2026 in rock music

This article summarizes the events related to rock music for the year of 2026.

Notable events

January

• Alter Bridge releases their eighth studio album, Alter Bridge . ^[1] It debuts in the top 4 of 4 separate national album charts.
• German thrash metal band Kreator releases their 16th studio album, Krushers of the World . ^[2] It debuts in the top 8 of 4 separate national album charts, including at number 2 in the German album charts.

Albums released

January

Day	Artist	Album
9	Alter Bridge	Alter Bridge
16	Kid Kapichi	Fearless Nature
	Kreator	Krushers of the World
23	Goldfinger	Nine Lives
	Megadeth	Megadeth

Future releases

• February 6 – Australian progressive rock band Karnivool is scheduled to release their first studio album in 13 years, In Verses . Work on material began as early as 2016, but has progressed slowly due to all band members growing older, starting families, and physically moving away from one another. The album is scheduled for release on February 6, 2026. ^{[3] [4]}
• February 27 – Rob Zombie is scheduled to release his eighth solo studio album, The Great Satan , on February 27, 2026. It is his first new album in nearly five years. ^[5]
• March 13 – The Black Crowes are scheduled to release their tenth studio album, A Pound of Feathers. It is the follow-up to their 2024 post-reunion album Happiness Bastards . ^[6]
• March 20 – Exodus is scheduled to release their thirteenth studio album, Goliath . It is their first studio album in nearly five years, and their first with vocalist Rob Dukes in sixteen years. ^[7]
  • Poison the Well is set to release their sixth studio album, Peace in Place. It is their first new album in nearly seventeen years. ^[8]
• April 3 – Canadian indie rock band Good Kid is set to release their debut studio album, Can We Hang Out Sometime?. ^[9]

Unknown dates

• Shinedown is scheduled to release their eighth studio album in the first quarter of 2026. The band had previously spent 2025 releasing singles from it, including "Three Six Five", "Dance, Kid, Dance", "Killing Fields", and " Searchlight". ^[10]
• Evanescence is scheduled to release their sixth studio album in early 2026, their first album in five years following The Bitter Truth in 2021. ^{[11] [12]}
• Sevendust is scheduled to release their fifteenth studio album in early 2026. ^[13]
• Slayer guitarist Kerry King is set to release his second studio album in early 2026. He started working on it after his first ever headlining tour. ^[14]
• The Ataris are scheduled to release their sixth studio album in March or April 2026, their first since Welcome the Night (2007). ^[15]
• Blondie is set to release their twelfth studio album, High Noon, in spring 2026. It will be the band's final album to feature its former drummer Clem Burke, who died in April 2025. ^[16]
• Social Distortion is scheduled to release their eighth studio album in May 2026. The band's follow-up to 2011's Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes was originally set for release in 2023, but vocalist and guitarist Mike Ness' diagnosis with stage one tonsil cancer delayed the album's release. ^[17]
• The Toadies are set to release their eighth studio album, The Charmer, in the spring of 2026. ^[18] The follow-up to 2017's The Lower Side of Uptown was supposed to be released in 2024, but the death of Steve Albini (who produced the album) contributed to its two-year delay. ^{[19] [20] [21] [22]}
• Mudvayne is scheduled to release their sixth studio album. It will be first album in over sixteen years since their self-titled 2009 studio album after being inactive for most of the 2010s. ^[23]
• Papa Roach is scheduled to release their twelfth studio album. Both singles released in advance of the album in 2025, "Even If It Kills Me", and "Braindead", topped the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts. ^{[24] [25] [26]}
• Bruce Springsteen is scheduled to release a solo album in 2026. ^[27]
• Alice in Chains is scheduled to release their seventh studio album, their first in eight years following Rainier Fog in 2018. The band had originally hoped to be more active in 2025, but plans were put on hold due to undisclosed health issues of drummer Sean Kinney. ^[28]
• Sublime is scheduled to release their first album in 30 years. The album will be the first to feature vocals by Jakob Nowell, son of original vocalist, Bradley Nowell, who died in 1996, and had previously effectively ended the band's career outside of separate project Sublime with Rome. ^[29]
• Slipknot band members are scheduled to release an album. The album, Look Outside Your Window , was recorded by four of the band's members in 2008 during the band's lengthy All Hope Is Gone sessions. The album will have a more experimental and melodic rock sound as opposed to their traditional metal sound. ^[30] The band once aimed to release it in 2023, once band members were scheduled from their record label contract. ^[31] It was delayed to 2024, due to Corey Taylor's commitment to his second solo album CMF2 in the second half of 2023, and then again to 2025 and then 2026. ^{[32] [33] [34]}
• Welsh heavy metal band Bullet for My Valentine is set to release their eighth studio album, their first since their self-titled album in 2021. They started working on it in 2024. ^[35]
• French heavy metal band Gojira is set to release their eighth studio album. It will be their first studio album since Fortitude in 2021, and since their live performance at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. ^[36]
• Steel Panther is set to release their seventh studio album, their first since On the Prowl in 2023. They began working on it in early 2025. ^[37]
• English rock band Def Leppard is set to release their 13th studio album. After releasing a single titled "Just Like '73", guitarist Phil Collen said it was "the seed of a new Def Leppard album". ^{[38] [39]}
• Anthrax is set to release their twelfth studio album. It will be their first studio album in a decade, since For All Kings in 2016. ^[40] Bassist Frank Bello said their upcoming album will be "heavier than ever". ^[41]
• Korn plans to release their fifteenth studio album. Members have stated that they aim to meld their "vintage" sound with a "modern twist", and that it would go into a heavier direction. The band concurrently plans on celebrating the 30th anniversary of their 1994 self-titled first album. It will also be their first album without original bassist Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu, who left the band in 2021. ^[42]
• Motionless in White is scheduled to release their seventh studio album, their first since Scoring the End of the World in 2022. The band is taking their time with its writing and recording, prioritizing quality over maintaining their momentum in popularity gains in the 2020s. ^[43]
• Five Finger Death Punch is scheduled to release their tenth studio album. In May 2024, guitarist Zoltan Bathory revealed the band had been recording a follow up to AfterLife (2022). ^[44]
• The Pretty Reckless are scheduled to release their fifth studio album. Recording for the album began in mid-2023. ^[45]
• Limp Bizkit is working on their seventh studio album, they started working on new material in 2024, during their touring schedules. ^[46] It will also be their first studio album since the death of original bassist Sam Rivers, who died in October 2025. ^[47]
• Former Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello is set to release his debut solo studio album. ^[48] It is his first album after the band abruptly disbanded in early January 2024. ^[49]
• Breaking Benjamin is scheduled to release their seventh studio album, their first since Ember (2018). Recording for the album began in either 2020 or 2021. ^[50]
• Incubus completed their ninth studio album in 2025, and is scheduled to release it sometime within year end. ^[51]
• German post-metal band The Ocean is set to release their eleventh studio album. It will be their first studio album following another line-up change, with it being the first studio album with drummer Jordi Farré. ^[52]
• English rock band Deep Purple is set to release their 24th studio album. ^[53]
• Foo Fighters is set to release their twelfth studio album. It will be their first studio album with new drummer Ilan Rubin, who replaced the band's previous drummer Josh Freese in 2025. ^[54]
• Everclear is set to release their tenth studio album, their first in eleven years following Black Is the New Black in 2015. ^[55]
• New York hardcore pioneers the Cro-Mags are set to release their seventh studio album, their first in six years following In the Beginning in 2020. It will also be their first studio album with drummer Pete Hines since Best Wishes in 1989, following his return to the band in September 2025. ^{[56] [57]}
• Murphy's Law is set to release their sixth studio album, making it their first in 25 years since The Party's Over in 2001. ^[58] "Go, Jimmy, Go" was the first single released in advance of the album's release in October 2025. ^{[59] [60]}

