Post Anticipated: Albums we're still anticipating from last year's Most Anticipated issue

Not everyone featured in last year’s Most Anticipated of 2009 issue managed to follow through with their best laid plans. For one reason or another, a handful of bands had to bump their albums to 2010. Why? Read on.

CHIODOS
It’s not exactly a secret why Chiodos had trouble releasing the follow-up to 2007’s Bone Palace Ballet. “People had trouble arranging their priorities,” says keyboardist Brad Bell. “Inner-band conflicts and distractions came up that took too much time to solve.” Although you’ve likely heard the last of vocalist Craig Owens with Chiodos, Bell says you definitely haven’t heard the last from his band. “We have plenty of material ready and are trying to get it all lined up in the most perfect way possible,” he says, citing this spring as a tentative release date. “It’s the next level for us. It feels like our musicianship has surpassed anything we’ve ever done, and we’ve had more fun writing our new stuff than we’ve had during the past five years.”

CIRCA SURVIVE
It seems like forever since we last heard from Circa Survive. After they finished their tour with Thrice in the spring of 2008, frontman Anthony Green released and toured for his debut solo album, Avalon. The band reconvened at home in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, and when their commitment with Equal Vision was completed, they made the major-label leap to Atlantic."When we started the record, I was in a really weird place," says frontman Anthony Green. "Lots of things were changing in my life as well as in the band, and the timeline that we had traced out was drawn in pencil long before we even had any idea who would put the record out." Circa recorded their third full-length from August through October in Toronto, slated to hit streets in March or April. Green says that the wait will be worth it. "We hit a creative wave around four months into writing," he says. "We just wanted to keep pushing ourselves. The songs just kept getting better and better."

PANIC! AT THE DISCO
You can’t really blame Panic! At The Disco for needing an extension to finish their third album. After all, half of the band left this past summer. “Our band went through a transition which was definitely the right thing for everybody involved,” says drummer Spencer Smith. “But we’re definitely back on track now.” Smith and frontman Brendon Urie have been focusing their efforts on the album for the past several months, only playing a few sporadic shows so the record can be released by summer. “There are a bunch of songs that are more or less done and others that are still at a rough stage with lots of potential,” says Smith. “It’s still going to be very ‘Panic.’ There are elements of everything our fans love worked into what we’re writing, but it’s another step in the evolution of our band.”

PAST LIVES
Eager fans who’ve been not-so-patiently awaiting the first full-length from former Blood Brothers Jordan Blilie, Morgan Henderson and Mark Gadjahar can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Tapestry Of Webs is set to drop Feb. 23 on Suicide Squeeze.

RIVAL SCHOOLS
Frontman Walter Schreifels might have had sinister PR motives for the delay in Rival Schools’ long-awaited sophomore album. “We were shooting for a two-year sweep of Most Anticipated appearances,” he says. “That, and we didn’t have a label or team in place to get the record released in 2009.” But the band have finished recording and are now discussing titles and artwork. “I’m pleased with the transition from our last, long-ago record to this one,” he says. “I think it bridges stylistically while [moving] forward into new terrain.” The album should be out by late spring.

THE ROCKET SUMMER
While the Rocket Summer’s Bryce Avary ran into some “unexpected hiccups” with scheduling and label changes, it could end up being a good thing for fans. “Throughout the waiting process, I ended up writing and recording even more songs,” says Avary. “There are now more than 20 fully produced tracks. The hardest part now is deciding how all of these songs get out there.” The songs that do make it onto the new album–which will be out in either February or March–are bound to blow you away. “I wanted to make an album that had more substance, an honest album that really connects with people,” says Avary. “There’s an optimistic vibe throughout, but it also deals more with struggles than ever before. I wanted to write songs the whole world could sing along to, but if the album didn’t get the shot, I wanted it to still be an album that meant more to someone than anything I’d done before-and an album that meant more to me, too.” alt