The Academy Is... No More

After nine years and three albums, The Academy Is… is breaking up.

In a message posted on the group's official website, the band members write that "The Academy Is… have decided to go our separate ways," and that the band mates "look back at the records we've made, the show's we've played, the places we've been. The people we've met. The Academy Is… has made its mark."

Singer Williams Beckett, guitarist Mike Carden and bassist Adam Siska formed the Chicago alt-rock group in 2003, and the band became Warped Tour veterans and sold 497,000 copies of its three full-lengths, 2005's "Almost Here," 2007's "Santi," and 2008's "Fast Times at Barrington High," according to Nielsen SoundScan. The split follows the departure of drummer Andy Mrotek and guitarist Michael Guy Chislett, who exited the group last May. 

On his blog, Beckett speaks more specifically about the differences between himself, Carden and Siska that caused the breakup "For years there has been a growing distance felt within the band as we've progressed, both geographically and artistically," Beckett writes, "and instead of trying to patch the holes we're left with, my heart tells me it's time to move on with the next chapter in our lives."

The Academy Is… were scheduled to join Jack's Mannequin on the group's tour that will kick off Oct. 24 in Denver. The band's last show was its Sept. 8 set at the Fueled By Ramen 15th Anniversary at New York's Terminal 5.

In the group's official announcement, the members promise that, despite the end of The Academy Is…, "new music from each of us" is on its way. Meanwhile, Beckett writes that he will be "working on a new record" over the next few months. "While this is the end of 8 unforgettable years of TAI, this is not the end of my story. Not by a long shot," Beckett writes.