17 Active Bands That Haven’t Released an Album in Five Years

There are at least 20 big rock and metal bands that haven't released a new studio album in five or more years.

Some artists regularly pump new albums out every few years and others take their time — their sweet, sweet time. Five years ago it was 2021 and it was a strange time. Though we'd made it through what seemed like the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were still a lot of precautions we had to take to try and prevent the world from having to shut down again.

There are quite a few artists who actually haven't released albums since prior to onset of the global pandemic, which almost feels like an entirely different lifetime.

Some bands tour and release one-off songs here and there without releasing new albums. Other artists have multiple projects they're a part of, so they have to balance out their time evenly amongst them. The rest of them maybe just don't plan on releasing new music anymore.

READ MORE: Songs 30 Huge Rock + Metal Bands Only Played Live One Time

We compiled a list of active bands — meaning they are currently together and playing shows — that haven't released an album in five years or more. To be eligible, the artist's last studio album had to have come out over five years ago, so live albums, compilations and EPs don't count.

Likewise, acts who've announced the title and release date for their next record don't count since we know for sure that a new record is underway.

Scroll through the gallery below to see the active rock and metal bands that haven't released an album in five years or more.