Why do you think Chinese Democracy was snubbed so badly in 2009?

[Seb91]

I think there were numerous factors:

- It was released too late. In terms of both the musical zeitgiest and momentum behind the band 2002 would have been the best time to drop it (and we know they could have dropped an album then). 2006/7 was a phenomenal second chance for the band - amazing shows, music press on their side etc. However, it dropped in a GN'R lull and seemed pretty random in terms of when it dropped. Zero promotion as well. 

- Failing to cement a lineup. Again, this is crucial really. I mean, Robin leaving in 2008 before the album dropped really emphasised this really. I think including the Tommy penned songs with him on vocals would have really cemented the idea this was a band. 

- Axl's behaviour - Axl really was a force of nature in the 2000s.  Now, as a messed up kid that's one of the reasons I loved the band so much but people weren't going to go along with the late shows, the cancellations etc. I feel he squandered a lot of goodwill. I mean, as a teenage kid at Reading in 2010 I thought the whole megaphone thing was awesome. Now, in my early 30s if a band pulled that stunt I'd probably be less than impressed.  

I mean, in terms of the actual record I adore the record and the songs from that era. I mean, getting into Guns when I was 12 in the 2000s NuGuns is my GN'R era. However, it's way too overproduced - a lot of the earlier demos sound much, much better and there's less of an 'instrument soup' there. Also, the bass on the final mix. Tommy's such a killer player and when you listen to some of the earlier mixes (especially on a song like Chinese) he's absolutely killing it tone wise. However, he's way down in the mix on the final record. That really hurt it as well I feel. Really, the record should have dropped around 2002 - so many of the earlier mixes from around that time sound much better. 

Plus, (my obligatory Bucket mention ) - Bucket really was Axl's Randy Rhoads in a sense - such an unbelievably incredible guitarist in terms of technical proficiency, feel and composition chops and for my money the best guitarist the band ever had. Losing him was a big deal, I mean he's still very much the star player on the record in spite of the fact he'd left several years earlier. The whole mystique around him was cool as well.  

Edited July 26 by Seb91