Seven years together and three full-length albums were apparently too much for At the Drive-In to handle.

Citing a need for rest, the El Paso, Texas, rockers have unexpectedly suspended all band activity indefinitely, beginning with the cancellation of a handful of dates that were set to begin April 11 in San Diego, according to an official statement released Tuesday (March 27).

"After a non-stop six-year cycle of record/tour/record/tour, we are going on an indefinite hiatus," guitarist Omar Rodriguez said in the statement. "We need time to rest up and re-evaluate, just to be human beings again and to decide when we feel like playing music again."

There's no word yet on how the ongoing break will affect the debut album by Defacto, the side-project of Rodriguez and ATDI singer Cedric Bixler. In January, a Grand Royal Records spokesperson expected the album in stores later this year (see [article id="1437983"]"At the Drive-In Side Project Defacto Working on LP"[/article]) but couldn't be reached for comment at press time.

Formed in early 1994, At the Drive-In released three LPs, two EPs and more than a half-dozen singles and split 7-inches. Their latest album, Relationship of Command, appeared on many critics' best-of lists when it was released last year. To date, it has sold nearly 200,000 copies, according to SoundScan.