Many rumors were heard during 1997 that Axl had returned to the studio that year to begin work on a new album. The album's producer was supposedly Mike Clink, and at that time was untitled, though there is some belief that Axl might have been working on the album since late 1994. Nothing came out of the rumors in 1997, and GNR remained in hiatus. In 1998, Axl Rose formally returned to the studio accompanied by drummer Josh Freese (of the Vandals), bassist Tommy Stinson (formerly of The Replacements), guitarist Robin Finck (formerly of Nine Inch Nails), guitarist Paul Tobias (aka Paul Huge), and keyboardist Dizzy Reed.
In 1999, the band released one new song, "Oh My God", which was included on the soundtrack of End of Days. This song was intended to be a prelude for a new album: Chinese Democracy. GNR also released Live Era 87-93, which was a collection of songs the original lineup(s), recorded on the road between 1987 and 1993. Later that year, Finck returned to Nine Inch Nails to perform on the world tour for the album The Fragile.
In 2000, avant-garde guitarist Buckethead joined Guns N' Roses, and drummer Josh Freese was replaced with Brian Mantia (formerly of Primus).
The revised lineup returned to the stage for the first time in eight years in January of 2001 with two well-received concerts, one in Las Vegas and one at the Rock in Rio Festival in Rio de Janeiro. The band played a mixture of old hits as well as new songs from their forthcoming album. During the concert, Rose made several comments about the former members of the band:
"I know that many of you are disappointed that some of the people that you came to know and love could not be with us here tonight. Regardless of what you may have read or heard, people worked very hard (meaning my former friends) to do everything they could so that I could not be here with you tonight. I am as hurt and disappointed as you that, unlike OASIS, we could not find a way so that we could all get along."[2]
The new lineup played another two shows in Las Vegas at the end of 2001. During 2002, guitarist Tobias left the band because of his frustrations with the slow way in which the recording of the new album was going. He was replaced by Richard Fortus, formerly of the band Love Spit Love. The band then played several shows in August of 2002, headlining festivals and concerts in Asia and Europe, and then making their way to New York for a surprise appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards.
A 2002 American tour, the band's first since 1993, was organized as a prelude to the long-awaited Chinese Democracy album. However, the opening show in Vancouver was cancelled by the venue when Rose failed to show up in a timely manner and a riot ensued. This tour was met with mixed results. Some concerts in smaller markets did not sell well, while shows in larger markets such as New York and Boston sold out in minutes. Due to a second absence by Axl Rose in Philadelphia and the resulting riot by fans, Clear Channel, the tour's promoter, cancelled all remaining shows of the tour.
As of September 2005, the band has not played a show since their December 5, 2002, concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Reports issued by the band in 2001 and 2002 claimed that Chinese Democracy was to be released later that year by Interscope/Geffen Records, with whom they had apparently patched up their differences.
In the meantime, despite Rose's vocal and legal protests, Geffen released a greatest hits album on March 23rd. 2004 since Rose had failed to deliver a new studio album in ten years. Similarly, Cleopatra Records released "Hollywood Rose: The Roots of Guns N' Roses" in early summer over Rose's objections.
In March 2004, Buckethead left the band, causing Rose to cancel their May 30 appearance at Rock in Rio 4 in Lisbon, Portugal. The band is currently in Los Angeles, auditioning new guitar players, and is reportedly still tinkering in the studio with Democracy, which has been in production for over ten years and has cost more than twelve million dollars in studio time alone. It is, of course, currently rumored that Chinese Democracy will be released at last in 2005, but the news is being treated with strong skepticism until more concrete evidence of a release date and promotion for the album is at hand.
However, in April 2005, a demo of a new GNR song called "IRS" was leaked onto thenewguns.com. It was deleted, but had been downloaded and was quickly spread through numerous internet sites, starting with gunsnmotley.com. The management of the band responded that they have not leaked any new songs to the public, but that the song available on the internet was only a "low quality demo." This event has stirred up more controversy about whether or not the new album will be available this year.