Guns N’ Roses have released a reimagined version of an outtake from their 2008 album Chinese Democracy titled “ABSURD,” which was originally called “Silkworms.” The song’s release marks the band’s first new music since Chinese Democracy.

“ABSURD,” which was co-produced by Axl Rose and Caram Costanzo, is a nearly three-and-a-half-minute blistering rock song featuring Rose’s trademark high-pitched wails, along with the band’s familiar bluesy guitar licks and solos and flavorful bass lines. It manages to achieve a mixture of the Chinese Democracy era attitude and the high-energy blues rock from the days of the band’s legendary classic lineup. Right out of the gate, the song takes the listener’s attention by force, with Rose declaring, “Listen, motherfuckers, to the song that should be heard!” As the song hits its bridge, it calms for a brief, quaint break before diving headfirst back into the chaos for its finale.

Since the band reunited with “classic line-up” guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan back in 2016, Guns N’ Roses have been touring very frequently. Their “Not In This Lifetime” tour from 2016 and 2017 became the highest grossing tour of all time after bringing in an estimated $562 million. They announced rescheduled dates for their summer 2021 tour back in June, which kicked off on July 31 in Hershey, PA.

Back in 2019, Slash confirmed in an interview that the band had been working on a new album. Last December, Slash also hinted at the possible release of new music from the band in 2021, stating that he and McKagan had “worked on the Guns record.”