Rock band Enter Shikari have announced a hiatus which they say “may end with extinction”. The St Albans-founded band, formed in 1999 as Hybryd, are due to tour the UK in November, and mainland Europe and America next year, and said they hope to play some of their favourite places “one last time”.
Band statement on dormancy
A statement from the band read: “As of December 31, 2027, Enter Shikari will fall dormant as a recording and performing entity. This dormancy may eventually end with an eruption back into activity, or may end with extinction, we have no idea which.
“As everyone keeps reminding us, 2027 will be 20 years since the release of our debut album. We’ve been playing music together since we were 15, and friends longer still, but there’s no doubt this is a huge milestone.”
Reflecting on two decades
The statement continued: “For the past two decades, we’ve run amok in a cultural landscape that elevates easily-pigeonholed art, so being an Enter Shikari hasn’t always been easy, professionally or personally, with obvious negative impact on one’s mental health when tasked with coming up with the goods.
“But we do this because we love it, and we are lucky enough to have built an audience who understand that the less-trodden path is sometimes the more interesting journey. However, it gets to the point where the often difficult terrain of that path starts to frazzle and drain the humble traveller.
“We are far from being the same kids who recorded that debut album, and as much as we love what we do, and still love being in each other’s company, as humans our priorities and capacities have changed.”
Singer’s illness and future plans
The band said singer Rou Reynolds has suffered “recent illness” but they had already had “difficult conversations” about their future before that, adding: “To then see a friend in trouble made those conversations more pertinent.
“While we don’t think we’re splitting up, we do not have a diary that extends beyond 2027. We’re genuinely excited to make next year a celebration of what this band means to us. But after that it’ll be time to go away for a good while and see what being Rou, Rob (Rolfe, drummer), Rory (Clewlow, guitarist) and Chris (Batten, bassist), and not Enter Shikari, feels like.
“Maybe we’ll be like Fugazi and just get together to rehearse for fun, without feeling the need to make anyone else listen to it. All we really know is after two decades of being a professional band, not having plans three years in advance is liberating.”
New music and anniversaries
The band also said they are working on new music ahead of the hiatus, which fans “should get to hear sooner rather than later, along with another thing we’ve just finished filming”. They also said they want to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their debut album Take To The Skies (2007), along with the 10th and 15th anniversaries of the albums A Flash Flood Of Colour (2012) and The Spark (2017), but did not give any details of plans.
Enter Shikari added they would not be announcing a “farewell world tour”. The statement concluded: “It’s not the sort of statement we thought we’d be making if you’d asked us a year ago, but we felt it was time to let you know our headspace. We really hope we’ll be seeing you over the next 14 months or so, somehow. But if not, all that remains to be said is thank-you for your support, your sweat, your passion, your energy.”
Since forming in 1999, the band have achieved six UK top 10 albums, including a number one with A Kiss For The Whole World in 2023. They have also scored a handful of hit singles including Anything Can Happen In The Next Half, Juggernauts and Sssnakepit.
