Chinese Democracy he played me these songs, asked me my ideas about them... I actually wrote some melodies and stuff.The music was eclectic and at the time that I was doing it there were no lyrics on the songs that I was working on." In February 2001, Geffen head Jimmy Iovine asked Tom Zutaut, whom the label had fired two years previously, to help Guns N' Roses complete "Chinese Democracy". Zutaut was an A&R man who had discovered the band and guided them through the recording of their previous albums. After they had resolved some personal differences, Rose told Zutaut of his
Diecast (band) label Century Media. In addition the band shopped a 4 song demo to other labels with hopes to release a new album which never materialized. In addition to shopping new labels in late 2008, bassist Eddie Barton joined the band as a full-time replacement for Brad Horion. In August 2012, the band began recording its long-awaited fifth studio album. In December 2013, it was announced that recording of the album was on hold due to financial issues. In February 2014, it was announced that recording of the album would continue, and that it would be released in the spring or