Query: Guns N' Roses is a hard rock band.

Relevant passages:
Chinese Democracy <=SEP=> Chinese Democracy is the sixth studio album by American hard rock band Guns N ' Roses . It was released on November 23 , 2008 , by Geffen Records . The album was the band 's first studio album since `` The Spaghetti Incident ? '' in November 1993 , and their first album of original studio material since the simultaneous releases of Use Your Illusion I and II in September 1991 . Although it debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 and was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America ( RIAA ) , Chinese Democracy domestically undersold expectations . It received generally favorable reviews from music critics . The album achieved international chart success and has sold over one million copies in Europe .   In 1994 , Guns N ' Roses ' progress on a follow-up to `` The Spaghetti Incident ? '' was halted due to creative differences between members of the band . Slash , Duff McKagan , Matt Sorum , and Gilby Clarke all resigned or were fired from the band in the mid-1990s . Lead singer Axl Rose and keyboardist Dizzy Reed were the only members from the previous lineup remaining by the time production had started . A new lineup , consisting of Rose , Reed , guitarists Robin Finck and Paul Tobias , bassist Tommy Stinson , drummer Josh Freese , and keyboardist Chris Pitman began working on the album in 1997 . Initially intended to be released in 1999 or 2000 , the album was re-recorded completely in 2000 . The album was worked on by multiple lineups of the band , including later members Bryan Mantia , Buckethead , Richard Fortus , Ron `` Bumblefoot '' Thal , and Frank Ferrer . Personnel and legal reasons , as well as Rose 's alleged perfectionism , caused the album to be delayed multiple times . The album missed an announced March 2007 release date , before being released in November 2008 . With production costs reportedly eclipsing $ 13 million , the album is the most expensive rock album ever produced .

Richard Fortus <=SEP=> Richard Fortus ( born November 17 , 1966 ) is an American guitarist . He is best known as a member of the hard rock band Guns N ' Roses , with whom he has been a member since 2002 , and with whom he has recorded one studio album . Fortus has also collaborated extensively with The Psychedelic Furs frontman Richard Butler and fellow Guns N ' Roses bandmate Frank Ferrer .   Alongside his work in Guns N ' Roses , Fortus is a former member of Love Spit Love , Thin Lizzy and the Dead Daisies .

Guns N' Roses <=SEP=> Guns N ' Roses , often abbreviated as GnR , is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles formed in 1985 . The lineup , when first signed to Geffen Records in 1986 , consisted of vocalist Axl Rose , lead guitarist Slash , rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin , bassist Duff McKagan , and drummer Steven Adler . Guns N ' Roses have released six studio albums , accumulating sales of more than 100 million records worldwide , including shipments of 45 million in the United States , making them one of the world 's best-selling bands of all time .   Guns N ' Roses ' debut album , Appetite for Destruction ( 1987 ) , reached number one on the Billboard 200 a year after its release , on the strength of `` Sweet Child o ' Mine '' , the band 's only single to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 . The album has sold approximately 30 million copies worldwide , including 18 million units in the United States , making it the best-selling debut album of all time in the US , as well as the eleventh best-selling album in the United States . The success of the debut was followed by the eight-song album G N ' R Lies ( 1988 ) which reached number two on the Billboard 200 . The twin albums Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II ( 1991 ) debuted at number two and number one on the Billboard 200 respectively and have sold a combined 35 million copies worldwide , including 14 million units in the United States . The cover album `` The Spaghetti Incident ? '' ( 1993 ) was the band 's last studio album to feature Slash and McKagan .   After more than a decade of work and several lineup changes , Guns N ' Roses released the long-awaited album Chinese Democracy ( 2008 ) which , at an estimated $ 14 million in production costs , is the most expensive rock album to ever be produced in music history . It debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 but undersold industry expectations , despite mostly positive critical reception . Former members Slash and McKagan both rejoined the band in 2016 , embarking on the Not in This Lifetime ... Tour .   Guns N ' Roses has been credited with reviving the mainstream popularity of rock 'n' roll , at a time when popular music was dominated by dance music and glam metal . Its late 1980s and early 1990s years have been described as the period in which the group brought forth a `` hedonistic rebelliousness '' reminiscent of the early Rolling Stones , a reputation that had earned the group the nickname `` the most dangerous band in the world '' . The band 's classic lineup , along with later members keyboardist Dizzy Reed and drummer Matt Sorum , was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 in its first year of eligibility .   The band 's membership has changed many times since the early 1990 's , with Rose and keyboardist Dizzy Reed as the only two constant members since 1990 . The current lineup consists of Rose , Slash , McKagan , Reed , guitarist Richard Fortus , drummer Frank Ferrer and keyboardist Melissa Reese .

Appetite for Destruction <=SEP=> Appetite for Destruction is the debut studio album by American hard rock band Guns N ' Roses . It was released on July 21 , 1987 , by Geffen Records to massive commercial success . It topped the Billboard 200 and became the best-selling debut album as well as the 11th best-selling album in the United States . With about 30 million copies sold worldwide , it is also one of the best-selling records ever . Although critics were ambivalent toward the album when it was first released , Appetite for Destruction has since received retrospective acclaim and been viewed as one of the greatest albums of all time .

