Fifth Harmony announce hiatus

In a not-so-surprising move, pop group Fifth Harmony have announced that they will officially be going on hiatus. On Monday (March 19), the four-piece officially made the announcement on social media, thanking their longtime fans (Harmonizers), reflecting on their time together, and explaining that they will each be concentrating on their solo careers.

“After six years going hard, non stop, we also realized that in order to stay authentic to ourselves and to you, we do need to take some time for now to go on hiatus from Fifth Harmony in order to pursue solo endeavors,” they wrote in a joint statement.

As the letter explains, each of the four members have been working hard on their solo careers. Last month, Normani Kordei released a single with Khalid titled “Love Lies” while Ally Brooke released a song titled “Perfect” with Topic and last week announced she had signed as a solo artist with Larry Rudolph who currently manages Fifth Harmony and Britney Spears.

Lauren Jauregui has been providing guest vocals on several songs including Halsey’s “Strangers” and Steve Aoki’s “All Night” while Dinah Jane Hansen appeared on “Boom Boom” which features Daddy Yankee, French Montana, and RedOne.

While hiatus is a bad word for a fan of anything, Fifth Harmony’s letter leaves a possible reunion very likely.

“We are all very excited and grateful to be able to take this time to learn and grow creatively and really find out footing as individuals. In doing this we are allowing ourselves to gain new experiences, strengths and perspectives that we can bring back to our Fifth Harmony family.”

Currently, the act has only three tour dates on their website; one in Florida, one in Puerto Rico, and one in Iceland.

For some fans of the group, the writing of their inevitable disbandment was already on the wall. Back in December of 2016, founding member Camila Cabello left the band to pursue a solo career. So far, her debut album has been doing well on the charts which has resulted in her securing an opening spot on Taylor Swift’s upcoming tour.

Fifth Harmony formed in 2012 when they appeared on the United States’ version of the hit British television show, The X-Factor. The group released a total of three studio albums, a slew of singles, and have won many awards.

The Killers bassist to take a break from touring

The Killers’ summer plans may include a handful of summer music festivals, but don’t expect to see the full lineup at all those dates. On Tuesday (May 24), the band released a statement announcing that longtime bassist Mark Stoermer would no longer be joining the group on tour. While at first it sounds like Stoermer had left the Las Vegas four-piece, the group has reassured fans that it’s not a departure, but more of a hiatus.

In the press release the group sent exclusively to Alternative Nation, they explain that Stoermer is still very much involved with the band’s still-in-the-works fifth studio album. In addition to that they tease that fans shouldn’t be “surprised if you see him on stage from time to time.” Read the band’s statement below.

“Mark has decided to take a break from The Killers touring—but don’t be surprised if you see him on stage from time to time. Everyone supports Mark’s decision to take a break to pursue other educational goals and releasing a solo album. The four of us continue to work on our fifth studio album together, and we’re all excited about the new songs we’re writing. More to come…”

A few publications like NME and GigWise are speculating that American singer-songwriter Jake Blanton may replace Stoermer on tour. Blanton previously filled in for the bassist back in 2013 when Stoermer was unable to play the shows in the far east.

Man Overboard Announce Hiatus

Man Overboard’s goal from the beginning has been to always “defend pop-punk.” Sadly, it looks like the “war” has taken a toll on the New Jersey band. On Thursday (Jan. 28), the group revealed that they will be going on hiatus once their upcoming tour dates wrap. Taking to the internet, they broke the news about the break.

In a letter, they write about all the good and random times they’ve had and how the band has become everything they ever hoped it would be. Instead of giving bad details or a real reason for the hiatus, they do inform their followers that their “current plans are very few and will likely remain that way for a while.” They also urge those reading the post not to read too much into the hiatus and think that there’s something there that really isn’t. Read the band’s complete post below.

