Shihad have announced their farewell tour, which will bring them back to Australia for the final time in February 2025. The tour, dubbed Loud Forever, will mark Shihad’s last-ever shows after nearly 37 years. The full Australian tour dates, as well as pre-sale and ticketing info, can be found below.
Joining Shihad on all dates of their Australian farewell are eccentric Sydney metal band Battlesnake, while their old tourmates Bodyjar will join the bill for their final Australian show at Melbourne’s Forum Theatre.
Each member of the band offered up statements reflecting on the band’s career, which has ranged from Platinum success in their homeland of New Zealand to their failure to crack the post-9/11 American market purely because their name sounded like “jihad”. Frontman Jon Toogood said that they were embarking on a farewell tour because they “need to pay homage to the legacy of this band”. “It’s meant so much to us, and also to the people that have supported us,” he said.
Bassist Karl Kippenberger, who joined in 1991, said that Shihad “had as much fun as we’ve had moments of disappointment and of anger”, adding that they’d also “also had some real special moments” as well. Lead guitarist Phil Knight reminisced that the band had “lived the life that so many musicians would give their right arm for”.
Drummer Tom Larkin explained that the band was “a shared commitment and a shared energy”, ultimately justifying the reason behind the band’s split. “The fundamental chemistry and makeup of what makes Shihad special and what makes [it] work requires certain things to be in place,” he said. “When you can’t sustain those things or plan for those things, it takes away from Shihad being something that makes sense.”
Shihad was formed in 1998 by Toogood, Knight, Larkin and original bassist Geoff Duncan out of Wellington High School. They released their debut album, Churn, in 1993. Its lead single, ‘I Only Said’, peaked at number 3 on the New Zealand singles chart. The band released ten studio albums in total, six of which topped the New Zealand albums chart. Last month saw Toogood release his debut solo album, Last Of The Lonely Gods.
Shihad Loud Forever 1988–2025 Farewell Tour
- Thursday, February 13th – The Gov, Adelaide SA
- Friday, February 14th – Metro Theatre, Sydney NSW
- Friday, February 21st – Astor Theatre, Perth WA
- Friday, February 28th – The Tivoli, Brisbane QLD
- Friday, March 7th – Forum Theatre, Melbourne VIC
Tickets for all shows are on sale now via Shihad.com.
