If you believe DJ, a dubious proposition to be sure, they had been auditioning Robin's replacement since 2007.

I still find him playing the one-off in 2012 strange. I mean Izzy and Duff set precedent for former members but the one off is odd.

I enjoyed The Slip quite a bit but think he's been wasted in NIN with Trent's beep boop experiments.

It seemed to me Axl was trying to make Chinese Democracy his rock n' roll symphony.

The disparate elements function on different layers like your strings, brass, woodwinds, etc. It doesn't matter that they're layered on top of one another you're supposed to appreciate them individually and collectively.

The problem is the final mix is only listenable on a hi-fi system and even then still flawed. It tries to balance the layers by manipulating them in space and by channel. The result is a wide spectrum mix but one that neutered the vocals and drums. There's a phantom center effect where these elements pale in comparison to say a rhythm guitar or electronic jingle. It would've been smart to make a traditional stereo mix down but Axl does what he wants obviously.

The Oh My God mix is flat to the point where it feels unmixed but Axl's vocals and some aggressive guitars carry the song and if you bring up your levels you're bringing up these prominent elements. I think the new Oh My God sounds more like 70s speed metal than anything industrial.

The analysis of Freese and Brain is pretty on point. Josh is terse and powerful. Brain has a deeper groove with a low/hi contrast. I'm a big fan of Brain through his playing with Bucket but I actually think his drums on CD are pretty underwhelming.