“We have spent the last 7+ years tirelessly building Man Overboard into something that we all love and are proud of, from booking our first tours and hand numbered copies of the Hung Up On Nothing EP to touring the world and making albums with producers we never thought we’d meet. We put our hearts and souls into this band because it’s something we believe in. Whether we were being detained in a desolate Russian train station after illegally trying cross the border to the Ukraine or walking off stage after a sold out show, our friendship and love for everything this band has afforded us is what makes us want to be a part of Man Overboard forever.

This band has been and will always be something that we hold close to our hearts, not only because it has transformed and shaped us as people but because of how we know how it has affected other people’s lives, be it in a large or small way. Joe Strummer said “Without people you’re nothing” and we know that the support of our friends, families and fans helped guide us to where we are today.

Our current plans are very few and will likely remain that way for a while. Don’t read into it. Don’t think it’s something it’s not. This Spring we will be playing eight shows in the United States. Farewell for now.”

Man Overboard released their recent album, Heavy Love, back in June of 2015 through Rise Records.

AFI Bassist Teases Band’s Return

The last time we wrote anything about AFI, it was back in 2014 when it was announced that the California band would be acting as the opening act for 30 Seconds to Mars/Linkin Park’s Carnivores Tour. A year or so later, we haven’t heard anything new from the four-piece, but it sounds like things might change in the new year. In a post on his website, bassist Hunter Burgan has written a letter to fans thanking them for their support for this comic, Cat with Matches.

At the end of the letter, which can be read below or found here, Burgan teased a little something about the status of AFI. “I know that many of you want to know what’s up with AFI. I can’t tell you much at the moment, but we have plans for 2016. Circle that year on your calendars.” Now if that wasn’t a tease to get excited about, then you have no soul. Read Buragn’s complete letter below.

“I hope everyone is having a wonderful December so far. ‘Tis the season for giving, and we here at hunterburgan.com (in other words, me) have kicked the season off by giving a sealed copy of AFI’s Sing The Sorrow double LP on red vinyl to one lucky winner, Kristen Reynolds of San Antonio, Texas. Congrats, Kristen! Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway. Better luck next time!

I have been getting a lot of great feedback on my Cat With Matches comic. Thanks! I’m glad you like it. I really enjoy drawing that cat and all his misadventures. As you may know, I printed up Cat With Matches t-shirts and stickers and have them available in the store. If there are other types of CWM items you’d like to see, let me know in the comments here or on any form of social media.

I know that many of you want to know what’s up with AFI. I can’t tell you much at the moment, but we have plans for 2016. Circle that year on your calendars.”

AFI’s last album was 2013’s Burials. Since then, frontman Davey Havok and bassist Jade Puget had created another side project, XTRMST. The group released their debut album back in late 2014.

The Gaslight Anthem Announce Hiatus

Sad news for fans of New Jersey’s The Gaslight Anthem; the band has decided to go on hiatus.

Taking to social media, the band urged fans to read a message they had posted on their official Facebook page without actually revealing the news.

In the message, they announced that they had decided it was in the best interest of the group to take a break from it all. The hiatus will officially begin once they wrap up their European tour dates in August. In a nod to “going out on top,” the band’s last day will be Aug. 30 when they take the stage at Reading and Leeds.

But for those who think the band might put music behind them, don’t worry. In the letter, they confirm that all members will be active in one way or another on different projects.

Read the complete message from them below.

“Hello All!

We wanted to let everyone know that we’ll all be taking a break from The Gaslight Anthem after this next European tour in August. We’re all going to do other projects and stay active in some way or another, both in and out of music, but we’d like to step away from the band until we decide what we’d like to do next.

We’d like to recharge and take a step back until we have something we feel excited about rather than going right back to making a record just for the sake of making the next record. We all feel this is the best decision we can make and it feels like the right one for us.

Thank you to everyone who came out and supported our band for the last eight years and we’ll see you down the road!

With love and respect,

Brian, Benny, Alex and Alex.”

The Gaslight Anthem have had a busy year, touring in support of their latest album, Get Hurt, which was released last August.

