STREAM OF PASSION drummer Davy Mickers has checked in from the studio with the following update:

"We know that a lot of you are waiting for news on the new Stream Of Passion album. In the coming weeks/months we'd like to give you the opportunity to follow the stories of our recording adventures.

After a year of writing songs we've finally come to the point of the actual recordings for the new Stream Of Passion album. We had been rehearsing like crazy to be extremely well prepared. It was exhausting, but worth every minute of it. I was completely ready to kick some ass in the studio and start recording the drums.

During rehearsals we had a lot of support from our producers, Jochem Jacobs and Joost van den Broek. They attended several rehearsals to work on all the songs with us, so I felt completely comfortable working with Jochem in the studio. Johan accompanied us the whole time and other band members dropped by to show their support.

We recorded the drums at Excess studios in Rotterdam. The atmosphere there is very relaxed and we didn't really have any time pressure, which gave me the right comfort to perform at my best. Some of the songs had some difficult parts for me, so I was quite nervous. Luckily my nerves rapidly changed into excitement when we were ready to start.

We started by playing along to some guide tracks and recording it to get me into the right level of concentration. Jochem thought I would pick some easy songs to get into it, but I wanted to do some of the more difficult songs first. I wanted to get rid of my insecurity about certain parts, so I would be more confident when we would do the actual recordings. Some of those takes ended up being good already, so I didn't even have to play them again.

At the end of that day we had already recorded about 75% of the songs. Mentally we were still up for more, but physically it started to get really heavy. My arms were getting exhausted, so we decided to call it a day. Which was okay, because it was already way passed midnight.

The next day we took our time to wake up. I was completely at ease. I felt quite confident that I should be able to perform just as well as the day before. First I did some warming up on the drums. We checked all mics, signals and the tuning of the drums and after that it was 'kick-ass-time' again. Before dinner we were finished with all the basics of the songs. That day we had the privilege of having our own personal catering. My girlfriend offered to cook for us, so we had a very tasty meal. Bram, a close friend of mine, was coincidentally mixing in the other studio room that day, so he joined us for dinner.

After that we recorded a few songs with a different snare, to make sure we would have the right sound. We finished off by doing some overdubs with an extra floortom to make sure that part would sound really heavy. Before I could even realize it, we were done. I was packing my stuff in complete confusion, because I was prepared for four days of studio time. I didn't expect to be finished and leaving two days earlier.

It all went by in a flash, but I had a great time. There's still a lot to do, but the kick-off was very promising. I'm still full of excitement and I can't wait to hear the results."

Grtz, Davy