Revolver Magazine have put together a preview for 2012 and highlighted the albums that they are most looking forward to hearing in 2012. Check out what they had to say below, as well as some write ups on Roadrunner artists who featured in the preview:

2012 is going to be a good year. Even if it brings with it the end of the world. How can we know? Because some of the biggest, badass-est bands in hard rock and heavy metal are set to drop new bombs over the following 360 days. Read on to see just what we mean–and get fucking psyched.

RUSH
TITLE: Clockwork Angels
RELEASE DATE: TBA
In the time since Canada’s best progressive hard-rock power trio released their last disc, 2007′s Snakes and Arrows, they’ve celebrated their 40th anniversary and seen their story told in the documentary Beyond the Lighted Stage. For their 19th(!) LP, they’ve worked with producer Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Evanescence, Alice in Chains) and written songs—two titles of which have been released, “Caravan” and “BU2B”—which guitarist Alex Lifeson describes as “very dynamic.”

LAMB OF GOD
TITLE: Resolution
RELEASE DATE: January 24
Every album from these Virginia leaders of the New Wave of American Metal is an event. But this latest is particularly momentous: It sees the band expanding their signature thrashy sound in surprisingly directions and doing it well, from the Eyehategod-ian slow-mo sludge of opener “Straight for the Sun” to the Dimmu Borgir-esque orchestral strings and operatic female backing vocals of closer “King Me.” Still, Resolution never really sounds like anyone other than Lamb of God.

GOJIRA
TITLE: TBA
RELEASE DATE: Spring
It’s no secret that we love environmentally minded prog-death outfit Gojira over here at Revolver. We’ve been championing the French “green metal” crushers ever since we heard the behemoth opening track of their 2005 opus, From Mars to Sirius. Their first record on new label Roadrunner, Album No. 5 should hit like a force of nature.

PERIPHERY
TITLE: TBA
RELEASE DATE: May
While the originators of “djent,” Meshuggah, will drop their new symphony of destruction in March, the band responsible for the proliferation of the term, Maryland-based prog metallers Periphery, will follow with their latest in May. According to guitarist Misha Mansoor, it will be the first of two albums the band is working on, which will have completely different sounds and approaches. Sounds nerdy—and awesome.

KILLSWITCH ENGAGE
TITLE: TBA
RELEASE DATE: TBA
In mid-December, Killswitch Engage guitarist Mike D’Antonio posted on his Facebook page that the metalcore band was convening around Christmastime to write a new record. He added, “Even Howard is coming,” referring to frontman Howard Jones, who had missed some of the group’s 2010 shows, supposedly due to back pain. Then, on January 5, the band announced Jones had left the band citing personal reasons as the cause. Their statement said, “He has left big shoes to fill, so we certainly have our work cut out for us to find the next singer of Killswitch, something we plan on making priority #1 going forward.” So we’re still holding onto our hopes that there will be a new Killswitch record in 2012.

SHINEDOWN
TITLE: Amaryllis
RELEASE DATE: March 27
The last album from these southern hard rockers, 2008′s platinum-selling The Sounds of Madness, made history with each of its six singles hitting No. 1 in the radio airplay ratings. The lead single, “Bully,” from this follow-up should keep that streak going. Of the other tracks, frontman Brent Smith promises a mix of “bone-crushing” tracks like “Adrenaline” and more contemplative ballads such as “Through the Ghost,” a song about the strains of constantly being on the road and away from home.

SLASH
TITLE: TBA
RELEASE DATE: TBA
Feeling reinvigorated after touring with Alter Bridge vocalist Myles Kennedy in support of his self-titled solo album—a disc that featured different singers ranging from Ozzy to Fergie singing songs—Velvet Revolver and former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash set to work on an LP that features just Kennedy and his impressive range. Considering the guitarist was still recording the disc in December, around the time Guns N’ Roses’ induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was announced, we can only imagine the adrenaline that will be surging through the album.

SOULFLY
TITLE: Enslaved
RELEASE DATE: March 13
Between Soulfly, Cavalera Conspiracy, and his aforementioned new band with Dillinger Escape Plan’s Greg Puciato, former Sepultura frontman Max Cavalera apparently does not sleep. Which is fine by us considering the consistent ferocity of his output. This eighth Soulfly album comes out as the band celebrated its 15th anniversary and features guest turns by Dez Fafara of DevilDriver/Coal Chamber and Travis Ryan of Cattle Decapitation. Sounds like it should be too much brutal goodness for us to refuse or resist.

DOWN
TITLE: TBA
RELEASE DATE: Late winter
The last Down record, 2007′s Over the Under, was a beast. Since then, the southern stoner-metal supergroup—featuring the aforementioned Phil Anselmo, Corrosion of Conformity’s Pepper Keenan, Crowbar and Kingdom of Sorrow’s Kirk Windstein, and Eyehategod’s Jimmy Bower—have split amicably with bassist Rex Brown (now of his own supergroup, Kill Devil Hill, with erstwhile Black Sabbath drummer Vinny Appice), brought on Pat Bruders (Goatwhore, Crowbar, Outlaw Order), and announced plans to release a series of EPs. The first of these will be a six-song mini-album of what Anselmo describes as “pretty pure doom.”

KISS
TITLE: Monster
RELEASE DATE: TBA
For the second release on the makeup-slathered hard-rock legends’ own Kiss Records, vocalist-bassist-Demon Gene Simmons promises a “meat and potatoes” kind of record, a Kiss record you can depend on. Next year will be the group’s 40th anniversary, and with Monster, they want to prove they can still rock and roll all night and party every day in style. Also, be on the lookout this year for an official book about the band that will be four feet tall!

Click here to see who else Revolver tipped for 2012 and click the band’s names in the above text to keep up to date with them and their upcoming album releases!