History DevelopmentHell / Music

* In late 2021, Music/{{Aaliyah}}'s uncle and former label head Barry Hankerson announced that he would be releasing a new posthumous album called ''Unstoppable'' sometime in January 2022, utilizing vocal demos she recorded before her death in 2001. However, the release date came and went, seemingly showing no signs of coming out anytime soon. Its lead single "Poison" featuring Music/TheWeeknd underperformed and was met with backlash due to the poor quality of Aaliyah's vocals compared to the Weeknd's. Aaliyah's fans also called the song "disrespectful" and felt that it tainted Aaliyah's legacy.

* In late 2021, Music/{{Aaliyah}}'s uncle and former label head Barry Hankerson announced that he would be releasing a new posthumous album called ''Unstoppable'' sometime in January 2022, utilizing vocal demos she recorded before her death in 2001. However, the release date came and went, seemingly showing no signs of coming out anytime soon. Its lead single "Poison" featuring Music/TheWeeknd underperformed and was met with considerable backlash by fans who felt that it was tainting Aaliyah's legacy.

* Music/BloodhoundGang notoriously took six years to follow up their major hit album ''Hooray For Boobies'' with the relative flop ''Hefty Fine''. The follow up to that , ''Hard-Off'', would take another ten years to release, with only one new song coming out in-between, "Altogether Ooky" in the 2010 GreatestHitsAlbum ''[[PunBasedTitle Show Us Your Hits]]''.

* Music/LimpBizkit's ''The Unquestionable Truth (Part 2)''. The first one came out in 2005, and the band went on hiatus shortly after its release. They reunited later, and released ''Gold Cobra'' in 2011, then announced that ''The Unquestionable Truth 2'' was '''not''' cancelled and would be released in 2012. As of 2019, neither this album nor "Stampede of the Disco Elephants" is released yet.

* Music/PeterGabriel teased the idea that his follow-up to ''Up'' could be a double-album, which he tentatively named ''I/O''. This was in ''2002''. The album still hasn't been released yet (he's released two albums since, one [[RearrangeTheSong rearranging his old songs]] and one [[CoverAlbum covering other people's]], but still hasn't released an album of original material since). He's since said that the album might end up taking less ambitious proportions, but it remains unreleased.

* Anderson, Wakeman, and Rabin, the group reuniting three former {{Music/Yes}} members, first formed in 2010, but did not have a public performance until six years later. New material has been worked on since then with an album (or, depending on what you hear, an EP) sometimes being teased, although nothing's been confirmed as of 2018.

* Music/TearsForFears announced they were working on a new album in 2013 and after numerous delays and rerecordings, stated it was complete, titled ''The Tipping Point'' and would come out on Warner Bros in 2017...shortly after which they resigned with Universal Records who got the rights to release the new album, but insisted the group release a new Greatest Hits collection featuring two of the new songs as a way to drum up publicity for it. ''The Tipping Point'' is still unreleased as of late 2018, and when it will come out is anyone's guess, the group was planning a tour to tie in with it, but postponed this until 2019 due to Orzabal being unwell. ''The Tipping Point'' is finally scheduled for release in February 2022.
** The above had the knockon effect of delaying The Seeds Of Love Deluxe Edition (which is complete) was planned as a 25 year anniversary edition to being a 30 year anniversary edition instead (if it even comes out at all). Appropriately, the original release of The Seeds Of Love was originally announced in 1986 though due to the group deciding to completely change their production style, took until 1989 to come out.

* One of the most notorious lost albums in indie rock is ''Dear Tommy'' by Chromatics. The band had originally announced ''Dear Tommy'' in 2014 with a release date of February 2015, which came and went without sight of the album. Later planned release dates also passed by, and 11 songs that were intended at one point for the tracklist were released as standalone singles between 2014 and 2020. In 2017, band leader Johnny Jewel announced that he had destroyed every physical copy of the album - 15,000 [=CDs=] and 10,000 [=LPs=] - following a near-death experience and had re-recorded the entire thing. A few months later the band performed "Shadow", a single intended for the album, on an episode of ''Series/TwinPeaks'', earning them some of the highest profile media attention of their career and it was speculated that the album would soon follow, but it did not. Instead, the band released a completely different new album called ''Closer to Grey'' in 2019 with promises that ''Dear Tommy'' was still on its way and more new songs were released from it in the ensuing months. Speculation over the album ended for good when Chromatics broke up in August 2021 when all the members other than Jewel quit, and one of those former members speculated that ''Dear Tommy'' would never be released. Later that year, Pitchfork [[https://pitchfork.com/news/did-chromatics-album-dear-tommy-ever-exist-in-the-first-place/ speculated]] that ''Dear Tommy'' was never finished or sequenced apart from the singles released from it over the years, and some parties close to the band dispute that the physical copies that Jewel proported to have destroyed ever existed.

