Guns N' Roses: 15 Obscure Tracks You've Probably Never Heard

5. "Checkmate"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIABzOU37m0 Source: Demo clip "Checkmate" isn't the actual title for the track we're discussing here. In fact, aside from the band and close associates, there's really no one who can confirm for sure what this track is. Only a few seconds of it exist, but it's worth a listen, and it got some fans salivating a few years back. In an online interview, Axl Rose referred to it as "Jackie Chan" but that's more than likely a working title. Somewhere between what we eventually got on Chinese Democracy (basically Use Your Illusion III with a few samples and synthesizers thrown in) and Oh My God, "Checkmate" was an aggressive sounding clip that held promise. How did it get into the wild? As the story goes, in 2006 a selection of songs were leaked to one DJ Razz of IllitPress. The person responsible claimed to have worked with the band, and Razz contacted GN'R management to report him, with the hopes of scoring some VIP treatment. Meanwhile, along with more common songs, the "checkmate" clip was included as proof that there was more out there to be had. The name was tongue-in-cheek, as there had been questions about whether the leaker really had more material, or was bluffing. Thus Razz wound up with the proof, and turned it over the management, the leaker was stopped, but Razz, unhappy that he didn't get more of a reward, played the clip on his radio show - though in very rough quality.