Rock's hot autumn

Rock never really went on holiday. In fact, after a summer that brought names like Queens Of The Stone Age, Kasabian, Interpol and Marilyn Manson back to the big stages and delivered major releases – from Charli XCX's “Music, Fashion, Film” (our current Album of the Month) to Chelsea Wolfe's hotly awaited new album “The Dark” – autumn 2026 is gearing up to take the baton with a particularly packed release calendar. It's not just big comebacks: between August and November, veterans, key figures of contemporary indie, new post-punk talents, singer-songwriters, metal, electronic and pop artists all cross paths. From Fontaines D.C. to Interpol, from Neil Young to Kristin Hersh, from Ministry's latest chapter to rising names such as Cameron Winter, Protomartyr, Emma Ruth Rundle and Troye Sivan, here are some of the most anticipated releases of the coming months.

Rock's big names, between comebacks and reaffirmations

Setting the stage for the season was Marilyn Manson with “One Assassination Under God – Chapter 2“, the second chapter of the new creative phase begun with the previous album and once again made with Tyler Bates. A record steeped in dark atmospheres, between aggressive guitars, electronics and more introspective tones. August 28 will instead see Interpol release “This Mirror Weighs A Ton”. Paul Banks and co. thus add a new chapter to a story that began almost thirty years ago, while the same day will also see the return of Dinosaur Jr. with “There Near” and Alabama Shakes with “I Must Be Dreaming”.
September 4 will bring Kasabian's “Act III”, the ninth album from the band led by Serge Pizzorno, while September 11 will see the arrival of “Anatomy Of A Brief Romance”, the much-anticipated comeback of Bloc Party, once again called upon to reckon with the post-punk legacy they helped redefine in the early 2000s with the milestone album “Silent Alarm“.

Among the most prestigious comebacks is also that of Queens Of The Stone Age. Josh Homme and co. have announced “Perfecth”, the band's ninth album for Matador Records, preceded by the single “Easy Street”. After 2023's “In Times New Roman…” and the “Alive In The Catacombs“ project, QOTSA are thus firing up the stoner rock machine once again, even if a firm release date has yet to be confirmed: the band has only teased a few details in a splatter teaser released in recent days, which ultimately points to “September 30, coming…sooner or later”.
What's certain, however, is that October 2 will bring Johnny Marr's “The Age Of Everything”, while October 9 will see Teenage Fanclub return with “Do Not Dare To Dream”. And October 16 will also bring Mark Oliver Everett's Eels with “Cookie Happened”, yet another chapter in a career spanning over thirty years, suspended between ballads, distortion, melancholy and dark humor.

The return of Fontaines D.C. and the new indie scene

One of the season's key dates is set for October 16, when Fontaines D.C. will release “Dopamine Chamber”, their fifth album and the follow-up to 2024's “Romance”. Produced by James Ford, the record seems set to continue the Irish band's metamorphosis toward increasingly electronic and synthetic territory. The new tracks “Marianne” and “Six Shot Morning”, already showcased live, have offered a first taste of the Dublin band's new phase.

But indie rock's autumn 2026 slate is far from limited to Fontaines D.C. September 25 will be a particularly packed day, with releases including “Violins” by Blondshell, “The Gem” by Julia Jacklin, and above all “Hotel Usona” by Protomartyr, one of the bands that have best kept the tension of American post-punk alive over the last decade and a half. On the same date, Gilla Band will release “Pugnello”, continuing to work the border between noise-rock, post-punk and industrial abrasion.

October 9 belongs to Cameron Winter, frontman of Geese and one of the most celebrated figures of the new American scene, with “Live At Carnegie Hall”. Not a proper new studio album, then, but a significant document of the meteoric rise of an artist who has quickly become one of the most closely watched names in contemporary indie. The same day will also bring “All Inside Aquarium” by Bodega and “Just Beyond Endless Mountain” by The Tallest Man on Earth.
Then, on October 30, it's DIIV's turn with “ZIRP!”, a new chapter from one of the leading bands of contemporary American shoegaze and alternative, where walls of guitars, psychedelia and electronic experimentation continue to coexist.

