When I first heard Scott Weiland was going to spearhead another band with former Guns-N-Roses band members, I was totally dismissive. On numerous occasions I thought it would be the weaker incarnations of both bands, but when it came out, I bought it on its first week of release. Having listened to it, it's so simple and clear who's going to enjoy this and who isn't. Hardcore Blink 182, Simple Plan, and Yellowcard fans, along with fans of the latest bland identical-sounding bands to come out these last couple of years (Story of the Year), are going to tear this album apart. But fans of good guitar riffs and actual ROCK AND ROLL, along with bad-ass lyrics, are going to love "Contraband", and that's why I spread the word to other people how good this music really is. Weiland has always proved to be an outlaw, both in real-life and subsequently in his lyrics, and he puts it down, not only with mega hit single "Slither", but with "Big Machine" and many others, all 14 tracks total. This is an album created by rock veterans and it shows with a vengeance.