The Cult has announced a hiatus from touring after concluding their current North American tour, which is due to finish on October 30 in Los Angeles.
- READ MORE: Ian Astbury talks the resurgence of goth, David Bowie’s legacy and The Cult’s “renaissance”
Sharing the news on Instagram, the band said that they’d be taking a long break from touring to focus on other creative endeavours, but promised fans that it does not mark the end.
“Mother Nature has a cycle of change and evolution that is inevitable,” the statement began. “The moon’s phases change, tides rise and fall. Change is necessary for creation and rebirth. It is with this in mind that, following the remaining dates on our current North American The Cult/Death Cult 8525 Tour, we have decided to step away from touring for an undetermined amount of time.
“We have toured extensively over the last few years and we shall now shift our focus to writing, recording new music, and exploring other projects that shall be revealed over time. It is a time for us to turn inward to recharge our spiritual batteries.”
The band confirmed that they will be performing their final remaining shows, which will take them up to October 30.
“When we return to the stage, it shall be with an even stronger fire and energy that we will share with all of you,” the statement said. “Ours is a communal bond, and it will not be broken, simply paused. Until then, we have five remaining shows on this current tour, culminating at The Shrine in Los Angeles on Oct 30. Please join us for what has been an incredible celebration of 40 years of The Cult and Death Cult.”
The band formed as Death Cult in 1983, but then shortened their name to The Cult in 1984. Since their inception, The Cult have released 11 albums, with their most recent one being 2022’s ‘Under The Midnight Sun’.
Last year, the band’s frontman Ian Astbury spoke to NME about the recent resurgence of goth in pop culture – which sees “women picking up the swords and leading the way” – as well as how the band are looking to challenge the perception of being “a heritage act”.
Speaking about the future of The Cult, and his relationship with guitarist Billy Duffy, Astbury said:“What does the future look like? No idea, it’s chaos right now. It’s absolute anarchy. The plan is to have no plan. The plan is to be intuitive and act in response to the moment. Career? What’s a career? Plans? There are no plans. Things are changing too rapidly. I have no plans, I’m just impulsive. Whatever hits me, it’s just how quickly we can turn things around.”
He added: “The Cult is its own animal. It’s a multi-headed hydra. Billy [Duffy, guitarist] has a very strong, tactile, pragmatic, Mancunian side to him, and he holds ground. He grounds me because I’m just like lightning, I’ll be all over the place.”
The news of The Cult’s performing hiatus comes after they were announced as one of the first wave acts billed for the newly-launched Forever Now Festival, set to take place in June 2026 in Milton Keynes. They were billed next to the likes of Kraftwerk, Johnny Marr, and The The.