Enter Shikari will be going on an indefinite hiatus which could end in their “extinction” as a band.
The Sorry, You’re Not A Winner hitmakers have revealed that 2027 – which will mark 20 years since debut album Take To The Skies was released – will see them “fall dormant” as a group.
In a statement, they said: “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.
“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.”
To date, the band have hit the UK top 10 with six of their albums, and they scored a number one with 2023’s A Kiss For The Whole World.
The band admitted they are “far from being the same kids who recorded” their first LP, and while they “love what we do and still love being in each other’s company”, their “priorities and capabilities have changed”.
Lead vocalist Rou Reynolds has also suffered a “recent illness”, but the “difficult conversations” about their future had already begun.
The talks became “more pertinent” as a result, and the band aren’t sure what the future holds.
They continued: “While we don’t think we’re splitting up, we do not have a diary that extends beyond 2027…
“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.”
There is new music coming “sooner rather than a later”, and the band noted while they will be hitting the road in 2027 before they wrap things up, they won’t be doing an official “farewell world tour”.
They added: “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.”