Dutch progressive metallers SUN CAGED, who feature in their ranks STAR ONE keyboardist Joost van den Broek, have announced the addition of drummer Roel Van Helden to the group's ranks. The 23-year-olf Van Helden, a student at the academy of music in Tilburg, Netherlands, joins the band as the replacement for Dennis Leeflang, who left the group earlier in the month. "[Roel] surprised us with the fact that he managed to play the whole album within a week," the band write on their web site. "Besides that, there is a very good chemistry between us and Roel, musically as well as on a personal level. We never played our songs that well before!

"What's funny is the fact that Roel is already a member of [guitarist] Marcel [Coenen]'s solo band and he is also the drummer our bassist Rob [van der Loo] played with, at age 14, in his first band.

"We welcome Roel in the Cage, and we are sure that this has brought SUN CAGED to a higher level. We also would like to thank all other drummers who showed interest, and we also hope that the true SUN CAGED fans will welcome Roel with open arms, possibly at one of our upcoming gigs."

Band profile:

Sun Caged