10 Modern Classics By Old Bands
8. Shackler's Revenge - Guns N Roses
Once most of Guns N Roses abruptly quit the band in the late 90's, Axl Rose was the only one left of the original lineup to carry on the band's name. In 1994, the band began working on the follow-up to their massively successful double records Use Your Illusion. Fans waited with baited breath...and waited...and waited.
After much delay and crazy anticipation, Guns N Roses released Chinese Democracy in 2008 and was met with incredibly mixed viewpoints. The album reaks of overproduction, with some songs being great and some feeling like afterthoughts. On the good side, "Shackler's Revenge" is probably the closest Axl comes to capturing the old school GNR magic.
Starting like a horror movie, this song creeps around like a cobra while tempos shift from sleazy to manic at a moment's notice. While the chorus does leave a bit to be desired, Rose's voice is the closest he sounds to his Appetite for Destruction days. The song also features a list of modern guitar wizards who shred across the track's breaks.
The initial camaraderie did not really come out in full force on Chinese Democracy, but "Shackler's Revenge" shows that when Rose was at his most misguided, he could still deliver a fiery rock and roll stomper.