Year in Rock 2016 Preview: Five Records We're Definitely Getting

For as dry as the last couple months of 2015 were, I'd have expected to be looking at a slew of exciting releases to ring in 2016. As it stands, though, not a lot has been confirmed as of yet. Still, what the release schedule is lacking in certainty is more than made up for in its possibilities for the coming twelve months.

Before we head into the murky waters of speculation, let's check out some of 2016's sure things:

DAVID BOWIE
Blackstar
Release Date: January 8

Incredibly, David Bowie continues to experiment and tinker with his sound on his upcoming twenty-fifth (!) studio album. True to form, the title track and lead single is a sprawling ten-minute tour de force of tones and emotions; for a man as renowned for his stylistic shifts as Bowie, it's endearing to hear him still pushing boundaries and creating unique visions of sound as he approaches his seventies.

SAVAGES
Adore Life
Release Date: January 22

If you were thinking that the high percentage of amazing music being created by females in 2015 was a blip in rock's timeline, and that things would go back to "normal" in 2016, Savages would have words. If lead single The Answer is any indication, this particular trend may just be getting started.

BLOC PARTY
Hymns
Release Date: January 29

There's a fair amount of uncertainty surrounding Bloc Party's upcoming fifth record, and with good reason; half of the band members have been swapped out, and the first taste of new music from Hymns was in the form of warped evangela-raver The Love Within. It's unquestionably a risky move, but one that's easier to digest considering it was immediately followed by a much more formidable rock song in The Good News.

WOLFMOTHER
Victorious
Release Date: February 19

Who knows what to expect from Wolfmother anymore? After a slew of lineup changes, an Andrew Stockdale solo record and two surprise-released Wolfmother records that never saw official physical releases, it sure seems as though Stockdale is taking his band seriously again by releasing their first officially official actual record in seven years. It also seems like, through all the changes, not much has changed in terms of the band's sound.

ANTHRAX
For All Kings
Release Date: February 26

After all the turmoil and drama that surrounded the long-gestating release of 2011's Worship Music, the five-year wait for Anthrax's eleventh album seems perfectly reasonable by comparison. Despite further lineup changes (guitarist Rob Caggiano bolted for Volbeat a few years back, being replaced here by Jon Donais), the first taste of For All Kings finds the reigning "Big 4" MVPs in fine form once again.

Thanks again for making 2015 a huge year for Sound Bites. I'm chomping at the bit at the possibility of so many great records hitting shelves next year, and we'll talk more in depth about some of those really soon.

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