*** Music/{{TI}}'s "Shit Popped Off" was written as a ''Detox'' reference track, but ended up getting substantially rewritten and going on T.I.'s ''Fuck Da City Up''.

*** "Crack A Bottle", which ended up on Music/{{Eminem}}'s 2009 album ''Relapse'' (and sticks out a mile due to not fitting the MedicalHorror SlasherMovie [[ConceptAlbum concept of the rest of the album]]). A [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=281aPdgvEe0 leaked demo]] exists in which Eminem - {{ghostwriter}} of the track - raps two demo verses in character as Dre; the released version of the song moved Slim's second verse to the start of the song, and exchanged Dre's last verse for one by Music/FiftyCent.

* Music/DrDre spent over a decade working on his planned third studio album, ''Detox''. Dre released two well-received promo singles intended for the album in 2011; the second, "I Need a Doctor", hit the top 5 and was nominated for a Grammy. Dre finally scrapped ''Detox'' in 2015, and released his eventual third album, ''Compton'', a companion album for the film ''Film/StraightOuttaCompton''.
** Not to mention "Helta Skelta" the LOOONG delayed collaboration between Dre and Ice Cube. We are also waiting for the "New" NWA album with Snoop Dogg replacing Eazy-E. Dre has a history of announcing albums and never delivering.

* Music/TearsForFears announced they were working on a new album in 2013 and after numerous delays and rerecordings, stated it was complete, titled "The Tipping Point" and would come out on Warner Bros in 2017...shortly after which they resigned with Universal Records who got the rights to release the new album, but insisted the group release a new Greatest Hits collection featuring two of the new songs as a way to drum up publicity for it. "The Tipping Point" is still unreleased as of late 2018, and when it will come out is anyone's guess, the group was planning a tour to tie in with it, but postponed this until 2019 due to Orzabal being unwell.

* Music/ThomasDolby stated on his forum in 2009 that he was working on deluxe editions of his third and fourth albums "Aliens Ate My Buick" and "Astronauts And Heretics" for release a few months after the deluxe editions of "The Golden Age Of Wireless" and "The Flat Earth" earlier that year, but they ultimately never did. He has stated since that due to record label mergers, it has been much harder to access the original tapes, although has also said that there isn't much unreleased material from this period as there was for the other albums.

* Music/LaurynHill's second studio album was reported to be in some stage of development since shortly after her first, ''The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill'', won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 1999. Hill ended up taking an extended hiatus from recording - she didn't release a new studio single until 2010, and put out a few non-alum singles after that, but a new album never came to fruition. As of 2021, Hill [[https://www.harpersbazaar.com/celebrity/latest/a35152434/lauryn-hill-reveals-why-she-never-released-second-album/ doesn't appear to]] have plans to ever record another album.

* Music/LaurynHill's second studio album has been reported to be in some state of development since shortly after her first, ''The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill'', won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 1999. Hill didn't release a new studio single until 2010, and has released a new song or two every few years since then, but hasn't announced a new album.

* Despite the success of the Music/BlueOysterCult and their solid record of acclaimed albums, it ''still'' took the best part of twenty years for band Svengali Sandy Pearlman to get his pet project, ''Imaginos'', off the ground. Even though individual tracks had appeared on the band's early LP's and were sound and well received, delays and stalling and indifference from record companies meant it was 1988 before Pearlman's supernatural concept LP saw the light of day. By then, only the TwoOysterCult were left - two of the original lineup - and the record was scratchily completed by a gaggle of hopefuls and disinterested studio session musicians. It was not a hit and to this day, the new tracks from the album are never performed on stage.

* ''Music/BeastieBoys''[='=] ''Hot Sauce Committee (Part 1)'', Part 2 of which was actually released. The album was originally scheduled for September 15, 2009, but was frequently delayed by MCA's health problems, resulting in his 2012 [[AuthorExistenceFailure death]]. (The songs that were scheduled for Part 1 ended up on Part 2, which was released in 2011.) The group managed to record again before MCA died, but it is not known if that material will ever be released.

* Music/{{Kraftwerk}} has been teasing a new album since 2003. While long absences aren't uncommon for the band (for instance after 1991's ''The Mix'' they basically went missing for nearly a decade), the fact that in the time since their last album founding member Florian Schneider quit ([[AuthorExistenceFailure and subsequently passed away]]) leaves this new album's fate uncertain.

* Greek BlackMetal band Astarte's sixth album was delayed for a long time by vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Tristessa's health problems, which resulted in [[AuthorExistenceFailure her death]] in 2014. Some of her bandmates are finishing the album and it is planned to be released under the name Lloth (the band's original name).

