Following their Bang Your Head appearance, ASTRAL DOORS treated a select group of journalists to a six-song teaser for their upcoming Jerusalem concept album. There will be eleven tracks on the finished player, set to be mixed by Daniel Bergstrand (IN FLAMES). Foregoing his mic to serve as master of ceremonies, Nils Patrik Johnasson candidly discussed the errors of the past and the plans for the future. The idea for Jerusalem swirls around the three major religions, all of whom have fought over the Middle Eastern holy city for thousands of years. In fact, to the singer's eyes, religion eventually leads to war.

Progressing chronologically, the opening track is '7th Crusade', a ballsier direction according to the frontman. In fact, most of the new material witnessed a beefed up sound. Lyrics include: “We are the knights of the seventh crusade. I guess this Holy War will last forever.”

Johnasson prefaced 'With A Stranger's Eye' as “more in the style of Cloud Breaker. We deal with New Age (movement).” Heavier and faster than its predecessor, it opens with the titular phrase.”With a stranger's eye I've watched the age of Aquarius. On the other side. Look at yourself, transcendental mind.”

“Lyrically,” Nils began talking about 'Children Of Rock N Roll', “it's about a guy. Probably me. He's tried everything (spiritually?) and only rock n roll (works).” Another heavy bottom end thumper. “I'm a child of rock n roll. Get out of my way, there's a fire in my soul.” There was talk of having Doro Pesch work out a duet for this song, but “Astral Doors don't have guest artists. We stand on our own.”

'Pearl Harbor' somehow breaks from the concept, this being the twin to 'Black Rain'. Mid-tempo, it starts with guitars and pounding bass, then goes into more esoteric territory. “The battle was lost, but the war was won.”

'Lost Crucifix': “Our first two albums were classic hard rock,” states the singer. “Then we took influences... no power metal this time, only classic hard rock. This was the easiest writing session.” Mid-tempo, with an underscore of keyboards, again it's the bass that immediately strikes the listener. “Candles burning in the night. Help me find my lost crucifix.”

“This our comeback,” seems an odd statement for a band that's never been away, but as they freely admit, they've slipped a bit since those earliest records. “We need to take another step, imagewise. We realize that. Look at him..” as he pokes fun at his guitarist. “We've hired a stylist. We're going to work on the image. Good music is not enough. We want to play for 10,000 people, not 100 people in the clubs.” Think RAINBOW's 'Can't Happen Here'. “I'm the whore of Babylon. Come to me I'll sing my song.” It actually utilizes the lyric “Evil is forever', referencing an earlier work.

The album will once again be through Metalville in Europe.