Guns N’ Roses fans got an unexpected surprise last week when three tracks from the band’s upcoming “Chinese Democracy” album were leaked on the Internet.

Die-hards have been waiting for this moment for a long time – the band has been working on the record for a decade. Their last studio album, “The Spaghetti Incident?” was released in 1993.

Studio-quality recordings of “Better,” “There Was A Time,” and “IRS” were leaked online Wednesday. Mere weeks before, GnR frontman Axl Rose told RollingStone.com at a Korn tour launch party that “people will hear music this year,” when asked about “Chinese Democracy.”

The Associated Press reports that the new songs mark a new direction for the band, away from the raunchy rock it’s been known for in the past. In particular, it says, the track “Better” has “emo/industrial touches.”

Rose’s manager, Merck Mercuriadis, has ordered Internet sites to remove links to the new songs. However, fans have sent “IRS” to radio stations and Boston’s WAAF still had the song on heavy rotation on Monday night, despite cease-and-desist orders sent to stations by Mercuriadis.

Meanwhile, it was also confirmed on Monday that Guns N’ Roses would headline major music festivals this summer, including the Rock in Rio-Lisboa in May and the NovaRock festival in Austria this June.






Related Stories: