letlive., the former band of Fever 333‘s Jason Aalon Butler, appear to be reuniting, if only for a “proper farewell,” but a few things have to fall into place first.
The group made a surprise return to social media Wednesday (April 17) with a two-fold announcements. First, the band plans to revisit their album The Blackest Beautiful with a newly remixed and remastered release. Pre-orders for the album are now available in multiple vinyl variants through Merch Bucket.
But the big news that caught the attention of fans is that the group appears to be plotting a live reunion if only to give fans the “proper farewell” that they didn’t receive when the group split back in 2017.
What letlive. Said About Their Reunion
Following their album reissue reveal, the band slipped in the part about their potential return. “And to our friends that we never got to say goodbye to- we’ll see you next year to do so. Promoters see slide 2. We’d like suitable spaces around the world for proper farewells,” stated the band, then adding, “ll.ove one last time. #thiswasletlive.”
This was soon followed in the comments portion of the post from the band, “If you’d like to say goodbye please let your local promoter know.”
The second slide referenced in their message has a graphic that states, “We shouldn’t have left you without one final dope beat to step to.” It’s also accompanied by the year 2025 and an email address: FAREWELL@THISWASLETLIVE.COM presumably where promoter inquiries about booking the band for shows in 2025 can be sent.
About letlive.
The band was established in Los Angeles in 2002. They recorded The Solid State Aftermath demos the same year, issued their first EP in 2003 and first album Speak Like You Talk in 2005. A second album followed called Fake History in 2010, but it was their third album, 2013’s The Blackest Beautiful, after they had signed to Epitaph, that saw their first chart success.
They started garnering some buzz, with Epitaph leaning into their past works and re-releasing Fake History to fill in the blanks for new fans. Appearances at major festivals helped spread the word about their impressive live sets, and by the time 2016’s If I’m the Devil album came about, the group had begun to carve out their presence in the heavy rock scene.
READ MORE: 10 Most Cathartic Post-Hardcore Songs, as Chosen By Delaire the Liar
But the pressures of creating the album started to take its toll on the group, with fractures in the lineup starting to take place. At the conclusion of support for If I’m the Devil, the band announced their split.
Singer Jason Aalon Butler, the lone constant throughout the run, went on to form Fever 333 which has been his primary creative avenue in recent years.
As letlive went through lineup changes over the years, it is not known which members will populate the lineup when they return. But conversations appear to be starting about a 2025 return.
What Jason Aalon Butler Had to Say
Not long after the letlive. post was revealed, singer Jason Aalon Butler offered his own post reflecting on the band’s history.
“I spent so many years of my life trying to find myself in this band. Trying to understand what I believed mattered. What was worth fighting for and, equally, what was worth sacrificing for. Which is what I did when I decided it was time to walk away from @letliveperiod. It was a sacrifice. A necessary one for my own mental, emotional and physical health,” explained the singer.
“It was somewhat Shakespearean realizing that in order to truly honor myself and this band I had to let people love it in their own way even when I was having trouble love myself and let this idea we created be remembered in an honorable state. When I put this project to rest I didn’t know when or if I’d ever come back to it. The pain, the peril, the literal hazards I and members of this project experienced are almost too wild to be true. But, in fact, they are. And that is why I felt one last time around then as necessary.”
He continued, “This band was not easy for me. It was never ever glamorous. And sometimes it was hard to believe it loved me back the same way I loved it, but I recently came to realize it was y’all that made this band. It was y’all that made it unique. The disparate identities colliding to form one common belief system each night as well a the 15 years of its existence is still something I cannot believe happened. But it very much did. Y’all are the reason letlive. was able to exist and y’all are the reason I’ve decided to come back for an actual farewell.”
He concluded, “I want to say thank you to everyone who has supported me in this project and every other I’ve been a part of as I know so many of you followed me from here. Thank you for letting me be vulnerable while attempting bravado all at once. Thank you for laughing, singing and exploring with me. Thank you for hurting, living and learning with me even more so. With that being said- I ll.ove you and me and the boys will see you soon-ish.”
10 Times All But One Member of a Band Quit at Once
While band breakups are commonplace, and members being replaced every now and again is even more so, not so frequent is the very harsh reality when everyone in the group decides to quit besides a single member.
Gallery Credit: By Selena Fragassi