To quote Eric Nally, frontman of Foxy Shazam: “Foxy Shazam’s ultimate goal is to go down in history and be the biggest band in the world.” Some might believe that Nally’s ambitions are overzealous, but Foxy Shazam’s cult-like following believes this will be the case – and they could be right. The band’s ambition to succeed is why the announcement of their hiatus in 2014 was so shocking. Not to mention, the band was also in the middle of a tour when they called it quits. However, the band’s hiatus left fans hopeful, as the band promised a grandiose return, stating their “best art is yet to come,” and that they plan on “someday returning more powerful than ever”.

Foxy Shazam’s history and rise to (almost) fame have been very peculiar. The band released their debut album, The Flamingo Trigger, in 2005, which was the band at their weirdest and most uncommercial stage. The Flamingo Trigger was an album of melodic post-hardcore fused with the eerie piano playing of Sky White. The band toured for eighteen months following their debut release, and despite their noncommercial sound, their over-the-top stage presence put their name on the radar. Frontman Eric Nally is a madman on stage – somersaulting, eating cigarettes, and entertaining the crowd with fantastical stories and sayings in between songs.

In 2008, Foxy Shazam signed to Ferret Music and released a more-refined, but still extremely experimental album, Introducing Foxy Shazam. This time around, as opposed to the screaming on The Flamingo Trigger, Nally is singing and very theatrical. The songs were also more structured but still given an odd twist with White’s piano. From here, the band continued to expand their ever-growing fanbase via excessive touring and promotion. However, Foxy Shazam was still producing very odd and unconventional music, and it wasn’t until the band’s radical shake-up that their goal of becoming the world’s biggest band seemed realistic.

Following the release of Introducing, Foxy Shazam left Ferret Music and joined Sire Records, which is owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Bros. Records. The band was suddenly in the big leagues. With that being said, the band was also completely reimagined. Foxy Shazam’s self-titled third album was a shiny glam rock masterpiece featuring a new drummer, Aaron McVeigh, and trumpeter, Alex Nauth. This radical departure from experimental rock to 80’s tinged glam rock with a trumpet polarized old fans but opened the doors to many more. Sire Records saw potential in Foxy Shazam, and pushed hard to break them into the mainstream – landing the band on everything from Super Bowl telecasts to Cartoon Network shows. The commercial shift for the band landed them spots on many festivals and tours with bands like Panic! At the Disco and The Darkness as well.

While Foxy Shazam’s third album was spectacular, the band had commercial success, and their stage presence remained over-the-top, the band never quite caught on in the mainstream and their followers were perplexed. At this point, Eric Nally and Foxy Shazam were being compared to Freddie Mercury and Queen, but why haven’t they achieved the success of Queen yet? The band left Sire Records and signed to the lesser-known and newly revamped IRS records to release their fourth album, The Church of Rock n Roll – an album that wholeheartedly indulged in 70s and 80s glam rock, featuring wailing Queen-esque choirs and even cleaner vocals from Nally, but it didn’t beat the originality and glamour found on their self-titled. While the album’s lead single “I Like It” did reach the top 20 of some Billboard charts, that was only a minor success for the band destined to be the biggest in the world.

In 2014, the band reimagined themselves again. On Foxy Shazam’s fifth album, Gonzo, the band’s aesthetic, sonically and visually, was completely unfamiliar to their followers. Any influence of glam rock was completely abandoned and the band found themselves at their rawest. The album was barely edited; it was essentially an untouched recording of the band playing nine songs in a room together. Gonzo is a return to the band’s uncommercial and experimental roots, but this time with a very mellow, somber, and matured approach. Nally’s vocals are faint and the songs are mid-to-low tempo – sounding almost exhausted.

The band also took a somber approach to their visual aesthetic: Nally shaved off his signature handlebar mustache and stopped dying his naturally blonde hair jet black; White lost his prolific beard that he grew since the beginning of the band. Foxy Shazam had changed for this album and they made that especially clear. Even when the band toured for Gonzo, they played in two sets: The first one consisted of Gonzo in its entirety paired with an unusually unenergetic and plain-clothed performance. The second set showcased older Foxy songs accompanied by the band’s typical crazy stage presence. It was almost as if the band was shying away from their original goal of being the world’s biggest band.

It was during Foxy Shazam’s touring for Gonzo that they decided to go on hiatus, which prompted the cancellation of the rest of their tour as well as their planned New Year’s Eve show. The band so set on fame not only released a disappointing album that completely removed them from a mainstream appeal, but now they were taking a break. For fans rooting for the band’s success, this was heartbreaking.

However, the band’s promise to return left fans hopeful and the events that have taken place since have seemed hopeful for the band’s success when they do return. A year following the band’s hiatus announcement, Nally was unexpectedly featured on the Macklemore and Ryan Lewis single, “Downtown”, a song that was in top charts internationally and extremely successful. Articles like Alt Press’s “Who is Eric Nally?” started popping up on the internet and suddenly, Nally broke into the mainstream and started drawing attention to Foxy Shazam. Following the success of “Downtown” and multiple TV performances, Macklemore also featured Nally on the opening track of his most recent album, “Ain’t Gonna Die Tonight”. Nally has also started endeavors on his own solo project and has released 4 singles so far. Apparently, these singles will be on an EP titled Madville, but nothing recent has been said about the release.

Flashforward to now and hints are popping up that Foxy will return soon. Recently, Nally posted on his Instagram story a video zooming in on a Foxy Shazam poster with what sounds like a demo from the band playing in the background. On Facebook, the band’s bassist Daisy Caplan replied “u won’t be missing long!” to someone who posted that they missed the band. After Nally created ties with extremely well-known artists like Macklemore, it is very likely that the band can stay true to their promise and “return more powerful than ever”. Hopefully, 2018 is the year that Foxy Shazam returns, recreating themselves again and re-embarking on their journey towards becoming the biggest band in the world.