Matt Helders appears to have given an update on the progress and potential release date of Arctic Monkeys‘ new album.

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Aside from the growth of Alex Turner’s new beard, news from the Sheffield indie stars has been relatively quiet over the last few years. A number of photos of the band seemingly in the studio emerged earlier this year, sparking speculation that work was well underway on album No.6 – before rumours of them making their comeback at TRSNMT Festival turned out to be false.

Now, Monkeys fan Will Franco, aka ‘scummyman’, shared a photo of himself with Helders after he met the drummer at a recent Royal Blood gig at The Wiltern in Los Angeles.


In the comment section beside the photo, one fan asked if he questioned Helders about a potential release date of the new record – to which he replied: “I did. He told me hopefully by the end of the year.”

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It was previously reported that the band had reunited to start work on their sixth album in their native Sheffield just before Christmas. Then in the following months, Matt Helders shared a photo of his drum kit surrounded by microphones while other photos emerged of the band at work in the studio in the US.

Read more: Arctic Monkeys new album – everything we know so far Advertisement An Arctic Monkeys’ spokesman said ‘no comment’ when approached by NME for a comment.