Photo by: Will Fisher
The original Blink-182 line-up is back after the founding members reunited.
Despite the awry conflicts that the members of Blink-182 have encountered in the last decade, on Oct. 11. they announced the welcoming back of founding member and vocalist Tom DeLonge. Before this, Blink-182 continued releasing music along with replacement vocalist Matt Skiba.
The band had notoriously been teasing their reunion since early October, as fans realized that their website was being reworked and a few others noticed mysterious posters and billboards promoting “182 Industries.” Said posters also have a link that redirects fans to “onehundredeightytwo.com,” which immediately leads to Blink-182’s official website.
After keeping fans on the edge of their seats for several days, Blink-182 announced the return of all founding members of the band with a cheeky video titled “WE ARE COMING! to a city near you!”, as well as by announcing their new single “Edging.” The caption for the video boldly states:
“We’re coming. Tour’s coming. Album’s coming. Tom’s coming.”
The shock value behind Blink-182’s reunion announcement likely stems from the awareness that Tom DeLonge has left the band on two separate occasions in the past. DeLonge’s first departure from the pop-punk band in 2005 was due to creative differences, as well as his need to prioritize family. In 2008, he returned after Travis Barker, the drummer for Blink-182, had a near-death experience in a plane crash.
Later on, in 2015, DeLonge announced that he was leaving Blink-182 indefinitely, as well as sharing a lengthy post on Facebook to explain his reasoning. In his letter to the fans, DeLonge expresses gratitude for the band’s trajectory, while explaining some of the main interpersonal issues that led to his second departure from Blink-182.
Most notably, DeLonge claimed that the dynamics in the band have always been dysfunctional and that the two other band members were not pulling their own weight at the studio. He was also asked to sign a contract that would force him to record another Blink-182 album in the span of 6 months, which he was unable to agree on since it would entail that he breach the contracts set for his other artistic commitments.
Although DeLonge’s commentary on the band may have come across as issuing the last straw for the friendships he had with Travis Barker and the band’s bassist, Mark Hoppus, the band claims that their relationship since then has been restored. As of now, DeLonge and Hoppus have been keeping in touch consistently, at least since DeLonge found out about Hoppus’ lymphoma diagnosis in 2021.
The new track “Edging” manages to capture the same sound that the band has been known for since their debut in the ‘90s. The music video accompanying the single opens with their traditional bunny logo, which the band used before changing to a smiley logo.
Perhaps the visual and sonic throwback to the band’s past work is a way for Blink-182 to communicate to fans that their favourite pop-punk trio is returning to their origins.
As previously mentioned, the band’s reunion video also includes a world tour announcement. Fans are now aware that bands such as Rise Against, Wallows, The Story So Far, and Turnstile will all accompany them as opening acts for the upcoming concerts. For those considering seeing the pop-punk trio, tickets are being sold on Ticketmaster.