At Long Last
Gaps Between Albums

Before the internet, when album sales were a direct metric of musical success, it was common to expect an album an every year. Sometimes, you could expect an album twice in a year. This was actually quite common in the 1960s and 1970s with bands like The Beatles and Led Zeppelin. As time went on, live music became in higher demand and artists would often take more of their time to tour the world abroad, so albums started to become less frequent.

As a teenager, it was a general rule of thumb that you could get an album from an artist every year or two and after three years, you would start to wonder if they were going to stick around. Times have changed and my tastes have changed and I generally run with the rule of four. After four years, I start to worry about the artist.
This week, we’re going to look at some artists that have gone a bit since releasing an album. We’ll start with small amounts and move on to the bigger ones.

ONE YEAR
:WUMPSCUT: (GERMANY)

Since 2004, :Wumpscut: has released at least one album every year. They have not released one in 2016, so it would appear that they are due. April 3, 2015 was the last one. April 18, 2014 and March 29, 2013 were the two before that. The Electro-industrial giants are nearing their 20th studio album and I am sure we will be seeing one soon.

TWO YEARS
EPICA (NETHERLANDS)

With the exception of Nightwish, it’s almost a standard that the female/male combo bands make a release every two or three years. Pre-production has begun for the symphonic metal band and if we don’t get an album this year we will definitely see one the following year.

THREE YEARS
KVELERTAK (NORWAY)

These black ‘n’ roll guys released their eponymous debut album in 2010 and it charted #3 in Norway. Three years later, they dropped Meir, which was the #1 selling album in Norway and charted in multiple countries. With a slated release date of May 13, 2016, we can expect the three year trend to continue.

FOUR YEARS
AESOP ROCK (UNITED STATES)

You would think that hip hop would have more frequent releases, but Brother Ali, P.O.S., and Aesop Rock have all been quiet in their respective solo careers since 2012. With the downfall of Definitive Jux Records, it was uncertain how long it would be between None Shall Pass and Skelethon. We waited five years and Skelethon was amazing. Now, we wait until April 29, 2016 and The Impossible Kid will be followed up by an extensive US tour. Expect updates on both the album and the show.

FIVE YEARS
SAMAEL (SWITZERLAND)

There is no evidence that Samael is working on another album but being that I just saw them perform and they typically release far more often, I should think five years is enough time for the industrial black metallers to put something out. I will wait and see, try not to get in the fetal position.

SIX YEARS
XASTHUR (UNITED STATES)

This project was deemed dead, but the dark ambient force decided he would revive the name for his acoustic project. The album, ironically named Subject to Change, is set to release this year.

SEVEN YEARS
GUILT MACHINE (NETHERLANDS)

Arjen Anthony Lucassen is a busy man with many projects but I would love to see another Guilt Machine album. On This Perfect Day was such an amazing debut album that I think the world deserves more, One can dream, right?

EIGHT YEARS
MIRRORTHRONE (SWITZERLAND)

Vlad Cochet is a man that not many know about. He is a one-man project responsible for Mirrorthrone, Unholy Martimony, and Weeping Birth. Since 2005, when the band “friended” me on MySpace, I have been consuming everything they have released. Mirrorthrone, to this date, is my absolute favorite band. With a Weeping Birth release in 2015 and an Unholy Matrimony release in 2013, I could easily see a Mirrorthrone release coming soon.

NINE YEARS
WINDS (NORWAY) and SCARVE (FRANCE)


I had to pick two bands because both of these bands I have been hoping for a release from for forever. Winds, a neo-classical metal band was said to be releasing an album last year but I don’t know if it actually released or not. Scarve, a technical death metal band, became known to me because the old drummer from Soilwork left to join them. They haven’t released anything since 2007.

TEN YEARS
SOLITUDE AETURNUS (UNITED STATES)

Robert Lowe did a few albums with Candlemass for a bit there but Solitude Aeturnus never officially disbanded. I’m hoping we can get something out of the epic doom heroes soon.

TWELVE YEARS
NECROPHAGIST (GERMANY)

There are a ton of memes about the new Necrophagist album which is going to release ANY DAY. The memes have been out for years. This was literally my inspiration for this article but there is more….

THIRTEEN YEARS
SLEEP (UNITED STATES)

Meeting heavy opposition with their record companies with Jerusalem (1999) and Dopesmoker (2003), the concept for an hour long song was a mission of Matt Pike and the boys for years. An Adult Swim release occurred of a single in 2014 so it seems possible that they could do another album here soon. I hope?
Anything beyond this is uncertain. Cynic took 15 years to release an album and Faith No More finally dropped one after 18 years, but no one could have known those were coming. So, here we are. Hopefully we can see some new stuff soon from everyone!

-Ryan