Sunday Sesh: Breaking up Is Hard to Do
ITT: We discuss the ideal way for a band to call it quits.
By now, you’ve likely heard the news that cherished folk black metal band Agalloch have seemingly called it quits. Around 2:00 on Friday afternoon, John Haughm made the following announcement on Facebook.
That’s not particularly clear, though, a fact alluded to by fellow ambiguous break-uppers Altar of Plagues.
After a whole lot of speculation, Haughm took to Facebook again to make his intentions a little more clear.
All of this, while a little shady, is nowhere near as dramatic as Cynic’s breakup, a fact for which I am quite grateful. I used to really love Cynic but have had little desire to listen to them after the gigantic and embarrassingly public fingerpointing on Facebook. It seemed a childish end to a brilliant career.
Thankfully, most bands don’t go full personal nuclear meltdown across social media. In fact, many have the good grace to simply realize they’ve hit their creative zenith and go their separate ways without much fuss. Despite whatever King Buzzo thinks, I think a band bowing out on a high note is in fact the ideal way to bring a storied musical career to its terminus, and I’m glad Isis left us on the high note of Wavering Radiant.
Still, there are other ways for things. to end. Your band can simply fade into obscurity. They can go on indefinite hiatus and just never reform. Or, they can realize they’ve lost their most visionary member and decide carrying on would be a travesty.
So, now it’s your turn to weigh in? What do you think the future holds for Agalloch? Do you like the way Haughm made the announcement? How do you think bands should call it quits? Does it even matter what we as the fans think? Sound off in the comments below.