Use Your Illusion II <=SEP=> Use Your Illusion II is the fourth studio album by the American hard rock band Guns N ' Roses . The album was released on September 17 , 1991 , the same day as its counterpart album Use Your Illusion I. Both of the albums were released in conjunction with the Use Your Illusion Tour . Bolstered by the lead single `` You Could Be Mine , '' Use Your Illusion II was the slightly more popular of the two albums , selling 770,000 copies its first week and debuting at No. 1 on the U.S. charts , ahead of Use Your Illusion I '' 's first week sales of 685,000 . As of 2010 , Use Your Illusion II '' has sold 5,587,000 units in the U.S. , according to Nielsen SoundScan . Both albums have since been certified 7 × Platinum by the RIAA . It was also No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart for a single week . It is the last Guns N ' Roses album to feature rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin . It also included the last Guns N ' Roses song to feature drummer Steven Adler , who played on `` Civil War . ''

Axl Rose <=SEP=> W. Axl Rose ( born William Bruce Rose Jr. ; raised as William Bruce Bailey ; February 6 , 1962 ) is an American singer , songwriter , record producer and musician . He is the lead vocalist of the hard rock band Guns N ' Roses , and has also been the band 's sole constant member since its inception in 1985 . In addition to Guns N ' Roses , he is also the current lead singer of AC/DC since 2016 . Due to his powerful and wide vocal range and energetic live performances , Rose has been named one of the greatest singers of all time by various media outlets , including Rolling Stone and NME .   Born and raised in Lafayette , Indiana , Rose moved to Los Angeles in the early 1980s , where he became active in the local hard rock scene and joined several bands , including Hollywood Rose and L.A. Guns . In 1985 , he co-founded Guns N ' Roses , with whom he had great success and recognition in the late 1980s and early 1990s . Their first album , Appetite for Destruction ( 1987 ) , has sold in excess of 30 million copies worldwide , and is one of the best-selling debut albums of all time in the U.S. with 18 million units sold . Its full-length follow-ups , the twin albums Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II ( 1991 ) , were also widely successful ; they respectively debuted at No. 2 and No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and have sold a combined 35 million copies worldwide .   After 1994 , following the conclusion of their two-and-a-half-year Use Your Illusion Tour , Rose disappeared from public life for several years , while the band disintegrated due to personal and musical differences . As its sole remaining original member , he was able to continue working under the Guns N ' Roses banner because he had legally obtained the band name . In 2001 , he resurfaced with a new line-up of Guns N ' Roses at Rock in Rio 3 , and subsequently played periodic concert tours to promote the long-delayed Chinese Democracy ( 2008 ) , which undersold the music industry 's commercial expectations despite positive reviews upon its release . In 2012 , Rose was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Guns N ' Roses , though he declined to attend the event and requested exclusion from the Hall . In 2016 , Rose partially reunited the ` classic ' lineup of Guns N ' Roses and has since toured the world as part of the Not In This Lifetime ... Tour .

Matt Sorum <=SEP=> Matthew William `` Matt '' Sorum ( born November 19 , 1960 ) is an American drummer and percussionist . He is best known as both a former member of the hard rock band Guns N ' Roses , with whom he recorded three studio albums , and as a member of the supergroup Velvet Revolver . Sorum is currently a member of the touring project , Kings of Chaos , and is a former member of both The Cult and Y Kant Tori Read . Sorum was also a member of Guns N ' Roses side-projects , Slash 's Snakepit and Neurotic Outsiders , and released a solo album , Hollywood Zen , in 2004 .   After performing on synthpop band Y Kant Tori Read 's sole album , Sorum joined The Cult in 1989 to tour in support of their fourth studio album , Sonic Temple ( 1989 ) . During the tour , Sorum was spotted by Guns N ' Roses guitarist Slash and subsequently replaced their drummer Steven Adler in 1990 . Remaining in the band for seven years , Sorum recorded the albums , Use Your Illusion I ( 1991 ) , Use Your Illusion II ( 1991 ) , and `` The Spaghetti Incident ? '' ( 1993 ) , before departing in 1997 following an argument with Axl Rose .   In 2001 , Sorum rejoined The Cult to perform on their reunion album , Beyond Good and Evil ( 2001 ) , and its subsequent tour and subsequently co-founded the hard rock supergroup Velvet Revolver , alongside former Guns N ' Roses bandmates , Slash and Duff McKagan . The band , which also included guitarist Dave Kushner and Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland , released two successful studio albums , Contraband ( 2004 ) and Libertad ( 2007 ) , before entering an extended hiatus following Weiland 's departure .   Sorum has been a permanent member of hard rock cover band Camp Freddy since 2003 , alongside Jane 's Addiction members Dave Navarro and Chris Chaney , and assisted in hosting its radio show and podcast on Indie 103.1 . In 2012 , Sorum founded a touring project , entitled Kings of Chaos , featuring members of Guns N ' Roses , Deep Purple , Def Leppard , Aerosmith , ZZ Top , Cheap Trick and Slipknot .   In 2012 , Sorum was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Guns N ' Roses .