Are the Red Hot Chili Peppers gone for good?

What happened

Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis told Rolling Stone recently that the band is “emotionally and mentally zapped” and has decided to take a year off. But now some critics are wondering if the split will become permanent.

What the commentators said

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So “rock-funk veterans” the Red Hot Chili Peppers are “disbanding” for a year due to fatigue from their “hectic schedule,” said Jody Thompson in the Mirror.co.uk. OK . . . But if they’re so burnt out, why have bassist Flea and guitarist John Frusciante said they’re going to “work on their own musical projects” during the time off? And even Kiedis said “he might start to tinker with making new music on his own, too.”

Let’s hope that the Chili Peppers decide to “make the split permanent,” said Stuart Heritage in the blog Hecklerspray. Their last album “contained nothing but shallow retreads of other stuff they’ve already done.” And are we supposed to feel sorry for them because they have to play “two hours of music a night to tens of thousands of adoring fans”?

It’s probably a lot harder than most people realize, said the blog Guitar Flame. “Once in awhile, a break is needed—especially for a band that tours as “heavily” as the Chili Peppers. I really “hope” they “have the power to come back” after a year, because they really have a “unique take on rock music.”