Mike just posted an update on his schedule a couple hours ago. Yesterday, he finished a photo shoot for SOA's second album, now he's flying out to get ready for the Chicago FC show this Thursday, and then he's going to Neal's in Nashville to begin tracking drums for Transatlantic 5!!!
So we can finally confirm that Mike hasn't YET officially recorded his drums, but he will be doing them within the next week or so. For these albums, it always seems that the drums are first, and then once they're done, the others will begin tracking their parts as well, then finally the lyrics and vocals are completed. Given how long this process has taken in the past for The Whirlwind and Kaleidoscope, I'm willing to be they'll be recording between now and December, especially since that's when Neal and Mike will be back on the road for Flying Colors, and Roine will be on the road with Kayak for the TFK Tour. Pete, on the other hand, will be touring with Marillion through all of November and the first half of December, so hopefully he'll get his tracks done before November 1st!
Either way, if they all get their parts recorded by year's end, I suspect the mixing and mastering process will begin in the late winter months, around February and March. Optimistically, the album could come out in the summer, but Mike seems to insist that it'll be a "Late 2020" release, so who knows. I think if Mike will be busy with SOA through most of next year, he'll want a later release for TA so his schedule would allow him to tour with them.
-Marc.