At about 7 p.m. EST on Monday, January 17, as people scrolled through Instagram, they saw the posts from four of the five members of what was Every Time I Die. The news was not good, as they confirmed the worst, and that was that the band had decided to stop making music.
Shortly before their annual Christmas shows in Buffalo, New York, there had been unrest within the band as they postponed some tour dates. Problems had arisen between frontman Keith Buckley and the other members. What happened? No one seems to know for sure, as a carousel of rumors has been spun. All anyone could see from the outside looking in was that there was trouble in the ETID camp. Despite those unforeseen issues, the band went ahead with their Christmas shows, and they went off without any issue. Ahhh, we can all breathe easy and relax. Right? Wrong!
For most fans in the metal community, there have been few constant things they could depend on. ETID was the one constant who never took time off and always found ways to forge ahead no matter the issue. The band have undergone lineup changes over the years and have sported three drummers in three albums. Radical, their latest release, was everything fans clamored for. It was heavy, fast, energetic, fun, and came stocked with a mountain of riffs. It was going to go down as their greatest work of art to date, but now, it’ll mainly go down as the album that was never properly toured.
Every band has its fans, but ETID doesn’t exactly have just the casual fan who would come to the shows and leave. The ETID fans, ETIDiots as they’re appropriately known, are simply on a different level. There is a certain level of passion and devotion that these ETIDiots have been investing in for years.
Some fans have been to upwards of 50 shows from the desert heat in Vegas, during Warped Tours, to freezing in Buffalo waiting in line to get in the doors. They willingly drive hours on end to shows, and for the Christmas extravaganzas in Buffalo, there’s a large number of fans who fly in from cross country or even different countries. December will not feel the same this year, and for those who were there, hopefully they got one last look at the good that was ETID.
So, will anyone know the truth? Probably not, and it honestly doesn’t matter. Their fan base will be the ones who suffer most, as the level of investment can’t go unnoticed. The metal community itself will also suffer a huge loss, as one of the truly great leaders in metal steps away.
ETID had the ability to blend in on any lineup they were on. They’ve toured with Fall Out Boy, Taking Back Sunday, GWAR, Coheed and Cambria, and were staples on numerous Warped Tours. Hopefully, if they can be remembered for any one thing, they could bring people together. There weren’t many issues at ETID shows, and everyone took care of each other. From crowd surfing wheelchairs to brothers in arms, and even letting people meet their soulmates all inside the pit, ETID always delivered the goods.
Is this the end? Hopefully it’s not, and it’s more of a “see you later,” but if it is, hopefully they all find happiness in whatever comes next.
Visit Every Time I Die’s official website here.
