My feelings today are the same as they were back then; it feels like a wasted opportunity. I don't really believe we got the album which was originally envisioned as Chinese Democracy either.

To have Buckethead/Brain erased just felt like a massive kick in the balls, too.

I love the songs themselves but it's bittersweet listening to them in these iterations. When your leaked "demos" are better than the final take something is very wrong.

If I'm to be less judgemental and a bit more positive then Shackler's Revenge is the definite highlight and I think (without hearing the original) Bumblefoot did an amazing job on it.

Ashba killed any remaining interest from me. I tried my best to support the guy and initially that kind of worked in his favour since Axl just sounded so damn good at the beginning in 2009/2010 (he looked worse for wear but I couldn't care less), but from there on out it was a downward spiral like we've never witnessed before.

I vividly remember the Rock In Rio "performance" in 2011... Streamed online for the world to see. That was the straw which broke the camel's back - what a fucking disaster.

Not to mention the Bridge School Benefit or that Appetite for Democracy rubbish.

Of course this wasn't down to DJ but he's the epitome of what I consider to be a stereotype rock star and I just can't deal with that type of personality. All I could ever see was a Slash copycat and I couldn't get past it.

Writing had always been on the wall with the post-1996 incarnation of GN'R but A) Robin leaving in the wake of CD's release and B) Axl picking a fight with a paparazzo in an airport before the supporting tour had even begun should've sent the alarm bells ringing at full speed.

I had a chance to see them in 2010 but opted not to. For reference I saw them 4 times in 3 different countries back in 2006. I think that speaks volumes. Really, I stopped giving a crap after we finally got the album.

The sad truth is the very day Buckethead left it was already over.

19 years were spent essentially sullying one man's career/reputation and for what? Virtually nothing of worth.

It's a good tune. Shame we got it in such mediocre quality, though.

I also agree that it sounds like something off VGH.

I (obviously) don't know the origin of the song but they could've been recorded around the same period.

God... All of this is just making me feel depressed. Tremendous waste of potential - and time.

That quote is now 18 years old. *sigh*

I never actually thought about it that way. You're right.

Would've been a very easy thing to do, too.