Songwriters strike back: from Neil Young to Kristin Hersh and Beck

September 18 looks set to be one of the busiest days of the entire season. Neil Young, together with his new band the Chrome Hearts, will release “Second Song”, the latest work from an artist who keeps up an impressive release schedule without ever turning his past into a museum piece. The same day sees the return of Kristin Hersh with “Sugar On Blackstone”: the former Throwing Muses leader, always one of the most personal and reclusive figures in American alternative rock, adds another piece to a career split between bands, solo work and writing. Also out on September 18 is “These Killing Times” by Emma Ruth Rundle, whose music keeps moving through a borderland between confessional songwriting, dark folk, ambient and post-rock.
That same date will also see Beck return with “Ride Lonesome”, while Slow Pulp release “Melodie” and Rhiannon Giddens puts out “Hope Is The Thing With Feathers”. On August 28, meanwhile, Jim James of My Morning Jacket will be in the mix with “Wowed Out”, alongside Ty Segall and his “Chrome”: two very different ways of understanding the continuity of the American rock tradition.

Metal, industrial and heavy sounds

The heavier side of things is also gearing up for a particularly crowded autumn. On August 28, Mastodon will release “Marrow Deep”, while Russian Circles return with “Nine”, continuing to explore the instrumental territory where post-metal, post-rock dynamics and atmospheric density end up overlapping.
September 18 belongs to Anthrax with “Cursum Perficio”, a new chapter for one of the institutions of American thrash metal. But one of the most symbolically significant dates arrives on October 23 with “From The Dark”, Tony Iommi's first proper solo album in over twenty years. The Black Sabbath guitarist returns to center stage with a project that also features Brian May of Queen among its guests. October 30 will then see the return of Ministry with “Hate To Go (Take Out Or Delivery)”, billed as the final act in the saga of Al Jourgensen and co., one of the longest-running and most radical trajectories in industrial rock: a journey that began over forty years ago and has passed through electronic mutations, guitar fury and political satire.
Rounding out the heavy picture are Cult Of Luna, expected on November 6 with a new work that promises to continue their exploration of monumental atmospheric post-metal, while as early as September 4 Sleep and Chat Pile will hold down the fronts of stoner-doom and noise-metal respectively.

Between electronica, synth-pop and cross-contamination

On the more electronic side, worth noting: on September 11 Bonobo will release “Distance In Static” and Sylvan Esso will put out “Ow ∞”. September 18 belongs to Actress, one of the most recognizable names in experimental British electronica, with his new work “Radical Frame”.
September 25 will also bring “I Wrote You A Letter” by M83 and “Danceteria“, the long-awaited swan song from Soft Cell, dedicated to the memory of the late Dave Ball, while on October 9 HAAi will release “Digitise”. October 16 will bring the return of Avalanches with “No Bad Memories”, alongside new releases from Two Shell (“Infinite Now”) and Jacques Greene (“JG”).

Pop that looks beyond the charts

Pop, too, has some major comebacks in store. On September 18 Carly Rae Jepsen will release “Day And Night” and Beabadoobee will put out “Pylon”. September 25, meanwhile, will bring “Popstar” by Tinashe.
Among the most anticipated titles is above all “She's The Best” by Troye Sivan, due October 9. The Australian artist has by now become one of the most recognizable figures in contemporary international pop, equally at home in club culture, electronica, dance and songwriting without ever giving up a strong visual identity. The same day will also see the release of “Mud” by Remi Wolf, while October 16 belongs to Rachel Chinouriri with “I Think I Spoke Too Soon”.

Between reissues, live albums and archival releases

It's not just about new material: autumn will also bring plenty of news on the reissue and archival front. On September 18, Parlophone will release David Bowie's box set “The Shel Talmy Recordings”, the most complete collection yet dedicated to the sessions recorded in 1965 with producer Shel Talmy, a key figure in British rock thanks to his work with The Who and The Kinks. September 25, meanwhile, will see the release of “Eternal (Live)” by Joy Division.

On the big-name front, the door remains open for further announcements. Bruce Springsteen released the monumental box set “Tracks II: The Lost Albums“ back in 2025, but the possibility of new material keeps fueling expectations regardless. Slash has confirmed the existence of unreleased Guns N' Roses recordings, while “No Veteran Dies Alone“ — the album Sinéad O'Connor was working on with David Holmes before her death — remains without a release date.
And then, of course, there's the ever-present Robert Smith, currently going through an unusually prolific phase. After “Songs Of A Lost World“, The Cure have further material left over from the long recording cycle begun in 2019, and Smith has repeatedly hinted at additional albums set to carry that project forward. Whether any of it will actually surface before the end of 2026 remains to be seen…

Ride the wave of great music

Add OndaRock to your favorite sources on Google Discover. Don't miss our reviews, milestones and latest news straight in your feed.

Follow on Google