Lead singer Matthew Sanders, better known by his stage name M. Shadows, has revealed that not only did Mike Portnoy replicate the drum patterns Jimmy Sullivan had already written for the record prior to his death, the late drummer himself makes an appearance as well:

"Jimmy actually left a couple of vocals on the record. They're kind of like a goodbye. It just happens that he sang 'em in key, he sang the words very clearly, and there was no bleed in the mics or anything, and so we used 'em on the record. So Jimmy actually sings on the record. All of his drum fills are intact, it feels like Jimmy playing. So it feels like our last record with Jimmy, pretty much."

Shadows also recently said that Sullivan wrote his last song for the album, originally called Death, just three days before he passed away.

Jimmy Sullivan was found dead at his California home on December 28, 2009. The cause of death has not yet been revealed.

'Nightmare' will arrive in stores on July 27 via Warner Bros. Records. The cd was produced by Mike Elizondo (Dr. Dre, Eminem) and is currently being mixed in New York City by noted engineer Andy Wallace (Slayer, Sepultura, Nirvana, Disturbed).