GNOME: Bottom task bar is missing/blank after upgrade

I am running kali linux, which has gnome. I just updated with apt-get update && apt-get upgrade and that completed without incident, only a little while after did I realise that my bottom taskbar was missing(well technically just blank(black)). The one where running programs are displayed as well as the 4 buttons that allow switching between workspaces. I have searched around for the last hour, and tried a few things, such as gconftool --recursive-unset /apps/panel && killall gnome-panel and a couple of variations thereof. Nothing has worked so far. I also tried: apt-get build-dep gnome-panel which installed a ton of stuff to my surprise... but still, no fix. If I type gnome-panel into the terminal I get the message: Cannot register the panel shell: there is already one running. So clearly, it's not gone(anyway the top bar with menus and shutdown options etc. is still there), it's just the bottom bar... I also noticed that while I say it's missing, it's technically still there, albeit just a black unresponsive bar across the bottom of the screen. So I guess my real question is, why is it not showing anything? And can anybody please help me out?