A few weeks ago, An Isle Ate Her caused a ruckus on their Facebook page by announcing they would be going on indefinite hiatus. The decision was met with declarations of disappointment and confusion from their fans; after all, the extreme grindcore outfit was just several months removed from the release of their sophomore effort, Phrenia, and had recently posted dates for a winter tour. By all accounts, everything appeared fine, but here was the band (at least temporarily) calling it quits without any sort of explanation. So what happened?
According to drummer Matt Cooper, the decision caught him by surprise as well. “In basic terms, (guitarist) Collin (Hutchinson) decided that it was time for him to part ways with the band,” he recently explained to me via email. “Seeing as he writes all the material, there was no point in even thinking about trying to find another replacement… Collin is an amazing guitarist, and the material he wrote for An Isle Ate Her was nothing short of technically astounding. When we met with Collin to discuss his decision, it was again made obvious to us that this was only a matter of time. Ever since Collin and I began writing material for Phrenia, it seemed as if he became less interested in the music as the months went on. I believe that he would like to move on from the extremely negative and destructive style of music we play and move toward something a little more positive in nature.”
But while the decision seemed sudden and out of the blue, at least the hiatus didn’t take effect immediately. The band decided to play a couple of the shows they had booked for their tour including a final show tonight at 529, giving hometown fans an opportunity to witness the band’s blitkrieg assault at least one last time. “I can’t really say we have too much planned,” Cooper writes, “but we will be performing most of the material in our discography.”
And yet, as the band prepares to take the stage tonight, one has to question: is this really it? ‘Indefinite hiatus’ doesn’t exactly have a ring of finality to it and, for his part, Cooper isn’t ready to shut the door forever. “It is not certain that An Isle Ate Her has come to an end, and I don’t feel like it ever will, but until Collin feels compelled to return to the project, we will not be playing shows or writing any new material.”
If you’re wondering how the members are going to keep themselves occupied now that AIAH is done, don’t worry — there are plenty of side projects to attend to. Vocalist Chaz Bell is the most active and productive with a solo project called H | P S that has a couple of EPs to its credit as well as an upcoming full-length cassette to be released via Chill Mega Chill Records. Bell has also been working with AIAH bassist Eric Roche on an avant-garde hip hop project called Gutspill, which should release a full-length sometime this year. As for Cooper himself? “Collin and I have discussed starting a new project that’s a lot different, but we haven’t committed anything toward it just yet. I have a few other options at my disposal, but I plan to get better at making hip hop beats and any other music that I feel compelled to create… Basically, you haven’t heard the last of us.”
An Isle At Her perform their final show tonight at 529. Supporting them will be Slowriter, City of Ifa and A Moment’s Ornament. Doors open at 8:30pm. $5 gets you in.
More Info:
Bandcamp: www.anisleateher.bandcamp.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/anisleateher
Twitter: www.twitter.com/AIAHgrind
They should have kicked that shitty rock star of a “vocalist” out in the beginning. Crab-tech.