Lars Ulrich says he's in GN'R Better video, denies hold-up

GN'R video? Talk to the hand
GN'R video? Talk to the hand

At this point, it's debatable if any video - even one directed by a re-animated Cecil B DeMille - can resurrect Guns N' Roses' Titanic of an album, Chinese Democracy.

Even so, one of the album's better songs - called Better, no less - has a video due to be released soon, and it even feaures Metallica's Lars Ulrich.

Or does it?

On 30 December, an associate of an associate of Axl Rose, Fernando Lebeis, said that the video was ready to go but was being held up because Ulrich, who appears briefly in the clip, needed to sign a release. OK, so it's almost a month later - where's the video?

Ulrich says 'Don't blame me'

"I can't wait for the video to come out. There's a shot of me and Axl embracing backstage at some concert, and I signed off that" Lars Ulrich, on his appearance in the GN'R Better video

"I have heard about this, yes," Ulrich told Rolling Stone. "There was a couple of clips of me in the video and they asked if I would sign off on it. When it got to me, I signed off on the one clip. I don't know where [the rumor] came from. I'd love to be in a Guns N' Roses video. It's my favorite song on the record - I think it's a great song.

"I can't wait for the video to come out," added Ulrich. "There's a shot of me and Axl embracing backstage at some concert, and I signed off that, and hopefully it'll make it in the final cut."

A shot of Ulrich and Rose embracing hardly sounds like something to scrutinize over for weeks or even a month. MusicRadar suspects something else is going on in the Axl Rose camp. What that is, we can only guess.

Joe Bosso

Joe is a freelance journalist who has, over the past few decades, interviewed hundreds of guitarists for Guitar WorldGuitar PlayerMusicRadar and Classic Rock. He is also a former editor of Guitar World, contributing writer for Guitar Aficionado and VP of A&R for Island Records. He’s an enthusiastic guitarist, but he’s nowhere near the likes of the people he interviews. Surprisingly, his skills are more suited to the drums. If you need a drummer for your Beatles tribute band, look him up.