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Punk rock bands that have survived hiatuses

By January 5, 2018No Comments

For music followers, the word hiatus is ugly and frustrating. It’s a word that makes them feel helpless, as they are forced to watch their favorite bands take a break, usually one that’s meant for a long time. Hiatuses can be caused by turmoil within the band, creative indifferences, or just growing up.

Now, we’re not here to talk about the sadness behind a hiatus, we’re here for the bands that survived them.

Here are some punk rock bands that have survived hiatuses.

Fall Out Boy

In a time where punk rock needed some heroes, Fall Out Boy decided to call it quits for a while in 2009, marking a hiatus that left fans clueless. With four records to the bands’ name, they were doing well with over $5 million in sales revenue alone. According to Exclaim! Magazine, Pete Wentz wanted the band to be excited about making music again. Three years later, the band seemed to be excited as they experiment with a more pop-like sound with their fifth album, “Save Rock and Roll”. The album did extremely well, as it hit platinum in the U.S.

The band is continuing to write music and pump out albums, so yes, they definitely survived the hiatus.

Finch

Some of you may know this band, others probably not. May be a little too-post hardcore for you. However, Finch and it’s five members went on hiatus in 2006, after wanted a break. They later claimed that they should’ve just said they were taking a year off, instead of losing all feelings for the music in following years, finally disbanding in 2010.

With only three studio albums, the band didn’t leave a whole lot for fans, however, when they went on a reunion tour in 2012, it lead to some great things. It seemed to have reunited their love for the music they made, and glued them back together. Unfortunately, the band ended up becoming disbanded in 2016 due to creative differences, and the band members went on their own ways to form various groups.

They may have not survived entirely, but when they came back in 2012, they ignited a great return in post-hardcore music when it was nearly dead.

Foo Fighters

Now, this might be news to everyone, but it seems like the Foo Fighters’ hiatus may be ending soon. Dave Grohl announced that the band would be headlining Napa’s BottleRock festival, playing with bands like Modest Mouse and and Maroon 5. This is the first time they’ve toured in almost 19 months.

Now, the band isn’t going through turmoil or anything. in 2016, they all agreed that they wanted to take some time off because they’ve been over-worked. Sometimes, that can cause people to do their own thing and get caught in it, others it will make them more passionate. Either way, the Foo Fighters are going to be back in action, meaning they survived their hiatus.

Blink-182

Now, Blink-182 is a band that has gone through a lot. After being the poster boys of pop-punk in the 2000’s, guitarist Tom DeLonge called it quits after he wanted to spend more time with family, rather than keep touring. There was more to it though, as when the band took a break in 2002, DeLonge took drummer Travis Barker to do his side project Box Car Racer, leaving Mark out of the picture. This caused a heavy drift in the band, ultimately calling their doom.

However, in a series of unfortunate events, Barker was nearly killed in a plane crash in 2009, nearly five years after the bands’ break-up. Each member had been doing their own thing, especially DeLonge who had frayed away from punk rock and had glued himself to a more U2 type of sound. The band got back together and created 2011’s album “Neighborhoods”. 

However, it didn’t end there. The band seemed to have been lacking commitment from DeLonge over the years, so in 2015 the rest of the guys bid farewell to him and brought in replacement Matt Skiba from Alkaline Trio. Without DeLonge, the band has pumped out two studio albums, California, and California Deluxe, in which both have done well.

In fact, 2016’s California actually dethroned Drake’s Views as the number one spot on billboards 100 list.

Yeah, they survived.

Which bands do you think survived a hiatus that should’ve made the list?

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John Aubert

| Journalism Major at Northern Illinois University | Pop punk enthusiast | Iced coffee aficionado |

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