Acclaimed German producer/engineer Charlie Bauerfeind (SAXON, HAMMERFALL, RAGE, BLIND GUARDIAN) has posted the following update at his official web site:

"Finally we started the pre-production phase of the next HELLOWEEN record about a week ago. The guys are already in songwriting and rehearsal mode since [last] month and are working very hard to shape up some truly great songs. I joined them for the first time on 24th of November in their rehearsal room and got some great vibes. Sascha (Gerstner, guitar) and Stefan (Schwarzmann, drums) seem to be solidly integrated now into HELLOWEEN and everything was sounding really tight. The keyboards also melt very well into the sound-picture. German keyboard veteran Friedl Amon, who used to mastermind hardrock/'metal' shootingstar formation REVOLVER in the early '80s, adds some great stuff to the lot. He will handle the keyboard arrangements at his studio in Germany throughout the next months.

"I think we're gonna be starting to record the basic tracks at around middle of December and after a short Christmas break, commence our work 'till March 2005."

Band profile:

Helloween