Chinese Democracy a "toe-tapper". Early Guns N' Roses guitarist Tracii Guns said he thought it was "over-indulgent, sterile and not that exciting". "Chinese Democracy"'s protracted recording process attracted extensive media coverage. According to "Spin", a cottage industry grew around covering its development; "the only way the record could have lived up to its legend would have been to never come out at all". Five years after its release, "Grantland" journalist Steven Hyden wrote: "For years, it was widely assumed "Chinese Democracy" would never come out; in retrospect, the delay is all anybody cares about ... As music, "Chinese Democracy" is merely the
Chinese Democracy writing for "The Observer", accused Rose of "cribbing" from the industrial rock of Nine Inch Nails. "The New York Times" described "Chinese Democracy" as "a transitional album". Rock biographer Stephen Davis was more vitriolic and named "Chinese Democracy" "the worst album ever". The album was nominated for the Juno Award for International Album of the Year in 2009, losing to Coldplay's "Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends". The song "If the World" was nominated for Best Original Song at the 13th Satellite Awards, losing to "Another Way to Die" by Jack White and Alicia Keys. Slash reacted