Sweden's SOILWORK check in with the following band update:

"First of all, we wanna say thanks for a great 2006.

We had a great year and alot of great tours. It was fun to see you all out there. Since the release of Stabbing The Drama in 2005, we made about 250 shows for that album.

Now its time to take a rest, but also to get focused on the upcoming album.

Right now we're working on the new songs. We have about seven songs ready and so far it sounds great. It will be a killer album. We will enter the studio at the beginning of March and, hopefully, the album will be out in late summer.

We will keep you updated of the recording progress.

And... regarding the guitarist situation... soon it will be decided who's gonna replace Peter.

So, once again... thanks for the great support and... see ya in 2007."

As previously reported, Soilwork's guitarist, Peter Wichers, left the band in December 2005 to pursue a career in producing.

Stay tuned for further updates.