2019 is going to kick ass and you heard it here first. Loads of bands are gearing up to release records and we want them all now!
It’s amazing to think that this humble planet has orbited around the sun just 2019 times. Don’t start crying and retching while you whinge about science, it’s just a simple fact.
There’s lots to get excited about in the next 12 months. There’s the horrifying uncertainty of Brexit, Trump’s systematic dismantling of the United States, and the final, dying death rattle of the UK high street. Oh, and a general disappointment in sporting efforts.
So, with that in mind, there will be 11 albums – at least – that will offer a flicker of light in these pitch-black times as we scratch around for food and basic medicine like emaciated dogs.
Here’s what we know about these releases so far. And heck, we’ve sprinkled the lot with some tasty speculation. Tuck in.
Thanks to a snooping fan, news broke last summer that various members of AC/DC – including vocalist Brian Johnson and drummer Phil Rudd – were spotted mooching around The Warehouse Studio in Vancouver, where they’ve recorded their last three albums: Stiff Upper Lip, Black Ice and Rock Or Bust. An “insider” – mag speak for a loose-lipped angel – divulged that a new album may feature recordings of the late rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young, too.
Frontman Corey Taylor recently confirmed on Twitter that the Iowan nonet will enter the studio this month to complete work on their follow-up 2014’s .5: The Gray Chapter, with a view to releasing it in the summer. It appears that their as-yet-untitled sixth studio effort will coincide with their European tour which kicks off in June with an appearance at Finland’s Hyvinkää Rockfest. We’ve already had our faces melted by their Halloween surprise release All Out Life, while Taylor told Kerrang! last year that album six will be “Iowa-levels heavy”.
Tool. Oh, Tool. How many news stories have we published with scraps of news about the long-awaited follow-up to 10,000 Days? The answer is many. Prophets Of Rage guitarist Tom Morello said he’d heard the instrumental tracks as far back as December 2017 and described them as “epic, majestic, symphonic, brutal, beautiful, tribal, mysterious, deep, sexy and very Tool”. We were tossed some crumbs of hope by frontman Maynard James Keenan recently, when he revealed that he completed his vocals “months ago”, ahead of A Perfect Circle’s tour in support of Eat The Elephant. Tool begin touring in May, beginning with a date in Jacksonville, Florida on May 5, so if there’s not so much as a bar of new music, there’s going to be legions of fans chewing their fists with frustration. It’s only been 13 years.
Here’s some firm album news, in a way. Employed To Serve signed to Spinefarm late last year, and will release their follow-up to The Warmth Of A Dying Sun in the spring. Their last album was named Kerrang!’s Album Of The Year in 2017, so we expect big things from the Woking metal quintet.
It’s been a decade since Rammstein released their last album Liebe ist für alle da. With their gargantuan European stadium tour on the horizon, the band recently announced that their untitled seventh album – which was mixed by Muse/Biffy Clyro producer Rich Costey – will be out in April, with five videos being planned to accompany the release. “It’s so funny, during this recording process we’ve been like six guys in a band, arguing about each tiny fucking snare hit,” guitarist Richard Z. Kruspe told Kerrang!. “That was also such an intense experience. You name it, everything you could argue about we have. But now that it’s done, I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved. And actually, that intensity is what made our songs even better.”
In the last few months, the former My Chemical Romance frontman has indulged in a flurry of musical activity. Since Halloween, he’s released three brand new songs: Baby You’re A Haunted House, Getting Down The Germs and festive banger, Dasher. In a recent post on his official website, Way revealed that he’d been working on new music almost every Friday in 2018 and had amassed many demos. “2018 was a dark year full of black magic in my opinion, so it got me thinking about witches again,” revealed Gerard wrote. “I was inspired to buy this mask because I had just written a song called I Am The Hag, which I haven’t finished yet. It’s kind of heavy. Maybe I’ll release it in 2019.” Now that work on his Netflix series The Umbrella Academy is completed, maybe this will free up more time to turn his attentions fully to releasing a fully-formed follow-up to 2014’s Hesitant Alien.
Bakersfield favourites Korn are currently working on their follow-up to 2016’s The Serenity of Suffering. With Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Mastodon, AC/DC) at the production desk, the band have been working with blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and Goldfinger’s John Feldmann on tracks for their 13th studio album. Frontman Jonathan Davis recently revealed that he’s started tracking vocals in a post on Instagram. “I want to thank you all for your kind words over the last couple months what I’m going thru has not been easy by any means,” he wrote, referring to the tragic death of his wife, Deven in August. “You all helped make the pain bearable. In return I promise to give you my all on this amazing new Korn record. We all can heal together.” The band hope to release the as-yet-untitled album in the autumn.
In early December, Deftones posted a photo of Sacramento with the simple caption ‘#2019 #newmusic’. While we don’t proclaim to be super sleuths, we’ve got the nagging suspicion that the band are currently working on their follow-up to 2016’s Gore. Just a hunch. While it would take a fool to speculate on how the album will sound, given that the band are prone to taking left turns when most acts would be content to drive straight on, we’re hoping that guitarist Stef Carpenter will make use of his recent nine-string, custom-made ESP acquisition. Because riffs, that’s why.
Following the release of their MTV Unplugged album, Biffy Clyro have teamed up with director Jamie Adams to record a soundtrack for the film Balance, Not Symmetry, which is tentatively set for a 2019 release. There’s also a follow-up to Ellipsis in the works, which may be released in time for the band’s headline appearances at Deichbrand festival in July and Cork’s Indie19 the month after that. We could hazard a guess at what both recordings will sound like, but it’s Biffy Clyro. Polka ska thrash? You read it here first, kids.
Russian-Welsh extreme metallers Venom Prison have described their next studio effort as “heavier” than their debut Animus with themes of suffering. Produced by Tom Dring – who worked on their 2016 release – the album will be released through Prosthetic later this year. “The grind is real, see you in 2019,” say the band. Expect a thorough ear crushing, then.
In recent months, Bring Me The Horizon have eked out three tracks from their sixth album amo – the GRAMMY-nominated MANTRA, wonderful life (featuring Cradle Of Filth’s Dani Filth) and medicine – which suggests the 13-track collection will be even more eclectic than their 2015 album, That’s The Spirit. “For me it’s heavier and, not raw, but things hit you and make you feel a lot weirder than That’s The Spirit did,” says Oli Sykes. “They’re a lot deeper than anything we’ve ever written before.” You can find out for yourself on January 25. But be excited. Very excited.
Words: Simon Young
