Guns N' Roses album finished?

The long-overdue new Guns N' Roses album, Chinese Democracy, was allegedly finished late last year and is on the road to release, according to Classic Rock magazine. The U.K. publication tracked down singer Axl Rose's personal manager, Beta Lebeis, who said that the record "was finished before Christmas" and that Rose is "in negotiations" with unspecified parties to set up the project's arrival. The magazine goes on to speculate that Rose may initially unveil Chinese Democracy as a "pay-what-you-want" download, similar to what Radiohead did with its new In Rainbows album last fall, although there's no official indication of that.

Other sources suggest that the album could be released in the traditional way this summer, while another recent report claimed that Rose was battling his record label, Geffen Records, over marketing strategies for the disc.

The band might not even be signed to Geffen anymore, with a report on AntiMusic.com saying that G N' R could now be part of parent company Universal Music's catalog division.

Little has been heard or seen of Guns N' Roses since late 2006, when the band completed its first successful North American tour in more than a decade. At the time, Rose tentatively promised a March 2007 release for Chinese Democracy, which never materialized.