HELLOWEEN Guitarist MICHAEL WEIKATH 'Can't Wait To Hear' Final Mixes Of New Studio Album

German power metallers HELLOWEEN are currently mixing their new album for a May release via Nuclear Blast. The CD was recorded at MiSueno Studio on the isle of Tenerife with producer Charlie Bauerfeind (GOTTHARD, HAMMERFALL).

A new video message from HELLOWEEN guitarist Michael Weikath can be seen below.

HELLOWEEN's forthcoming CD will be the band's first since their return to Nuclear Blast, the label that previously released released two HELLOWEEN albums, "The Dark Ride" (2000) and "Rabbit Don't Come Easy" (2003),both of which were reissued last year with extended bonus material.

In an October 2014 interview with Metal Shock Finland, Weikath stated about the recording process for the new HELLOWEEN CD: "In times like these when melodic heavy metal isn’t exactly at a pinnacle in the general media, you have to keep the costs low, you have to be specific to what you wanna do regarding the bullshitting or doing work. Obviously we want to get done in time, in the given schedule, what has been said is February. If we're ahead of the schedule, we've got a lot more time for mixing and mastering or whatever is going to happen. Regardless, there is no pressure, except there will be festival appearances [during the summer]. There's not so much else I could possibly tell about the process taking place, like album title or song titles."

HELLOWEEN's last album, "Straight Out Of Hell", sold around 4,100 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 97 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD entered the Media Control chart in Germany at position No. 4 — the highest chart position in the band's history. It also landed at No. 4 in Finland and No. 2 on the international album chart in Japan.

"Straight Out Of Hell" was released in January 2013. The cover artwork for the CD was once again created by Martin Häusler, who previously worked with the band on the "7 Sinners" and "Gambling With The Devil" CDs.