A lawyer for Guns N’ Roses and frontman Axl Rose is asking soda maker Dr Pepper to apologize for not keeping its promise of offering free soda the moment Guns N’ Roses released their long-awaited album “Chinese Democracy.”

Fizzy drink producer Dr Pepper released a statement in March promising to give away a free can of soda if “Chinese Democracy” finally came out before the end of 2008 and expressed empathy for lead singer Axl Rose’s perfectionism.

Jaxie Alt, Marketing Director at Dr Pepper, drew a parallel between Axl Rose’s quest for perfection and his company’s search for the perfect mix of ingredients and concluded the album would come to be referred to as “Dr Pepper for the ears,” anticipating it to be “such a refreshing blend of rich, bold sounds - an instant classic.”

The band was taken by surprise at the time and Axl Rose, the only original member left, accepted Dr Pepper’s support. As to the company’s jibe that everyone would receive a free can of soda except for the band’s “estranged guitarists” Slash and Buckethead, Axl Rose said he would share his with them.

“Chinese Democracy,” some 15 years in the making, was finally released on Sunday, November 23, and eager fans expecting to move their heads to the music and sip some free soda did not quite have their wish come true. Dr Pepper offered fans 24 hours to get a coupon from its website that could be exchanged for free drinks. The site crashed under heavy demand and the company extended the offer to Monday.

Fans reacted quite negatively to the situation and Axl Rose in turn found it necessary to react. His lawyer, Alan Gutman, sent a letter to the soft drink producer on Tuesday, complaining of its “appalling failure to make good on a promise it made to the American public.”

The letter includes harsh charges, such as accusing Dr Pepper of exploiting Axl Rose’s “legendary reputation” and the eagerly awaited album with its campaign. Gutman also demands that Dr Pepper publish letters of apology in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today and the Wall Street Journal. The company is also solicited to extend its deadline so that fans can get their free soda.

Dr Pepper has said, concerning the letter, that it took “great steps” to accommodate online requests from consumers, reports the New York Times.

Some fans had their first listen of “Chinese Democracy” earlier this summer, when a 27-year-old man from Culver City, California uploaded nine songs from the album on his website, Antiquiet.com. He took them down shortly afterwards and in August was arrested and then released on $10,000 bail. If he is found to have had a profit from uploading the songs, he can face three years in jail. The man, Kevin Cogill, has no known direct connection to the band.

Legal audition of one song from the album was made possible in September, when one song from “Chinese Democracy,” titled “Shackler’s Revenge,” was featured on Harmonix and MTV Games’ newly released Rock Band 2.

All of the tracks are available for listening, but not downloading, on Guns N’ Roses’ MySpace page.