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For a while it was looking as though albums might be dying. With the ability to pick and choose tracks, many people just don’t bother buying a full album in the digital age. But some acts staunchly stuck to the format. One notable example is Alter Bridge, who claimed a while back that no matter what changes in the music industry they would never switch to only releasing singles.

But nowadays the album format has been saved. It’s true that sales are admittedly still down, and there aren’t as many albums nowadays that are “must-listens” start-to-finish as there were in the past. But surprise releases like Beyoncé’s self-titled album and Drake’s If You’re Reading This it’s Too Late, as well as the early release of Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly have made whole albums talking points again. In fact, Kanye West declared release dates dead, saying that his seventh album, So Help Me God, would be released “when it’s ready.”

That’s not to say the surprise release system works for ever artist, it can really only work if you’re already an established name. But it’s clear that the standard album release cycle is outmoded. And that’s why it’s unfortunate that some, mainly rock, acts are sticking with it.

Take Alter Bridge guitarist Mark Tremonti for example. His second solo album, Cauterize, is due out on June 9th. The problem? The album is already completed. Hell, there’s even been listening parties, people have heard this record. Now Tremonti is essentially just sitting on it while he goes through the standard release cycle to drum up hype. And while singles may hype people up, in this modern age where many of us have followed the recording of Cauterize through social media, is more hype really necessary?

I can’t speak for everyone, but to me holding off an album like this only serves to make me lose hype. I’ve already been anticipating Cauterize for a while, but needlessly waiting until June isn’t helping. Especially in a year that’s already jam-packed with fantastic releases, it runs the risk of being forgotten by then.

Surprise, or at least spontaneous, album releases really do look like the future. They have a lot of advantages of course. For one, they avoid leaks. Cauterize has over two months to leak, I honestly doubt it’ll take until June for people to hear this record. Secondly, it makes the album a talking point. And most importantly, it’s fan-friendly. There’s no need to put off an album for two months just to go through an outdated system of single releases. Unfortunately too many rock bands are stuck in the past, but hopefully they’ll look at what’s going on in the pop and rap communities and realise that this new system really is the way forward.