Are Shihad Hinting At A Farewell Tour?

New Zealand rockers Shihad are making fans very nervous.

Taking to social media yesterday, the band updated their profile and cover photos and shared an image that says “SHIHAD—LOUD FOREVER” with the years 1988 to 2025. It also notes that a public service announcement is coming on Wednesday, 13 November.

With the definitive-looking dates (1988 to 2025), fans have expressed concern and sadness that Shihad’s post could possibly indicate an impending disbandment. The PSA date is speculated to be an official announcement of a farewell tour.

Since the image was posted, fans have asked if the band is indeed announcing a farewell tour to bring it to Europe and tour Australia and New Zealand. But there’s also a lot of sorrow in the comment sections.

“If it’s confirmed that Shihad are breaking up, you will find me curled up in bed, under my doona cover, crying like a baby,” a fan wrote on Facebook. “It would potentially be the first time that I’m this devastated of a band coming to an end.”

Another fan added, “1988-2025 looks like a gravestone. Hopefully this isn't the end of Shihad.”

Someone else claimed that frontman Jon Toogood going solo indicates the beginning of the end, writing: “Now that Jon is very much doing his own thing, I think we all know what this means. The best rock band NZ ever produced. Lest we forget.”

Another fan wrote, “Please not the end! Please not the end! Please not the end! Please not the end!”

Expressing what The Music felt upon seeing Shihad’s post, some fans wrote, “This is unnerving,” and “This is so not good for my anxiety.”

On Instagram, the comment section is packed with similar thoughts.

“Getting a bad ‘We're splitting up’ vibe from that 1988-2025 bit,” one fan wrote. They weren’t alone, with others stating: “Certainly reads like a wrap up,” “This feels like an announcement of a farewell tour,” and “Given the 1998-2025 part, I have a sinking feeling in my gut that it’s a “farewell” tour? Hopefully I’m wrong and it’s a new album announcement!”

You can check out the posts below and return to Shihad’s socials on 13 November.

Known for their bombastic live shows, the Shihad legacy spans decades, a name change (and subsequent change back), and ten studio albums as of October 2021. Their latest release, Old Gods, sonically showcased the Wellington quartet at their most ravenous selves yet. Maybe there’s some new music on the way, too?

Last year, the band’s beloved fifth album, Pacifier, received its first-ever vinyl release under the Shihad name. The band was convinced by their record label to change their band name because it bore too close a resemblance to the word Jihad, which was deemed controversial following 9/11 in 2002.

“We are stoked to be finally releasing this beast on vinyl for the first time ever! And, even better, under the name Shihad too,” the band wrote on social media. “Remastered to sound better than ever, this is a very limited edition, so get in quick before they’re all gone. It sounds massive!”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Shihad (@shihad_the_band)