ALICE COOPER will be ushered into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame during the 26th annual induction ceremony, tonight (Monday, March 14th) at New York City’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.

Prior to his induction, Cooper has released a video message, thanking his fans. Check out the footage below:

Set to be honoured alongside singer Alice Cooper himself are drummer Neal Smith, bass player Dennis Dunaway, keyboardist Michael Bruce and the late Glen Buxton, who died of complications from pneumonia in October 1997.

While he prepares for tonight's long-awaited induction, Cooper continues work on Welcome 2 My Nightmare, a sequel to his 1975 concept album Welcome To My Nightmare, being produced by his partner in crime Bob Ezrin (PINK FLOYD, KISS).

The album features some other familiar faces from Cooper's past. The original Nightmare tandem of Steve Hunter and Dick Wagner played on the album, while Vince Gill plays on a track called 'Runaway Train'. And surviving Cooper band members Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway and Neal Smith reunited on the track 'When Hell Comes Home'. "I was going to go in and say, 'What I want this thing to have is this live, '70s sound - but I didn't have to say that. That's just the way they play," Cooper tells Billboard.com.

Nightmare 2, meanwhile, will have plenty of similarities to its predecessor. "There are certain songs where we let some of the themes from (the original) 'Nightmare' slip in," Cooper says. "All of a sudden you'll hear the little piano part from 'Steven' or from 'The Awakening.' I wanted (the albums) to be married together. I think we even make reference to a couple of characters from the original (album)."

Cooper is planning a full-fledged Nightmare 2 show for 2012.

Cooper (aka Vincent Furnier) and the original members of the Alice Cooper band - rhythm guitarist Michael Bruce, bassist Dennis Dunaway, drummer Neal Smith and late lead guitarist Glen Buxton - will be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame during the 26th annual induction ceremony at New York City’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The ceremony airs March 20th on Fuse (9 PM ET/PT).

Footage of the band (minus Alice himself) rehearsing for the event can be seen below: