Guns N' Roses [ tickets ], who were originally scheduled to warm up for their upcoming European tour with a pair of shows at New York City's Hammerstein Ballroom, wound up selling out four shows at the venue in less than three minutes, according to Sanctuary Records.

The four New York shows are set to take place May 12, 13, 15 and 17.

"New York has always been so great to Guns and myself," GN'R frontman Axl Rose said in a press release. "The response to our last show at Madison Square Garden was nothing short of amazing. I've spent the last couple of months here in New York. I've had a great time, met a lot of great people and the band and I are excited that we get to play New York City and play for the friends--both old and new--that we've made before we head to Europe."

GN'R's European tour will include a newly announced pair of shows opening for The Rolling Stones in Germany: July 10 at Frankenstadion in Nurnberg, and July 12 at Zentralstadion in Leipzig.

GN'R's Euro trek features stops at a number of festivals, including Portugal's Rock in Rio, the UK's Download Festival, Germany's Rock Am Ring, Italy's Gods of Metal, Australia's Novarock, Belgium's Graspop, Denmark's Roskilde and Holland's A Heavy Day in the Park. The band is also scheduled to play headlining shows in Madrid, Budapest, Prague, Warsaw, Paris, Zurich, Stockholm, Oslo, and Helsinki.

There's still no word on when GN'R's long-delayed album, "Chinese Democracy," might see the light of day.