Guns N' Roses States. ""The Spaghetti Incident?"" (1993), an album of covers, was the band's last studio album to feature Slash and McKagan. "Chinese Democracy" (2008), Guns N' Roses' long-awaited sixth studio album, was released after more than a decade of work and several lineup changes. At an estimated $14 million in production costs, it is the most expensive rock album in history. It debuted at number three on the "Billboard" 200, but undersold industry expectations despite mostly positive critical reception. Slash and McKagan rejoined the band in 2016 for the Not in This Lifetime... Tour, which became the second-highest-grossing concert tour of
Chinese Democracy Geffen had removed "Chinese Democracy" from its release schedule and withdrawn funding, stating: "Having exceeded all budgeted and approved recording costs by millions of dollars, it is Mr. Rose's obligation to fund and complete the album, not Geffen's." Around that time, manager Merck Mercuriadis said the album was close to complete. According to a March 2005 "New York Times" article, production costs for the album had reached $13 million, making it probably the most expensive recording "never made". Mercuriadis dismissed the article, writing in a letter that the newspaper's sources had not been involved with the project for several years.