In 2023, the Dillinger Escape Plan announced their impending reunion shows, Chimaira hit the stage for the first time in six years, and Throwdown threw down for the first time in eight. Hell, even Creed got the band back together for a whole bunch of tour dates coming soon to a venue near you.
So which defunct acts should reunite in 2024? We asked our readers to pick the band they miss most of all, and the results ranged from realistic possibilities to highly unlikely moonshots.
See the top five vote-getters ranked accordingly below.
5. The Sword
Dopesmoking riff-worshipers the Sword have only been gone less than two years, and their fans are already wishcasting their eventual return. In 2022, vocalist-guitarist J.D. Cronise revealed that after six albums across 19 years, he was ready to put the Sword back in its sheath for the time being.
"Everything I ever wanted to say and do with the Sword creatively has been said and done," Cronise explained in a statement. "And so the time has come for me to move on to other endeavors."
Cronise has yet to reveal what those "other endeavors" entail, but clearly the Sword fans already miss being able to throw up the horns and headbang to "Freya" in the live environment.
4. Fugazi
Ian MacKaye has been stubbornly consistent about a lot of things throughout his life, and chief among them is his resistance to reunions. Minor Threat are one of the only pioneering hardcore bands who've never re-assembled as adults, and his next band, Embrace, haven't either. The same goes for Fugazi.
MacKaye and Co.'s trailblazing post-hardcore unit went on indefinite hiatus in 2003 after completing a brilliant seven-album arc, and that "hiatus" becomes more permanent every year.
In 2019, bassist Joe Lally said, "You never want to say never about anything" in regards to a possible comeback, but emphasized that it would have to be an organic rekindling, not just a quick cash-grab.
"If we got back together, it would have to be from the spirit of creativity," added drummer Joe Canty. "You can't put an inherently creative group back together and then not have the creative element. It would be different if we got back together."
3. Rage Against the Machine
This is a tricky one because the current status of Rage Against the Machine isn't entirely clear. In 2022, the rap-metal instigators finally set out on the reunion tour they were forced to postpone several times due to the pandemic, but frontman Zack de la Rocha injured his leg just two days into the journey.
The singer persevered for the remainder of the North American trek, but the band regrettably called off the highly anticipated European portion so de la Rocha could recover. A year-and-change passed by without any word from the band, when suddenly drummer Brad Wilk posted a few days into 2024 that RATM "will not be playing live again."
Rage's career has been an on-again-off-again thing for over 20 years now, so while it's a bummer that this particular reunion period seems like a bust, there's always the hope that they'll one day return for another bombtrack sometime down the line.
2. Slayer
Slayer famously retired in 2019 after 38 years in the game. In 2021, co-founding guitarist Kerry King said he thought the band "quit too early," and he's repeatedly emphasized that he would've kept the thrash institution going if frontman Tom Araya wasn't adamant about calling it a day.
After years of anticipation, King unveiled the first taste of his post-Slayer solo music earlier this week, and he said he plans to go full speed ahead with that project for at least the next decade. He also gave his two cents on the possibility of a Slayer reunion in an interview with Rolling Stone.
"Will Slayer tour again? I'm pretty sure that's not going to happen," King said. "Could Slayer play a show again? I'm sure there's a scenario. Am I looking for it? No, I'm just getting ready to start my [solo] career. So if that happens, it happens."
We can dream, right?
1. Faith No More
The people have a hunger for Faith No More. The alt-metal titans haven't played a show since way back in 2016, and currently have no upcoming gigs on the docket.
They were initially slated to hit the stage for a set of dates beginning in June 2020, but after the shows went through the whole COVID re-schedule rigamarole and got slotted in for September 2021, vocalist Mike Patton called off the gigs at the last minute, citing "mental health reasons."
Patton has since returned to the road with his other band, Mr. Bungle, but FNM have essentially gone dark for the last three years. So, it's safe to say that the band are at the very least inactive, if not on a formal hiatus.
Either way, FNM fans are clamoring for the band to restart the engine. We are, too. A reunion would be epic.
