REDEMPTION's primary songwriter and guitarist/keyboardist Nicolas van Dyk has issued the following update on the progress of the recording sessions for the band's new album, entitled "The Origins of Ruin":

"We can see the light at the end of the tunnel and we're just about finished tracking, with only a few vocal parts, a couple of guitar solos and a bit of orchestration remaining to be finished. We hope to be done in the next two weeks...and then we need to schedule mixing in Germany with Tommy [Newton; UFO, CONCEPTION, HELLOWEEN, ARK, ELEGY]. In the meantime, we'll be working again with Travis Smith on some artwork.

"We don't have a finished track listing, but the songs are as follows:

01. The Suffocating Silence
02. Bleed Me Dry
03. The Death of Faith & Reason
04. Memory
05. The Origins of Ruin
06. Man of Glass
07. Blinded
08. Used to Be
09. Fall on You

"In addition, we have two covers which will find their way as bonus tracks: UFO's 'Love to Love', and TORI AMOS' 'Precious Things', which features the outstanding vocalist Anna Kristina, a well-known performer from San Francisco with a broad list of session and live credits."

REDEMPTION is:

Ray Alder - Vocals
Nick van Dyk - Guitar and Keys
Bernie Versailles - Guitar
Sean Andrews - Bass
Chris Quirarte - Drums

REDEMPTION's sophomore album, "The Fullness of Time", which also featured FATES WARNING frontman Ray Alder, was released last June via Sensory Records. Alder was a guest musician for one track on REDEMPTION's 2003 self-titled debut (Sensory), and he joined the group on-stage at Atlanta's ProgPower festival in September of that year to perform this song. Alder and van Dyk also collaborated previously on a track on the first ENGINE CD.

HAMMERFALL guitarist Oscar Dronjak has posted the following message on his official blog:

"We're looking at another weekend of rehearsals, and I am excited! I completed the eighth song

for the album a few days ago, and am hard at work finishing one more before the rehearsal starts.

I'll keep the remaining songtitles under wraps for now as they are a bit uncertain still, but

here are some titles for you: 'Dark Wings, Dark Words', 'Carved In Stone', 'Titan', 'Shadow

Empire', 'Threshold' and 'Rebel Inside'."

HAMMERFALL are expected to enter the studio this summer to begin recording their new album for an

October 2006 release. The band's latest CD, "Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken", was released

in March 2005 via Nuclear Blast Records. The follow-up to 2002's "Crimson Thunder" was produced

and mixed by Charlie Bauernfeind (BLIND GUARDIAN, HELLOWEEN).

HAMMERFALL guitarist Oscar Dronjak has posted the following message on his official blog:

"We're looking at another weekend of rehearsals, and I am excited! I completed the eighth song

for the album a few days ago, and am hard at work finishing one more before the rehearsal starts.

I'll keep the remaining songtitles under wraps for now as they are a bit uncertain still, but

here are some titles for you: 'Dark Wings, Dark Words', 'Carved In Stone', 'Titan', 'Shadow

Empire', 'Threshold' and 'Rebel Inside'."

HAMMERFALL are expected to enter the studio this summer to begin recording their new album for an

October 2006 release. The band's latest CD, "Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken", was released

in March 2005 via Nuclear Blast Records. The follow-up to 2002's "Crimson Thunder" was produced

and mixed by Charlie Bauernfeind (BLIND GUARDIAN, HELLOWEEN).