Here are a few things that we could consider "truly" unexpected:
1. Axl changes his outfit to a french maid dress and turns his hair into an afro
2. Buckethead joins GNR, resulting in 3 lead guitar players
3. Silkworms his the radio stations this Tuesday
4. The track listing for CD is revealed, and only consists of Rhiad and Silkworms, with 5 Pit(t)man remixes of each one
5. The band announces a release date next week, they put out a single and a video next month, they release the album on the release date, they keep releasing singles and touring to promote CD (essentially what you would expect a normal band to do).