According to Rose, "Shackler's Revenge" was written in reaction to "the insanity of senseless school shootings and also the media trying desperately to make more out of one shooter's preference for the Guns song Brownstone to no avail". Virginia Tech shooter Seung-Hui Cho had written a play based on the lyrics of the Guns N' Roses song "Mr. Brownstone". The song drew comparisons to the music of industrial and electronic artists such as Nine Inch Nails, The Prodigy, Marilyn Manson, Korn and Rob Zombie from critics. The song features elements of industrial rock, electronic rock, nu metal, sludge rock, and alternative rock. Multiple layers of vocals create what "Rolling Stone" described as "a demented choir". "Better" is an electronic rock-influenced song that features Rose singing in falsetto at the beginning of the track "No one ever told me when / I was alone / They just thought I'd know better", over a "whining guitar line that bubbles and bursts". Rose mentioned the guitar parts in the bridge as among his favorite parts of the album. "Loudwire" described the song as having an Acid house style beat, while "Rolling Stone" described the intro as a "hip-hop voicemail".