Tours and festivals

• Innings Festival is set to be held from February 20 to February 22, 2026. It will be headlined by Blink-182, Twenty One Pilots, and Mumford & Sons. ^[61]
• Triumph's comeback tour, the Rock & Roll Machine Reloaded tour, is set to take place from April 22 to June 6, 2026. It will be their first major tour with the original lineup of Mike Levine, Gil Moore and Rik Emmett together since the latter's departure from the band in 1988. ^[62]
• Welcome to Rockville is set to be held from May 7 to May 10, 2026. It will be headlined by My Chemical Romance, and Bring Me the Horizon. ^[63]
• Rush's reunion tour, the Fifty Something Tour, is set to take place from June 7 to December 17, 2026. It will be their first major tour in eleven years, and their first with drummer Anika Nilles filling in for the band's longtime drummer Neil Peart, who died in 2020. ^{[64] [65]}
• Warped Tour is set to be held in June, July, August, September, and November. ^[66]
• Louder Than Life is set to be held from September 17 to September 20, 2026. It will be headlined by Iron Maiden, and My Chemical Romance. ^[67]

Band breakups

• English post-hardcore band Svalbard is set to disband after completing their farewell tour. The band also plans on releasing one final song before disbanding. ^[68]
• Brazilian heavy metal band Sepultura is set to disband after completing their 40th anniversary farewell tour, and the release of their final EP, set to release in 2026. ^[69]

Deaths

• 10 January – Bob Weir, 78, American rock guitarist and singer-songwriter (Grateful Dead) ^[70]
• 22 January – Francis Buchholz, 71, German hard rock and heavy metal bassist (Scorpions) ^[71]
• 28 January – Sly Dunbar, 73, Jamaican drummer (Sly and Robbie, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones) ^[72]
• 28 January – Billy Bass Nelson, 74, American bassist (Parliament-Funkadelic) ^[73]

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