Watch Footage from Thrice’s First Show in Three Years

Thrice’s big reunion is supposed to take place this upcoming weekend, but the band decided to give fans from their home state of California a little something just in case they couldn’t make it all the way to New Jersey.

Like several of the bands that will be “reuniting” at Skate and Surf Festival, Thrice decided to treat fans to a pre-Skate and Surf show/warm-up gig at the House of Blues Anaheim.

Thanks to audience members who were at the show that we’re pretty sure was sold out, we’ve gotten video footage of the band performing together for their followers following a three-year hiatus. The complete set list for the evening was also upload and can be seen after the videos.

THRICE’S HOUSE OF BLUE ANAHEIM SET LIST:

The Earth Will Shake
The Arsonist
Paper Tigers
Stare at the Sun
All That’s Left
The Weight
In Exile
Of Dust and Nations
Come All You Weary
Promises
Daedalus
Cataracts
Circles
The Artist in the Ambulance
Silhouette
Deadbolt
Firebreather

Encore:
Anthology
Beggars

If you’re heading to Skate and Surf this weekend, don’t forget to check out the set times here so you can plan accordingly. You don’t want to miss anyone, especially the reunions.

From Autumn to Ashes Announce First Post-Hiatus Show

Good news From Autumn to Ashes fans; the band have announced their first official show since revealing they were coming out of hiatus.

The band, who went on hiatus in 2008, revealed that their first “welcome back” show will take place on May 15 at Revolution Music Hall in Amityville; a kind of pre-Skate and Surf Festival show which will begin the following day.

For those wanting to go to the show, tickets will go on sale this upcoming Friday (March 20), but as a warning, music fans who attend shows at that venue have pointed out that it has a very small maximum capacity (some say a 250 max limit) which means tickets will sell out quickly.

But if you don’t mind waiting a couple of extra days to have a lot of space and be jamming out with other From Autumn to Ashes fans, the Long Island group will be reuniting on stage during this year’s Skate and Surf Festival alongside Acceptance, Thrice, and Poison the Well.

If you’re a Canadian FATA fan and feel a little bummed about both shows being in the United States, don’t be because they will be heading to Montebello for their annual Amnesia Rockfest in June. 

Mumford and Sons Tease New Music Coming Soon

Mumford and Sons have been quiet for what seems like years (it’s only been about a year and a half), but now, it looks like the indie band will officially be making their return to the music world after their hiatus.

Last month, it was confirmed that they would be one of the major headliners at this year’s Reading and Leeds Festival in the United Kingdom while they were also confirmed to headline Bonnaroo this year, but festival gigs aren’t the only thing the band have up their sleeves.

Talks of a new album, their third was confirmed last Summer by Ben Lovett, but with the teaser the band dropped this morning, a new song might be making its debut pretty soon, like this upcoming Monday (March 2).

The band took to Twitter this morning to post a message to fans claiming that some news was coming on Monday. Attached to the message, was a link which to a short video.

The video begins with the band’s name on the screen while some instrumentals play in the background. It then shifts to the band in a room (studio?) and before the song can actually begin, the video snaps to black.

What a way to troll your fans, guys.

News coming Monday… https://t.co/7x9DKGPgLg

— Mumford & Sons (@MumfordAndSons) February 27, 2015

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs On ‘a Bit of a Hiatus’

Karen O. officially released her solo album a few months ago, but for fans of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, she has some bad news for them; there’s currently no new music on the horizon.

During an interview with NME, the songstress revealed that the group are currently on “a bit of a hiatus.” When O. announced plans to release a solo album, understandably, fans began to panic that it would be the end of the “Heads Will Roll” trio.

But, O.’s solo record isn’t the reason that the band have decided to go into hibernation for a while; it seems that the inspiration bug just hasn’t bitten them in a while.

“We have to wait to get the urge, get that itch,” she said.

“The time needs to be right and we’re OK waiting for that, I think.”

