How’s that?

Cornell has confirmed, after months of speculation, that he has indeed joined up with erstwhile Ragers Tom Morello, Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk and the foursome will record an album together.

“They’ve written 20 songs together, the four of them, and Rick Rubin will be producing the recording,” said Lisa Markowitz of Epic Records.

The outfit hasn’t decided on a name yet but it definitely won’t be Rage Against The Machine.

“I can tell you definitively that they’re going to form a whole new band,” Cornell manager Jim Guerinot told Pollstar.

“Rage Against The Machine doesn’t exist anymore,” Markowitz said.

But contracts with managers and record companies do, and that’s where the union gets sticky. The ex-Soundgarden frontman is signed to Interscope, while RATM – and its remaining members – are all bound to Epic. One option is for each company to release successive albums from the yet-unnamed band. An alternative could give one label distribution rights for the U.S. while the the other get the the rights for the rest of the world.

Management may not be so easy to resolve; Rage Against The Machine is with powerhouse Q-Prime in New York, while Cornell retains Jim Guerinot of Rebel Waltz Management, based in Newport Beach, Calif.

If consummated, a collaborative deal between the two record companies could be the first of its kind.

Other issues will need to be resolved, however. “All this news started coming up and they haven’t even recorded a record yet,” Guerinot said. “No, we haven’t worked it out and we haven’t really attempted to yet, because it’s premature.”

Cornell’s Soundgarden, which was part of the Seattle grunge surge of the ‘90s and won a Grammy for the hit “Black Hole Sun,” broke up in 1997. He released a solo album, Euphoria Morning, which was moderately received, in 1999.

Rage Against The Machine won a Grammy for the Song “Guerrilla Radio.” The band fell into disarray when fiery lead vocalist de la Rocha left in October. After his departure, Rage released Renegades, an album of covers.

In the meantime, de la Rocha is reportedly working on his solo debut with the help of Roots’ drummer ?uestlove, Roni Size, and others. A title and release date have yet to be determined.

He will also appear with rapper Chuck D on 175 Progress Street, an album by Pennsylvania death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal, who many consider to have been wrongly convicted of the murder of a Philadelphia police officer. The disc is set for release June 25 on the Alternative Tentacles label.