JOURNEY frontman Arnel Pineda has told Rolling Stone in a new interview that the band has completed six tracks for its upcoming album, with “maybe seven songs to go.” Asked if these cuts are ballads or rockers, he said: “For now, we’re doing the rocker songs first, not the ballads. I think the seven songs they’re working on, they’re working on something huge, like how you’ve known JOURNEY doing ballads. It’s between [1981’s] ‘Mother, Father’ and [1978’s] ‘Winds Of March’. We’re working on that song. We’ll see what happens. I’m waiting for them to send me the demos so that we can record it next week.”
Speaking about how things sound different now that bassist Randy Jackson and drummer/producer Narada Michael Walden are in JOURNEY, Arnel said: “It’s somewhat like the sound back in the eighties when Randy Jackson joined the band for the ‘Raised On Radio’ album. It’s kind of like that, but it’s also more updated. Narada is producing my vocals and mentoring me on how to do it. He’s telling me to sing it this way and that way. It’s amazing. I’m learning a lot from Narada. It’s truly an honor and I appreciate him for doing so. It’s amazing.”
As previously reported, JOURNEY is scheduled to headline the 2021 edition of Lollapalooza‘s flagship event in Chicago on July 31.
Last March, JOURNEY parted ways with bassist Ross Valory and drummer Steve Smith after the two allegedly attempted a “coup” in order to gain control of the JOURNEY trademark.
The new JOURNEY lineup performed a socially distanced version of “Don’t Stop Believin'” for UNICEF USA‘s virtual event “UNICEF We Won’t Stop”, which aired in May 2020 on MSNBC. That same month, JOURNEY was supposed to launch a North American tour with THE PRETENDERS, but canceled the trek amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
JOURNEY‘s most recent LP, “Eclipse”, was released in May 2011. The Walmart exclusive debuted on the Billboard 200 album chart at No. 13 — eight spots lower than the band’s previous album, 2008’s “Revelation” — which also went on to hit No. 1 on Billboard‘s Top Independent Albums chart.