Some speculation arose that the reason a new album was not in the cards for the near future might have been attributed to their last album, 2013’s Mosquito getting a lukewarm reception when it was released, but O. makes sure to nip that in the bud by defending last year’s release.

“All you can do is try to make albums you can stand by and be proud of, that are a snapshot of where you were at the time. It won’t stop us, nothing like that.”

O.’s seems to be OK with the hiatus and even reassured fans that the break will not affect the band.

“It’ll be like muscle memory,” she said. “This unspoken thing between the three of us where it all just…locks in.”

See, it’ll be like nothing changed.

Lamb of God to Take a Break

Last year wasn’t exactly a very good year for Lamb of God especially when frontman Randy Blythe was being accused of contributing to the death of a fan during a show. The court case went away when it was proven that Blythe had nothing to do with it and the band went on to continue touring.

Now, after weeks of speculation among fans in the metal world, Blythe has come out and confirmed that the band will in fact be taking a break after the end of their current tour which ended a few days ago.

Blythe released a lengthy letter to fans on Instagram alongside a photo from their recent show in Johannesburg, South Africa. The letter reflects on Blythe’s journey and his plans for the future.

View this post on Instagram

And so another album cycle comes to an end. This has been a very eventful, at times VERY STRESSFUL, album cycle, & it's been about three years since we started on this one in our practice space- I need a break. Tomorrow is a 19 hour flight back to the USA, & then another one home to RVA, & except for two festival shows in 2014, I will not be thinking about lamb of god, touring, playing heavy metal, writing new lamb of god material- NONE OF THAT STUFF- AT ALL- for a good long while. Time to do other things for a bit, & let my brain regroup, & be a somewhat normal human being. This has been a pretty wild ride though, & to end it in AFRICA of all places still amazes the crap outta me. So thanks Johannesburg for an awesome end to the Resolution tour cycle, & to all you other bands, hear this: the game has been stepped up, & the ante has risen. You are not a REAL G until you come to South Africa & your fans throw one of THESE to you on stage- a warthog skull. Takes the cake for the strangest thing throw at me on stage ever, & I've had some weird shit thrown at me- I named him Jeff. Jeff, the South African warthog. Top that, y'all. Don't front like your ballin' if you ain't rockin' that wart hog shizzy. I figured I'd finish up the cycle with a nice self-portrait. Me & Jeff are outty. Peace, & one love.

A post shared by D. Randall Blythe (@drandallblythe) on Jan 25, 2014 at 6:01pm PST

“And so another album cycle comes to an end. This has been a very eventful, at times VERY STRESSFUL, album cycle, & it’s been about three years since we started on this one in our practice space- I need a break.

Tomorrow is a 19 hour flight back to the USA, & then another one home to RVA, & except for two festival shows in 2014, I will not be thinking about lamb of god, touring, playing heavy metal, writing new lamb of god material- NONE OF THAT STUFF- AT ALL- for a good long while.

Time to do other things for a bit, & let my brain regroup, & be a somewhat normal human being. This has been a pretty wild ride though, & to end it in AFRICA of all places still amazes the crap outta me. So thanks Johannesburg for an awesome end to the Resolution tour cycle, & to all you other bands, hear this: the game has been stepped up, & the ante has risen. You are not a REAL G until you come to South Africa & your fans throw one of THESE to you on stage- a warthog skull.

Takes the cake for the strangest thing throw at me on stage ever, & I’ve had some weird shit thrown at me- I named him Jeff. Jeff, the South African warthog. Top that, y’all. Don’t front like your ballin’ if you ain’t rockin’ that wart hog shizzy. I figured I’d finish up the cycle with a nice self-portrait. Me & Jeff are outty.

Peace, & one love.”

For a band that started in 1990 and to still be going and having the amount of fans that they do is an incredible thing. Nowhere in the letter does it say that Lamb of God are no more, so if you’re a fan and are sad over the hiatus news, it’s not the end.