Guns N' Roses Planning 'Chinese Democracy' Follow-Up

Guns N' Roses' follow-up to their 2008 release Chinese Democracy might already be in the planning stages. At least that's what guitarist DJ Ashba, a member of the band since 2009, told the wire service Artisan News Service at a recent red-carpet event in California.

"We're talking about that right now," he said when asked about the possibility of a follow-up. "We've been throwing around a bunch of ideas, and it should be good."

David Fricke on Chinese Democracy

The path to "throwing around ideas" to release date for Chinese Democracy took a while to walk down — 13 years, in fact. But Ashba is confident that the band will be able to put together a new album much quicker.

"It won't take as long, I promise," he said. "I'm excited to get this one rolling. ... You know, Axl [Rose] has a lot of good shit up his sleeve, so I'm excited about it."

Photos: Guns N' Roses' Early Days:

The band is keeping busy over the coming months: A tour will take them to Australia and the Middle East, and Ashba said they'd return to the U.S. for a tour in February. No dates have been officially announced yet.

New album from Guns N' Roses coming soon? [Rock It Out Blog]

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Song Stories

“The A Team”

Ed Sheeran | 2011

This debut track from the then-20-year-old British singer-songwriter has a dark story behind it. Sheeran says he culls songwriting inspiration from "viewing other people's situations," which, for the heroine in "The A Team," involves drug addiction and prostitution that began as a teen. Sheeran paints the woman's trials with haunting imagery such as "But lately her face seems/Slowly sinking, wasting/Crumbling like pastries." "I did a gig at a homeless shelter, [and the song] is about one of the women there. It's her story," he said.

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