Guesting on the Eddie Trunk Podcast, found here, Journey guitarist Neal Schon discussed the band's plans for a new album and the pending court case against original bassist Ross Valory and longtime drummer Steve Smith, who were fired earlier this year.

On the new album:

"Given that the pandemic has been going on, we haven't all yet been able to be in a room together, but it's going really, really amazing. We have 13 new tracks in the can that Arnel (Pineda / vocals) is now singing on, but the band is on fire. I'm excited about this record and I believe we'll start releasing things after the New Year. 

We have new management that has come into play, and they've been amazing to work with - Q Prime and Cliff Burnstein - and they have quite a team put together, and they get it. I thought we were going to release the single a lot earlier, and then this (pandemic) all came down and they wanted to push it back a bit, and it makes sense. So we're gonna release a single, another single, a few months after that another single, and hopefully by then near the end of '21 we'll be back on tour when everything gets up and running again."

Journey parted ways with bassist Ross Valory and drummer Steve Smith due to the pairs attempt "to launch a coup to take over Nightmare Productions, Inc. (the corporate entity that controls the band’s name and trademark) in order to effectuate some amorphous retirement plan." On May 23rd the band performed a lockdown version of their hit "Don't Stop Believin'" for UNICEF USA's virtual event UNICEF We Won't Stop fundraising effort.

Bassist Randy Jackson and drummer Narada Michael Walden performed the song with lead guitarist Neal Schon, keyboardist Jonathan Cain and vocalist Arnel Pineda as Journey's new rhythm section. Keyboardist / vocalist Jason Derlatka also performs on the song. Check out the clip below.

Read more about the legal actions between Journey and their former members at Business Wire, and find the Cross-Complaint here.