Guns N' Roses [ tickets ] achorman Axl Rose [ tickets ] has canceled the group's January concerts in order to finish the band's long-awaited, oft-delayed album, "Chinese Democracy," the release of which has now been pushed back until next year.

The canceled performances were set for Jan. 10 in Sacramento, CA; Jan. 11 in Bakersfield, CA; Jan. 13 in Reno, NV; and Jan. 16 in San Diego. Ticket refunds are available at the point of purchase, according to GN'R's website.

"Because of the scheduling of these particular shows, valuable time needed by the band and record company for the proper setup and release of the album 'Chinese Democracy' would have been lost," Rose wrote in an open letter posted at the site. "Rather than delay the album yet again, all involved have decided to remove these shows from GN’R’s schedule. We hope our fans understand and we apologize for any inconveniences this may have caused."

Rose went on to lay much of the blame for the cancellations and the album's latest delay on GN'R manager Merck Mercuriadis, whom Rose claims to have fired as a result of the snafu.

"When I agreed to do our recent North American tour, I did it with the understanding that my manager, Merck Mercuriadis, and I were in full agreement regarding our strategy and touring plans and, most important, that any and all things needed to release the album by Dec. 26 at the latest were in place," Rose continued. "Unfortunately, it turned out that this was not the case, and I regret to say that the album will not be released by the end of the year. Although many things went extremely well and were very exciting, there were, in our opinion, unnecessary and avoidable complications on our tour having to do with the tour routing, scheduling and album and video plans that wreaked havoc on all involved. This was compounded by an overall sense of a lack of respect by management for the band and crew and each individual's particular expertise that has resulted, unfortunately, in the end of both Guns’ and my managerial involvement with Merck Mercuriadis.

"It takes approximately eight weeks for an album to hit the shelves once it has been turned in to the record company. For whatever reasons, it appears that it may have been mistakenly inferred by management that this time period could be condensed to three weeks. With that being said, this is not a promise, a lie or a guarantee, but we do wish to announce a tentative release date of March 6."

Rose's announcement marks the first time during the album's decade-long creation process that GN'R has pointed to a specific release date.

GN'R kicked off their "Chinese Democracy" tour in October. The group is due to perform in Oakland, CA, tonight (12/15), and is scheduled to wrap up the outing with a three-night stand in the Los Angeles-area, the first show of which is set for Sunday (12/17). Details are included below.

Rose is the only original member in the GN'R's current lineup, which includes guitarists Robin Finck, Richard Fortus and Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal; keyboard players Dizzy Reed and Chris Pitman; bassist Tommy Stinson; and drummer Frank Ferrer. Regular GN'R drummer Bryan "Brain" Mantia recent went on personal leave to be with his wife and newborn child.