Who knew a Mudvayne reunion would be such a big deal? When the nu metal band went on hiatus in 2010, their most recent, self-titled album had failed to crack the US Top 50. Eleven years and countless reunion rumours on, the Illinois band officially announced their return to action with a string of prestigious headline appearances at various high-profile US festivals this summer. Wait, did we miss a class there?
They’re’ not the only ones to hit the comeback trail - New Wave Of American Heavy Metal linchpins Shadows Fall are tentatively planning shows later this year. But while it might seem that bands just don’t stay split up these days, there are some groups who we really want to see back together sooner rather than later…
Kittie
Like Mudvayne, Kittie’s reputation has only grown during their absence. The Canadians haven’t released a new album since 2011, though reunions in 2013 and 2017, plus the documentary Origins/Evolutions, showed there’s plenty of interest. Sisters Morgan and Mercedes Lander have kept busy with a host of other bands, including White Swan, Amphibious Assault and Karkaos, though the former hasn’t ruled out a Kittie comeback: “Never say never,” she told Consequence Of Sound in 2021.
Chimaira
Inactive since 2017, Chimaira were planning a reunion show in late 2020, only for COVID to scupper it. Shame, because the time was right for a fully-flegded NWOAHM revival - we can‘t be the only ones dreaming of a bill featuring Chimaira, Shadows Fall, God Forbid and Lamb Of God. Fingers crossed that it might happen once day and we can scream along to the likes of Power Trip again.
Isis
Isis’ second album, 2002’s Oceanic helped define modern post-metal, but they disbanded eight years later, saying they’d “done all that wanted to do and said all they wanted to say”. Since then, they’ve had their name hijacked by a religious fundamentalist terrorist group, meaning that a one-off reunion at a 2018 benefit show for the family of late Cave In bassist Caleb Schofield was performed under the name Celestial. Since then, nada – though with the 20th anniversary of Oceanic looming, we wouldn’t say know to these kings coming back to claim their throne. And they can call themselves whatever they want…
Kyuss
A kinda-reunion as Kyuss Lives! a decade ago gave fans of the stoner rock pioneers a taste of what they’d been begging for since 1995, but the absence of linhcpin guitarist Josh Homme left a big gap - one that became a gulf when the Queens Of The Stone Age man launched a lawsuit against his ex-bandmates forcing them to change their name to Vista Chino. In 2020, Homme said he’d like to give Kyuss a proper send-off, only to flip-flop and squash the idea the following year. We won’t hold our breath.
Dillinger Escape Plan
The Dillinger Escape Plan’s decision to disband in 2017 was a shock – after all, the band had neither fallen out of favour nor reached an age where a quiet retirement seemed on the cards. Instead, the band’s decision was a purely creative one, opting to go out on a high note before any rot could set in. Considering the vastly different directions the musicians have gone in since the group disbanded, there’s a suspicion that they’re not particularly interested in recalling past glories even if the music world does seem worse off without their distinctive brand of idiosyncratic brilliance. Still, as far as we’re concerned, the door remains very slightly open.
HIM
Ville Valo has kept a low profile since HIM bowed out on New Year’s Eve 2017. The singer teamed up with guitarist Esa Pulliainen of veteran Finnish rockers Agents for an album in 2019, before launching his own project VV with the following year with the Gothica Fennica, Vol. 1 EP. The latter saw him returning to HIM’s signature sound, which begs the question: why not do the decent thing and put HIM back together? When the world finally re-opens, they’d clean up.
Strapping Young Lad
Fans have long clamoured for Devin Townsend to reform Strapping Young Lad, but beyond playing SYL anthem Love? live, he’s steered clear of his old band, saying that the weight of their music takes a toll on his mental and physical well-being. Still, that hasn’t stopped a bunch of Strapping Young Lad songs showing up in the ‘By Request’ setlist options for his Bloodstock Festival 2021 headline set. Who knows – maybe it’ll even spur him to reconsider getting the old band back together for a fresh assault on the boundaries of extreme metal…
White Zombie
When White Zombie disbanded in 1998 they were at the height of their powers, having mutated from scuzzy New York noise rockers into an arena-conquering industrial metal behemoth. But while frontman Rob Zombie has never shied away from pilfering his old band’s songs for his setlist - even playing their swansong album, Astro-Creep 2000, in 2016 – he’s shown no sign of wanting to get the old gang back together. Why not? Well, we’re pretty sure the fact that all of Rob’s ex-bandmates seem to hate him and the feeling is apparently mutual could have something to do with it.
Slayer
Honestly, who wants to live in a world without Slayer? Not Kerry King, for one. Already planning his next project, King has teamed up with Slayer drummer Paul Bostaph – and we can safely assume what comes nect won’t be a trap metal/djent hybrid. Exciting as that is, we’re still hanging on for a return from the thrash icons, even though it only seems like they split up yesterday.
Black Sabbath
Calling your last tour ‘The End’ is a pretty definitive way of letting people know that it’s all over, and Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler are adamant that Black Sabbath is done and dusted for good. But as someone once pointed out, never say die. It’s a long shot, granted, but the Commonwealth Games come to their hometown of Birmingham in 2022. What better way to mark the occasion than dangling a big wedge of cash in front of Aston’s favourite sons to get them to reunite for the occasion?
