Aerosmith have recorded more than 20 songs for a new album, due in the spring, that is said to update their classic hard-rock sound with contemporary touches.

The band has been working in guitarist Joe Perry's home studio, The Boneyard, in the Boston area. Singer Steven Tyler and Perry are writing and producing the as-yet-untitled album with Marti Frederiksen and Mark Hudson, marking the first time members of Aerosmith have taken control as producers.

The band had been working on the LP with Matt Serletic, who produced

Aerosmith's first #1 pop hit, "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing," and has

worked with Matchbox Twenty and Edwin McCain. A representative for

Serletic said there was “no love lost” between the producer and

Aerosmith, adding that “Matt would have been there if they needed him.”

"We didn't want to do a color-by-numbers with a big-name producer," Perry said in a statement. "My stomach would get in a knot when we were considering other producers. Now it feels more organic. We didn't have to reproduce our energy, which is what usually happens when you work with a big outside producer. We just let go, and the sparks flew."

"We were harsh in our critiques of each other," said Tyler, who has been recording his vocals at his own studio, a few miles from Perry's. "We would be brutal. But we got through to the meat of the songs quicker. We've accessed a place we haven't been to before."

Songs already put to tape include "Jaded," "Beyond Beautiful," "Under My Skin" and "Avant Garden."

The LP follows Nine Lives, which debuted at #1 in the spring of 1997. No release date has been set, but plans are underway for a world tour to promote the disc.

Aerosmith will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March, along with Michael Jackson, Queen, Paul Simon and Steely Dan. Before that, they'll perform "Jaded" at next month's American Music Awards, where they will receive the Award of Achievement, recognizing their "rare and distinguished accomplishments." Formed in 1970, Aerosmith broke big with their 1973 power ballad "Dream On" and continued to record hit albums through the next two decades.