Smashing Pumpkins to release Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness sequel album
The music industry is generally left out of the fun of nostalgia-baiting reboots and revivals, especially these days when big reunion tours are impossible, but that’s because relatively few artists take advantage of the possibilities of a “sequel album.” Lil Wayne does it all the time, Meat Loaf does it whenever he needs a record to actually sell, and Weezer does it when the band wants to remind everyone of the good old days. Now, the Smashing Pumpkins are getting in on the fun, with Consequence Of Sound reporting that the band will be marking the 25th anniversary of Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness with a “sequel concept album” to both it and 2000's Machina.
It doesn’t sound like the new album has a name yet, or at least one that Billy Corgan is willing to divulge, but COS says that it will be available in late 2021 and will include a whopping 33 songs. That may sound like a lot, but given the pedigree, the expectations have to be high for this thing to have some hits. After all, Weezer can’t make a new self-titled album without some good pop-rock, and Meat Loaf can’t do a Bat Out Of Hell without some epic Jim Steinman ballads. So if Corgan is calling this a sequel to Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness then it’s got to have something at least conceptually on par with “Bullet With Butterfly Wings” or “1979.” Is that unfair? Maybe, but they’re the ones calling this a sequel.
The album release is also supposed to coincide with a big arena tour, but details on that are still being worked out (given the global pandemic that’s going on). Also, though this kind of makes it seem like an afterthought, there is also a whole new Smashing Pumpkins album coming on November 27 called CYR.