Axl Rose, who's kept a low profile despite the long-awaited release of Guns N' Roses [ tickets ]' new album, "Chinese Democracy," broke his silence last night (12/12) during a web chat with fans.

The question-and-answer session, posted on the MyGNR website, started with an ugly exchange of words between Axl and a "fan" who accused the rocker of alienating supporters and hiding from the world.

"Your misconceptions and fantasies along with your misguided sense of entitlement don't dictate my actions," Axl responded.

The chat quickly turned into a more civil discussion touching on venue sizes, promotional strategies, album art and Gun N' Roses' next album.

Axl acknowledged that he's got at least another album's worth of material, but added, "For now, we'll concentrate and keep our focus on this album."

That prompted one fan to ask why the singer has been avoiding the press, and suggest that Axl's low-profile is hurting record sales.

"What I have to say, a lot of people have no desire to hear," Axl responded, adding that negotiations for promotional strategies were made, but "unfortunately, those things never happened and once the record was closer to release, the biz went about things in their standard business-as-usual mode."

The rocker also talked about "an ugly battle" over album artwork and said an all-art booklet would be released shortly.

As for live-performance issues, Rose told fans he's on record as being happy with any venue that fits into GN'R's schedule, "but management and promoters can do a lot in their own interests behind the scenes that can rarely be avoided, and their greed or whatever leads to a lot of double talk and ugly [behind-the-scenes] nonsense that generally eventually ruins things for everyone."

There's been no word yet as to whether Guns N' Roses is planning a 2009 tour to support "Chinese Democracy," but there has been a response from the band's camp regarding published reports suggesting a possible reunion of GN'R's original members.

"There are no plans of a reunion, nor have there been any discussions of a reunion, with former Guns N' Roses band members," GN'R manager Irving Azoff said in a statement released yesterday (12/11). "In the future, we hope that if media have any questions concerning GN'R, they'd at least check their facts before running inaccurate stories for their own benefit."

More than 10 years in the making, the much-hyped "Chinese Democracy" album finally surfaced last month and entered The Billboard 200 at No. 3. The set marks the first album of original material by Guns N' Roses since 1991's "Use Your Illusion I" and "Use Your Illusion II," though Rose is the only remaining member of the group from that era.

The record's title track and followup single, "Better," are currently heating up the rock charts and streaming at GN'R's MySpace page. Rose told fans during the chat that the video for "Better" is due in a week or so.