Is Ahren Stringer OUT of The Amity Affliction?!

EDIT:

As of February 14th, 2025, Ahren Stringer has been removed from the Amity Affliction. The band released this statement on their social media:

Hello everybody, welcome back to the No Skip Blog! Today we are going over the recent news that Ahren Stringer, the bassist and co-vocalist, of The Amity Affliction is now fully out of the band. Many of you may know the past issues Stringer has had with the band, most notably being booted from the dates for their American run of the tour back in May, but so far he was only being substituted not replaced. Stringer would even play a few more shows with the band in September before taking 2025 off, saying; “...taking some much needed annual leave from the band throughout 2025 to focus on continued personal growth, considering future with the band & spending more quality time with the people I love.” But what seems to have changed these last few months?

After everything that happened last year regarding Ahren being taken away from the tour, his obligations with the band would constantly be speculated. Seemingly being answered on Instagram near the end of last month with a post about his annual tattoo design he does for fans, the caption on the post read “Once again these will be the last Amity paintings I’ll ever make so get em while they're hot.” When directly asked if he was leaving Amity by a fan under the post, Ahren would simply say “wasn’t my choice.” This would be the only actual confirmation about the ordeal we’d get until the end of January on the 29th with another Instagram post from Stringer, stating; “Hi everyone, as you who follow me know I’m not touring with the band I started “the Amity Affliction.” I asked the band to advertise to y’all that I ain't gonna be there. Apologies to everyone that was not communicated by the band. Just wanted to let you know if you are expecting me I wont be there. Nothing but love x.”

With all signs pointing to the obvious, the band themselves still have not commented or confirmed anything as Ahren mentions in his post above, with Ahren himself not posting any further statements or posts about the situation, outside of Instagram stories, since the 29th. Everyone seems to be confused on the game plan as Amity is slated to begin touring in the Americas in a month but supposedly without their longest tenured member, is their potential for him to be replaced by Tim Beken of True North again or will Joel be picking up all of the slack? However, many speculate Ahren will be filling his recent free time up with a new project that could be in collaboration with former Volumes frontman Gus Farias; a picture of the two posing together supports this theory.

Regardless of who’s potentially filling in for Stringer, or what he may be up to in his free time now, it seems to be certain that he is no longer in the band. This marks a deep and symbolic departure for the band as a whole, with Stringer being the last founding member of the band, and one with a special connection to fans, largely regarded for the annual fan tattoo designs and his overall charm and vocals. With his exit it's as if the band has severed their personal connection to the core of the audience, while simultaneously fracturing the group, after something that seemed like a minor setback for Stringer and the band turned into an end of an era.

As always, thanks for reading and happy listening!