Longtime GUNS N' ROSES associate Del James has released the following update on the status of the band's eternally delayed new album, "Chinese Democracy":

"The good news is that all of the recording for the album has been completed. Drummer Frank Ferrer and guitarist Ron 'Bumblefoot' Thal integrated themselves into the recordings seamlessly and will have their presence felt.

"There is no official release date, as the band is currently mixing, but after some delays and scheduling difficulties, things appear to be moving along."

GUNS N' ROSES frontman Axl Rose announced in December on GUNS N' ROSES' official web site a "tentative" March 6 release date for "Chinese Democracy". In the posting, Rose also revealed he had split with longtime manager Merck Mercuriadis due to disagreements over the set up for the album release.

"Chinese Democracy" is the first GUNS N' ROSES album since the 1993 covers collection "The Spaghetti Incident". In the ensuing decade, the group has lost every original member besides Rose and burned through a reported $13 million in recording expenses.

GUNS N' ROSES' "Greatest Hits" collection, which was originally issued in March of 2004, was certified triple-platinum on April 11, 2006 by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) for shipments in excess of three million copies. The CD sold 12,000 copies in the United States last week alone (week ending Feb. 18), bringing the total number of copies sold since its release to 3.47 million, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

GUNS N' ROSES is gearing up to begin a world tour in April. The band has already announced two dates in South Africa — its first ever — and plans are reportedly in the works to bring the group to Japan, Thailand, South Africa, South America, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand.

GUNS N' ROSES will headline South Africa's My Coke Festival in Johannesburg on April 27 and Cape Town on May 1.

The band did complete its first successful North American road trip in over a decade last year, along with a European trek.