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Guns N’ Roses fans, the wait is over.


“Chinese Democracy,” the title track from the band’s first studio album since 1991, was released Wednesday to radio stations. The track was also available online, where it was streaming on various Web sites.

Was the wait worth it? Axl Rose is the only band member left standing from the band’s original incarnation, which has sold 100 million records, and so this is essentially a solo project.


Nor is Rose’s voice the track’s most prominent feature. It sits inside layers of guitars that sound way fancier than anything original Gunners guitarists Slash or Izzy Stradlin might have played.


The track indicates that Rose hasn’t gone soft. But the wanky technical prowess is no substitute for a great song.

Beneath the six-string buzz there really isn’t much of a melody, or even a memorable hook. After 17 years, this is the best tune Rose could conjure for the lead single?


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