01.05.12 | The Gang has disbanded.
A lot of people have been asking us what happened and what is behind our disbanding. There have been some amazing speculations but we’re afraid the truth is a bit boring. To sum it up quickly ADR ceased being fun for us. Over the past six years the three of us (Mike Jenney, Jacob Rouse and Mike Treveloni) had been getting together upwards of 4-5 days a week to write or practice, usually anywhere from 5-8 hours at a time and this was usually after getting off work. It was our second job and we took it pretty seriously.
We used to all look forward to getting together and seeing what we’d come up with. We are all friends, so it was a great time just hanging out and working on music.
When we set down to write our fourth album we really wanted to explore what we could do creatively. This process wound up taking over three years. We had a self imposed deadline of finishing it around early 2010. Obviously that didn’t happen. What happened was we wrote about three and a half albums and stressed ourselves to the point of not enjoying the music and being around each other.
A few days back we brought up the question if this was even worth continuing if none of us were enjoying it. In the end we value our friendship higher and wished to continue writing with one another. We’re not ones to say we’ll never do something again, but at this time and place ADR was just a hulking drunk monkey on our backs that we wished dead.
Before any announcement was made we conferred with Negative Gain over our decision. We owed it to them before any news came out as they have been and continue to be a very fine label as well as personal friends of ours. We figured they would not wish to put the second album out due to our lack of commitment, but to our surprise and honor they felt strongly enough about the album to continue with its release.
So as it stands Alter der Ruine is being put to rest. The last album will still be released and in our minds it is the best music we’ve written to date. It’s one hell of a high note to ride out on if we say so ourselves. Also we’ll be a looming ghost in the remix sense, popping up now and again to haunt your ears and let you know all is not lost.
What’s in store for the future is unclear. We’ve been working on material on a different end of the spectrum and it’ll surface sooner or later.
Lastly we can’t say thank you enough to all those who have supported and continue to support us. We’ve made a lot of friends around the world and can’t stress enough how much all of you, fans and friends alike mean to us. We hope to see you here or there and keep in touch as things move along. The memories and bonds you’ve helped us forge are something we’ll never let fade away. Thanks for being there. Thanks for one hell of a good time.
Mike, Jacob, Mike and Robert. January 5, 2012
