the CD with some brand new tracks:  "Thyme," "General," "This I Love," or anything in the vein of "Shacker's Revenge" which is killer.   

Of course Axl and his management could always claim "all this music is new.  If you downloaded the leaks it's your fault these songs sound old."  Of course over half of them were performed live by the band so I guess people shouldn't have attended the concerts either.  Since the live versions we heard aren't that different than the studio ones. 

What do you all think?