Recently W Korea released a photo spread featuring members of EXO, and it’s basically a visual representation of EXO-L waiting for the next album.

I feel you, Chanyeol.

Exo has released a full-length album, a repackaged album, and a winter mini-album each year since debut.

Last year’s album, The War was released in August 2017.

It’s now nearly October 2018.

No new music.

Over the years, the members have been getting busier with external activities. Kai, Sehun, and Chanyeol go to fashion events. Suho is starring in a musical. DO is starting a serious acting career, and is currently the male lead in a drama. CBX exists. There are variety shows. Collaborations happen.

Still, no new music.

Members are starting to stare down Korea’s mandatory military enlistment.

(I believe Xiumin is required to enlist this year.)

Military service time is 18 months.

There is a deadline.

Here’s what I think is going down:

SM is “testing” the fans, to see if they’ll wait patiently for more than a year between albums. (It’s been 14 months and so far nobody has gone crazy yet.)

Sometime this fall, maybe in November at this point (after NCT 127 and Lay), EXO will finally release new music.

The repackaged album will take the place of the winter album, to be released in December.

After that, all the members will enlist at the same time. During that time, SM slow-drips content. They are getting the hang of YouTube, and fans would 100% love another dedicated EXO variety show, especially when the members are in the military.

Or perhaps they stagger into 2 groups separated by 6-8 months, and we are treated to a new subunit or two.

When they are discharged and back together full strength, EXO head directly into the recording studio an through the magic of the SM production machine, have new music ready to release in a ridiculously short amount of time.

One of the many things that SM Entertainment does well is learn from its mistakes. Super Junior has been taking a long time to get back on its feet now that its members are trickling out of the military. I doubt that SM wants to inflict that on EXO.

Anyway, I really hope we get new EXO music soon. The end.