The Pulse of Radio reports that CHEVELLE is currently in the studio working on its fifth album, but the group plans to break out and play some live shows this spring as well. The trio will kick off a spring mini-tour on April 10 in Tampa, Florida, with shows booked through the end of the month. The band will also appear at Columbus, Ohio's Rock On The Range festival on May 16. There's no word on whether the group plans to preview some new material at any of the shows.

Although CHEVELLE is now recording in Nashville with producer Brian Virtue, drummer Sam Loeffler told The Pulse of Radio that the band considered producing the album itself. "There's certainly less money to be made in music these days, and to be able to produce your own records really allows you to keep a lot of your recording budget in your pocket, which is important, especially for, you know, for a band like us who is a, you know, we are really a touring sort of band," he said. "So as far as record sales and things like that go, you know, there's a lot less money everywhere."

CHEVELLE's new album will follow up 2007's "Vena Sera". A post at the band's official web site reads, "We have spent a lot of time making these songs something different from past records without losing the core of our passion. We are a hard rock, melodic band and it's still what drives us as musicians."

Newly announced CHEVELLE tour dates (subject to change):

April 10 - Tampa, FL - St. Pete Times Forum (98 Rock Fest)
April 11 - Fort Meyers, FL - City of Palms Park
April 14 - Beaumont, TX - Scout Bar
April 15 - Corpus Christi, TX - The Pavilion
April 17 - Odessa, TX - Dos Amigos
April 18 - San Antonio, TX - St. Mary's University
April 25 - Orlando, FL - Tinker Field
April 26 - Summerville, SC - Ladson Fairgrounds
May 16 - Columbus, OH - Rock On The Range