VIXEN singer Lorraine Lewis has confirmed to Metal-Net that the band has been hard at work on material for its new studio album. "Britt [Lightning, a.k.a. Brittany Denaro; guitar] and I write together through Zoom as often as possible — a few times a week," she said (see video below). "We've got some really good stuff going on. We've all been in the studio together when we were on tour last year; we did a lot of writing together. And so we have lots of songs that we're putting lyrics to. And we're working with Fred Coury from CINDERELLA. "I put a lead vocal on 'You Oughta Know [By Now]', the VIXEN [cover of Ray Kennedy's] song, and I went in the studio with him and Britt, [and I] did that. I put my vocal on 'Edge Of A Broken Heart' and 'Rev It Up'. And so we've got three songs that my voice is on the original recordings of that," she continued. "Yeah, Britt and I have been writing. Share [Ross, bass] has been writing with us. Roxy's [Petrucci, drums] been sending in songs. So we're all just kind of amped up. Everybody's so busy and crazy, but the album is a priority for sure. We're really excited. We can't wait to have new music as a band. This is gonna be amazing for all of us. "I feel so grateful and fortunate that I'm in a legacy band now and we're doing a flipping record," Lorraine added. "I mean, I couldn't be more stoked. Britt is an amazing guitar player. She's a blast to work with. We get our cocktails and we get on Zoom and we work on stuff together. And we've got some really great stuff." As for the musical and lyrical direction of the new VIXEN material, Lorraine said: "It's always going to sound like VIXEN as far as harmonies — [which is] really important to us — but really fresh. Lots of messages, lots of what our journey has been as individual women. And we're all just kind of putting our horses together, and I'm really excited. I'm just stoked to be in the studio again. "We don't have it a hundred percent mapped out," Lorraine admitted. "Right now, we're still in writing process, we're still working on stuff — lots of lyrics and just kind of sharing them with all of us. Sharing choruses with Fred. He says, 'Yes, this is a great chorus. Let's work on this.' So we're really, really happy and proud to be working with him. He believes in us, and he believes in me, which I really, really love. We've had a really great couple of talks in the studio and otherwise, like with Britt there, and him just saying, 'You guys have everything going for you. You have an amazing band. You're a legacy band. And you've got Lorraine doing vocals for you.' And I'm so appreciative that he believes in me and he thinks I can sing anything. When Fred tells you that you can do anything, you believe it. So I'm really excited to go into the studio and work with him. And I'm really honored that he has said some of the things that he said to me. So the sky's the limit here.' Lewis added: "I wanna release a really powerful, amazing record. And let's get a couple of singles out there, and let's revise the VIXEN legacy and keep on rocking." In January 2019, VIXEN recruited Lewis as its new lead singer following the departure of Janet Gardner. Lewis had already performed with VIXEN in March 2018 in Durant, Oklahoma while Gardner was recovering from surgery. Prior to Lewis's addition to VIXEN, Petrucci, Ross and Denaro vowed to "expand upon the VIXEN legacy while remaining true to our musical roots." Gardner, who released her debut self-titled solo album in 2017, broke the news of her exit from the group on January 16, 2019. Gardner, Petrucci and Ross are considered to be part of VIXEN's classic lineup, along with founding guitarist Jan Kuehnemund, who died of cancer in October 2013. Gardner contributed lead vocals to VIXEN's most commercially successful studio albums — "Vixen" (1988), "Rev It Up" (1990) and "Tangerine" (1998) — as well as the group's latest release, 2018's live album "Live Fire".
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