The top seven albums we were promised (and didn't get) in 2011
7
Van Halen - untitled twelfth studio album
Like most classic rock bands, Van Halen have been presumed dead for a long while now. However, back in August of 2010, it was announced that Van Halen were returning to the studio and would be releasing a new album in 2011. What made this particularly special was that original vocalist David Lee Roth was back in the fold, and the entire album was finished recording back in July. Unfortunately, the band didn't wind up signing a contract until November, and as of now, no release date has been confirmed. One thing is for certain, though: it'll be better than Van Halen III.
6
Nanocyborg Uberholocaust - Degrees
Only one band is so "trve kvlt [they] have no fans" and so desolately bleak that they record at the Geographic South Pole, and that would be Antarctica-based drone/doom/noise metal band Nanocyborg Uberholocaust. They announced back in June that their latest LP, Degrees, was in the process of being recorded and that it should be finished by early August. And since then...no one has heard from them. There's no word on whether they've finished recording or when they're planning to release the new material or if it's been scrapped entirely. Then again, a substantial effort is certainly required to record 26 individual hour-long tracks. Yeah, you did the math right. That album is 26 hours long. I bet they froze to death recording it.
5
Powerglove - untitled third studio album
All the way back in 2009, Powerglove's guitarist Chris Marchiel announced that the band was going to be working on two albums: one of TV show and movie theme covers, and one of their traditional video game soundtrack covers. The former, extremely excellent album Saturday Morning Apocalypse was released in 2010, and its follow-up was originally projected for 2011. Unfortunately, the album wasn't finished as planned. The band expressed their intentions to get back into the studio after finishing the Summer Slaughter tour this year, and reaffirmed that they'd be doing video game covers, but it's clear that they were a bit too optimistic with their original timeframe.
4
Rush - Clockwork Angels
Unlike most rock acts from the 70s, Rush have aged surprisingly well; their latest studio album, 2007's Snakes & Arrows, had some of the best material of their later career. And in June 2010, the band released a double A-side single promoting their newest album, titled Clockwork Angels. The two songs, "BU2B" and "Caravan", only seemed to improve on their latest album, and hopes were high for a 2011 release. And then other projects started to get in the way. The band extended their Time Machine tour further into 2011, and the final few songs on the album went unfinished. This album, has been tantalizingly close to being finished for a while--it's now being projected for an early 2012 release.
3
Meshuggah - untitled seventh studio album
This one was really more of an unintentional tease on the band's part. Originally, the band had announced in Terrorizer magazine that their newest album would be released sometime this autumn. However, in future interviews, the band revised their statement, pushing back the date to spring 2012. It's not that surprising, given how little we still know about this release, that some details were probably mentioned prematurely. However, it doesn't take away the sting of missing out on one of the finest bands in extreme metal for another year.
2
Gorguts - untitled fifth studio album
Following their resurrection in 2008, it was only a matter of time before Quebec tech death group Gorguts decided to record a new album. The band had finished the songwriting back in February for their first album since 2001's From Wisdom to Hate, even releasing an untitled teaser song from the album, and had planned for a release date this summer. Then, things started going sour. The band wasn't able to negotiate their record deal in as timely a manner as they hoped, and without new material to play live, the band cancelled their summer tour appearances. Fortunately, it seems things have gotten back on track for the band and, according to their website, the album is now expected to be released in 2012.
1
Gojira - Sea Shepherd EP
Everything seemed to be going well for this release. Gojira had lined up a host of guest musicians, they had everything recorded, and they had even leaked one track that whetted everyone's tastes: "Of Blood and Salt", featuring Fredrik Thordendal and Devin Townsend. And then, in an unfortunate accident, a hard drive containing a lot of material for the album broke, setting back the release indefinitely. And because it's a charity project (eventual proceeds of the album will go to the conservationist group Sea Shepherd), everyone involved is basically working for free, and progress on recovering the data and getting the album out there has been slow. In the mean time, the band have plowed ahead with other projects; they recently signed onto Roadrunner Records and started to record their fifth studio album. It looks like this release, however, is up in the air.
Words: Matthew Sarah
