Every Time I Die announced their breakup on January 17 after having a public falling out with vocalist Keith Buckley throughout December. Buckley said the band should've broken up a while ago, while the rest of the band has expressed interest in carrying on under a new name. Then on February 7 at a spoken word gig at the Signature Brew brewer in London, Buckley addressed the crowd about both the breakup and where he's at these days.
Buckley notes that things were souring between himself and his brother (and Every Time I Die guitarist) Jordan Buckley, and that it was the best decision for him to distance himself from the band as he got sober. Further down, Buckley admits that final Every Time I Die record Radical was gonna be the one that "finally got us to a Mastodon level" and then says "However, it is not the end of anything: I can't even say what the state of the band is right now."
So maybe Every Time I Die isn't completely dead?
"I really felt that that was was a good thing good thing for everyone, because I knew that there was friction between Jordan and I," said Buckley as transcribed by Metal Hammer. There were a lot of things that happened during the pandemic that still haven't come out between he and I that led to this, there were multiple attempts at communication, therapy and everything. I love therapy… and I went to it, and I encouraged it for the band, but it was cut off, and I didn't know why.
"I just feel like I was looked at in bad faith. And I understand that, because I was an alcoholic and I did a lot of terrible things, and so it's easy to see someone who's constantly fucking up their own life and just realise that every decision they make is gonna suck, no matter what… And I know that that bad faith filter had been put on for 20 years…
"All I hoped to do was get a clean start and say, take all those filters away and try to look at me now as someone who is totally changing the way they're living and thinking and speaking and interacting and communicating, and give it a chance: just pretend that I'm not the guy that you got used to. And they couldn't do it. And it broke my heart.
"On that tour…it was undeniable that I was performing better than i ever have. I was at the top of my fucking game. And I did not see this coming… I was led to believe that everything I was doing was working for the betterment of the band.
"I wanted the band to come out of the pandemic shot out of a fucking cannon, Because I knew that Radical was going to do it for us, it was going to be the one that finally got us to a Mastodon level, or whatever… I'd come out of a marriage with a new approach, and a new confidence to life…and I just wanted the band to have their time to shine. It's heartbreaking, heartbreaking. However, it is not the end of anything: I can't even say what the state of the band is right now.
"I don't know what the future holds, but I know that, right now, this is exactly where I fucking want to be, and I'm very thankful to be here."
Footage is also available of Buckley performing "Thing With Feathers."