* Chuck Schuldiner of Music/{{Death}} fame planned a second Control Denied album, ''When Man and Machine Collide'', but his AuthorExistenceFailure prevented it. He did, nonetheless, record quite a lot of music for the album, but it was unfinished at the time of his death. Surviving band members have expressed a wish to complete the album, but various factors including a legal dispute with the band's record label and the theft of the band's equipment have prevented it from occurring as of this writing (January 2016). Note that Chuck died in December 2001, meaning that the project has been in a state of hibernation for over fourteen years.

** By extension, anything related to Music/XJapan or Music/YoshikiHayashi is often subject to this. X Japan's reunion album was first teased in 2008... and still hasn't been released as of January 2019.

* DarkWave band Midnight Resistance have been teasing a third album since 2017, (their second having been released way back in 2012) but nothing tangible has surfaced, aside from three singles. The COVID-19 outbreak certainly didn't help matters.

* ThomasDolby stated on his forum in 2009 that he was working on deluxe editions of his third and fourth albums "Aliens Ate My Buick" and "Astronauts And Heretics" for release a few months after the deluxe editions of "The Golden Age Of Wireless" and "The Flat Earth" earlier that year, but they ultimately never did. He has stated since that due to record label mergers, it has been much harder to access the original tapes, although has also said that there isn't much unreleased material from this period as there was for the other albums.

* Wintersun's next album, ''Time'', is taking forever to be released, supposedly due to problems with the recording equipment. It slowly became a punchline akin to ''VideoGame/DukeNukemForever'', although the band has performed new material (including a new 10-minute song) live. As of 2012, the band has said it's almost finished and has a release date, so expect to see this entry moved to SavedFromDevelopmentHell soon.
** How soon is yet to be seen. While the first half has been released, the second half is being delayed for unknown reasons until... '''2014!?'''. Funnily enough, 2014 saw nothing except Jari attempting to crowdfund it while going on about how much Nuclear Blast fucked him over, but the real reason seems to be absolutely ridiculous and unreasonable demands that just about anyone would balk at. There may be some background information that hasn't been disclosed, but at face value, it largely appears to be the result of Jari wanting a veritable palace of a recording studio and not getting it.
** They wound up recording a completely different album, ''The Forest Seasons'', which was released in July 2017.
* E Nomine's next album. It was stated that it would be out by 2008 but as of September 2009 there has been no news of ''any'' band activity.
** Because in 2012, the founding members started a new band, Schlafes Bruder. ''That'' group released its first album in 2013. And hasn't had a release since.

* The Black Star follow-up album.

* Music/{{Kraftwerk}} has been teasing a new album since 2003. While long absences aren't uncommon for the band (for instance after 1991's ''The Mix'' they basically went missing for nearly a decade), the fact that in the time since their last album founding member Florian Schneider quit leaves this new album's fate uncertain.

** Frontman Chester Bennington's solo group Dead by Sunrise released one album back in 2009, much like Mike, he expressed interest in doing more solo work, but the plans have ultimately been derailed by his 2017 suicide.

* Poe's third album.

* Music/DrDre's third solo album, ''Detox''. It was in talks for most of the aughties, having been since 2000. The album had two well-received promo singles in 2011; the second, "I Need a Doctor", hit the top 5 and was nominated for a Grammy. Dre finally scrapped the project in 2015 in favor of a new set of songs for the ''Film/StraightOuttaCompton'' movie.

* While both Music/StevieNicks and Lindsey Buckingham have wanted to do a CD version of their pre-FleetwoodMac album ''Buckingham Nicks'' for over 25 years, the project has stalled mainly due to difficulty in finding usable master tapes.

* After the release of Music/TheBeachBoys' critically acclaimed ''Music/PetSounds'', Music/BrianWilson immediately went to work on ''Smile'', an album that he planned to be his magnum opus. Public interest in the album quickly rose with the preview single "Good Vibrations" in the fall of 1966, but Wilson's good fortune quickly took a turn for the worse due to a combination of a drug induced breakdown, his bandmates' unenthusiastic response to the project (which, depending on who you asked, ranged from mild confusion to outright hostility), and the "Heroes and Villains" single stiffing on the charts, which greatly affected Brian's confidence in the project. By May of 1967, Wilson shelved the project, more or less ending his role as the main creative force in the group. Some of its songs were re-recorded in often inferior versions for ''Smiley Smile'' (the originals were finally released officially on the 1993 box set ''Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys''), "Cabinessence"'s original recording was eventually released on ''20/20'' in 1969 and "Surf's Up" made it out on the eponymous 1971 album, in a patchwork form that included a new lead vocal by Carl Wilson recorded over the original 1966 backing track, and a heavily overdubbed second section using Brian's vocals and piano demo of the song. Meanwhile, the album would remain untouched (and [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes bootlegged]]) for the next 37 years before Wilson decided to give it another shot. ''Smile'' was finally released as a solo album in 2004, with surprisingly positive reviews. In 2011, Capitol Records released ''The Smile Sessions'', which includes a reconstructed version of the album using The Beach Boys' original recordings.