October 09, 2008

By By Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

More than a decade after its conception, Guns N' Roses' "Chinese Democracy" will finally see the light of day before year's end, sources close to the situation confirms to Billboard. As first reported here, the set will be a Best Buy exclusive and will be available Sunday, Nov. 23, rather than the usual Tuesday.

Beyond enticing pre-Thanksgiving shoppers, the move is tied to the structure of Best Buy's sales week, which runs from Sunday to Saturday. As such, "Chinese Democracy" would not be eligible to chart on The Billboard 200 until the week of Dec. 1, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

In the run-up to release date, album track "Shackler's Revenge" will debut in the video game "Rock Band 2," while a portion of "If the World" is playing over the end credits in the new Leonardo DiCaprio/Russell Crowe film "Body of Lies."

In addition, GNR's seminal 1987 debut, "Appetite for Destruction," will be reissued on vinyl on Oct. 28 via Interscope.

The band's last new studio albums were the simultaneously released "Use Your Illusion I" and "II" in September 1991. A covers set, "The Spaghetti Incident?," followed in 1993, and featured some of the last GNR recordings from original guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan.

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