Canada's powerhouse rock trio and Razor & Tie recording artists DANKO JONES have parted ways with drummer Damon Richardson. "The separation is an amicable one and Damon cites fatigue as his reason for parting," the band write in a statement. "Five years banging skins for DANKO JONES takes its toll and Damon was too road-weary to continue. JC [John Calabrese; bass] and Danko [Jones; vocals, guitar] wish him well in his future endeavors, as does the rest of the DANKO JONES family! Taking Damon's place will be Toronto-based drummer Dan Cornelius. Dan's been a hard working session drummer in the city and has played with DAMN 13, among other bands/artists. We're excited to welcome him and think that he'll be an excellent fit."

As previously reported, DANKO JONES have been tapped to support NICKELBACK on their upcoming Canadian tour, which kicks off on January 17 at the CN Centre in Prince George, British Columbia. The hard-working, charismatic Canadian band has been on tour criss-crossing the United States, Europe and Canada since the American release of their album "We Sweat Blood" in April of 2005.

In between global tour dates, the band managed to find time to record new songs; DANKO JONES' highly-anticipated new album, "Sleep Is The Enemy", is now slated for a May 2 release in the United States (February 20 in Europe via Bad Taste Records). The first single from the album will be "First Date". The band will shoot the accompanying video in their native Canada in February.

"Sleep Is the Enemy" was produced and engineered by Matt DeMatteo at Record High Productions in Toronto and was mixed by Vic Florencia at Phase One Studios in Toronto. Mastering duties were handled by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound in New York (Ted's previous work includes GREEN DAY's "American Idiot" and R.E.M.'s "Around The Sun"). Artwork was created by WalseCustomDesign.com.