The Firestarter hitmakers began working on the follow-up to their 2009 disc Invaders Must Die in 2012 when Liam Howlett decided to ditch the tracks because he did not think "it was the right sound".

His bandmates Keith Flint and Maxim grew increasingly frustrated with Howlett as he spent longer and longer trying to create new material and the tension between them threaten to derail the album.

Howlett tells Britain's The Sun newspaper, "In 2012 we had five tracks written and those tracks were tested out live. So you can imagine the frustration of the band when I turn around and say, 'Oh, by the way, I've binned those tracks'. They are like, 'Cool. What have you got?' 'Nothing'.

"We came close to splitting up during the making of this record... I am a bit of a control freak and Keith understands. Maxim is the mediator in a way, between Keith and me... It can be very difficult just manoeuvring your friendship around working but when we finished the album we both knew it (their friendship) was restored. It was all part of the process."

Flint adds, "Making this record tested our friendship but it proved it was never in doubt. Liam knows me well and I know Liam well... we could not be sitting here after 25 years if not."

The two bandmates have previously fallen out during recording - while making 2004's Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned they did not speak to each other for more than a year.

Their new album, The Day Is My Enemy, is set to top the U.K. albums chart on Sunday (05Apr15).