"The waiting is the hardest part" -- Tom Petty

When the fall of 2013 is over, it will be five years since four of the biggest rock bands in the world -- AC/DC, Guns N' Roses, Metallica and Motley Crue -- have released new studio records. That means we've got some seriously overdue albums in the classic-rock world.

So we decided to take a look at the 10 bands or artists who have kept their fans waiting the longest for a full-sized collection of new songs. Now let's be clear, we're not calling anybody lazy or pressuring them to release a record that's not up to their high standards. We're just saying, Guys, if you get the chance, and there's nothing else going on today ... how about you get into the studio and give us more rock?!

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    Cheap Trick

    Last Album: 'The Latest' (6/23/09)

    Cheap Trick obviously aren't lazy. It seems like there's rarely a night where they're not gracing a stage somewhere on the planet. But all that touring seems to have kept them out of the recording studio. In fact, their last studio album, the appropriately titled 'The Latest,' is now over five years old. So welcome to the overdue albums list, guys!

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    Guns N' Roses

    Last Album: 'Chinese Democracy' (11/23/08)

    Attention, all bands on our "overdue albums" list: Look, we get it. You didn't get into rock 'n' roll to be pinned down by deadlines. If we conquered the world, odds are our productivity would slow down a bit too. Plus, we know you're busy playing concerts all over the world, and of course you shouldn't release anything before its time. But you can't blame your fans for hoping some studio work just happens to move to the top of your to-do list, right? Obviously in the case of Guns N' Roses, we're well-prepared for a longer wait -- after all, there were 17 years between the 'Use Your Illusion' albums and 'Chinese Democracy.' But seeing as how the band's lineup has been stable for seven years now, and everybody's all warmed up and in sync from all that recent touring, well ... we can hope, right?

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    Metallica

    Last Album: 'Death Magnetic' (9/12/08)

    Yes, we're ignoring the much-derided 'Lulu' on our countdown -- after all, it's a collaborative effort with Lou Reed, not James Hetfield, singing. So the wait's at five years and counting for a new album from the mighty Metallica. Obviously, they've kept very busy with other projects during that time -- as you can see on this Loudwire feature. But so has Justin Bieber, and he's released three albums since 2010. Our point is not that "Biebs" and Metallica are comparable artists. Our point is that we need new Metallica music to balance out the pop-sugar overload that's currently ruling the album charts.

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    Motley Crue

    Last Album: 'Saints of Los Angeles' (6/24/08)

    Really, we shouldn't be worried that its been five years since the last Crue album -- after all, that roughly fits the pattern they've established over the past two decades. In fact, we probably shouldn't ask them to hurry up with this one. As the group has stated in recent interviews, its next release -- likely to be tied to a film version of the raucous autobiography 'The Dirt' -- is planned to be its last record. So rooting for a new Motley Crue album, even though we definitely want to hear it, is now the same as rooting for their career to end. What a crue-nundrum!

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    Def Leppard

    Last Album: 'Songs from the Sparkle Lounge' (4/25/2008)

    It's not like they weren't on a roll. In fact, Def Leppard's most recent album -- from all the way back in the Aughts -- shot to No. 5, highest since 1992's 'Adrenalize.' In the meantime, however, we've been forced to get by with scraps like the three new studio tracks on 2011's 'Mirrorball,' a pale comparison to the days when Def Leppard albums showed up like clockwork every few years or so. A health scare followed by Vivian Campbell, but that hasn't stopped Def Leppard from finally regrouping to work on new music now that the guitarist is healed up. A proposed EP grew into a full-length studio project over the course of 2014, and Def Leppard is now saying they'll have an album out in 2015.

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    The Who

    Last Album: 'Endless Wire' (10/31/06)

    Twenty-four years passed between the Who's first "last" studio album (1982's 'It's Hard') and 2006's surprisingly strong reunion record, 'Endless Wire.' True, the group is down to just two original members now. But since that pair includes Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey, we're pretty confident they can deliver another strong effort. Besides, they seemed to have had a blast on their 2013 'Quadrophenia and More' tour. So purists be damned, we're declaring the Who fair game for inclusion on our Overdue Albums list and hoping we get a new record from them sometime in the near future.

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    The Rolling Stones

    Last Album: 'A Bigger Bang' (9/6/05)

    The Rolling Stones spent decades as one of the more prolific bands in rock 'n' roll. Even the famous late-'80s feud between Keith Richards and Mick Jagger caused only a three-year break between 'Dirty Work' and 'Steel Wheels.' But they've released only three albums in the past 20 years, and it's been eight since 'A Bigger Bang.' We get it, they've earned the right to take things slow after 50 years in the business. But when they can deliver a great single like 'Doom and Gloom' out of the blue, it's hard not to wish they'd book more time in the studio to finish a new album.

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    Styx

    Last Album: 'Cyclorama' (2/18/2003)

    Styx has had a remarkably stable period after the departures of Dennis DeYoung in 1999 and then multi-instrumentalist Glen Burtnik in 2003. Since, they rigorously toured behind stalwarts Tommy Shaw and James "J.Y." Young. Unfortunately, the same energy hasn't been put into the studio side of the things. 'Regeneration,' a double album of re-recorded hits, also included a lone new song in 'Different in the World' back in 2011 -- but otherwise, Styx has gone more than a decade without a new album. (We're not counting 2005's 'Big Bang Theory,' which featured all cover songs.) Here's hoping that newer additions Ricky Phillips, of Babys fame, and vocalist Lawrence Gowan (who debuted on 'Cyclorama') spark some new ideas soon.

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    Steve Perry

    Last Album: 'For the Love of Strange Medicine' (7/19/94)

    Let's get this out of the way: Yes, Steve Perry released an album ('Trial by Fire') with Journey in 1996 -- two years after his second solo record was released. And two years after that he added five new songs to a solo best-of. So start your own count-up clock wherever you want, but the fact remains there's a lot of fans eagerly waiting for new Steve Perry material. In January 2012 he told Billboard he was getting serious about a new record. More recently Perry revealed he had two operations to battle skin cancer. Now that he's got a clean bill of health, is it fair for us to start bugging him about sharing new music again?

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    Jimmy Page

    Last Album: 'Outrider' (6/19/88)

    Again, this entry comes with a couple of caveats -- Led Zeppelin's former guitarist released full-length collaborative albums with David Coverdale (in 1993) and Robert Plant (1998) since issuing his first and so far only proper solo album. But, even if you count those, Page still would land at No. 2 on this list of Overdue Albums. Plus, counting the two Firm albums, that makes a grand total of five new records he's put out since Zep broke up more than 30 years ago. In the fall of 2012 Page spoke of his plans to release new material, but it seems possible he's currently more focused on a new series of Led Zeppelin remasters.

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