While it’s always tough to see a band go on hiatus, it is an even greater feeling when said bands on hiatus make a comeback. At some point in a band’s life, they may want to take a break to explore other creative ventures, or to take a break from making art in general; after a year, or even a couple years pass, and we get a new record from one of our beloved acts after so long – that is a truly awesome rush.
It’s even better when those post-hiatus albums kick ass. For this article, we thought we’d talk about some of those bands who were on hiatus and then came back to deliver incredible albums. Without further ado, let’s jump in and talk about five stellar comeback albums from bands who were on hiatus.
The Faceless – In Becoming a Ghost
Though they are a relatively young band among their other peers on this list, The Faceless have proved themselves to be a talented force of technical death metal. Their debut album Akeldama arrived in 2006, with the band getting a lot of notice come 2008’s Planetary Duality. The Faceless would release Autotheism in 2012, but then a wave of issues would slow the band down for some time. Metalheads began to lump the band in with the likes of System of a Down and Necrophagist, wondering if the tech death band would release another record. Then, five years later, The Faceless released In Becoming a Ghost. The record not only displays a captivating array of technical death metal, but also represents possibly the best work The Faceless have ever done. At this time in the band’s history, it’s tough to tell what more may come from them; that said though, if In Becoming a Ghost is to be the last album they ever release, that’s a strong conclusion.
Carcass – Surgical Steel
For all you deathcore and goregrind lovers out there, you have Carcass to thank. Along with the likes of Cannibal Corpse, Carcass has crafted some of the grossest, sickest music to ever be played. The extremity to which they play – the utterly savage presentation of drums and shredding guitars, the mucus-like sounding vocals – it’s all delightfully grim and exhilarating. The band’s debut album Reek of Putrefaction arrived in 1988; the band would follow that up with Symphonies of Sickness in 1989. But it was after 1996’s Swansong that the band would departure for many years before releasing another record. When 2013’s Surgical Steel arrived into the metal world – the death metal community was blown away. Capturing the ferocity of the band’s past, all while displaying a fresh sound, Surgical Steel is easily one of the most rip-roaring and extreme albums of the 2010s.
At The Gates – At War with Reality
Another legendary act in the world of death metal – At The Gates is truly one of the most important acts in the genre. Along with their metal brothers in Dark Tranquility and In Flames, At The Gates is responsible for establishing and elevating the style that would be called Gothenburg-style melodic death metal. The band has delivers crushing music that, while exploring the grim and macabre of reality, presents those topics through electrifying and catchy heaviness. With their most acclaimed record being that of 1995’s Slaughter of the Soul, the band ended up taking a major break after that record’s release. It wouldn’t be until 2014 when At The Gates would release their follow-up studio album, At War with Reality. Similar to Carcass, At War with Reality captures the fire of early At The Gates, all while presenting a modern production that provides a freshness to the band’s iconic sound.
Carnifex – Die Without Hope
Another relatively young act among these bands, Carnifex have become a pillar of the deathcore genre. Arriving into the metal scene alongside other bands like Whitechapel and Job For A Cowboy, Carnifex have pushed themselves throughout the years to build upon their sound, introducing a whole new form of heaviness to a younger generation of metalheads. At one point however, the band faced some difficulties and made a statement of going on hiatus; this announcement came after the release of 2011’s Until I Feel Nothing. Thankfully, it only took until 2014 for the band to release a follow-up, and damn was it a follow-up. While the Carnifex discography is full of brutal releases, 2014’s Die Without Hope was a major jump forward for the band – displaying a compelling range of destructive sounding instrumentation. While the band have gone on to release more albums since then, Die Without Hope easily stands as one of the heaviest records of Carnifex’s career.
Gorguts – Colored Sands
We’ve already mentioned two brilliant death metal bands, so why not bring up another? Bands like The Faceless owe a lot to Gorguts, who are truly one of the most experimental and technically fascinating acts in all of metal. Their debut album, Considered Dead, arrived in 1991 and established Gorguts as one of the most cerebral bands in the game. They released three more studio albums after that, with 2001’s From Wisdom to Hate being the last record to come from Gorguts before a major hiatus. The band would not release another record until 2013’s Colored Sands (that’s 12 years later). And Colored Sands – if you somehow have not checked this out yet – well you’re in for one hell of a treat. Even with over a decade of not offering new music, Colored Sands proves that Gorguts has not lost their touch at all! An impressive and breath-taking work of technical death metal that crafts a surreal and haunting experience. An absolute forever classic in the world of death metal.
What bands on hiatus made a comeback you thought was really impressive?
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Words by: Michael Pementel
