Godspeed You! Black Emperor have not split up, according to band member Efrim Menuck.

Following an interview given by Menuck, the news spread that the Canadian collective was officially finished, after an “indefinite hiatus” of over five years.

The split was blamed on the pressures of the Iraq war. “The last American tour that Godspeed did was in the run up to the current war in Iraq,” he told Drowned In Sound. “For what Godspeed did, it was very difficult for us to work out a way for us to communicate directly with the audience about what was going on.

“On a personal level I now find [Godspeed You! Black Emperor] to be inappropriate,” he added. But Menuck has explained his comments were taken out of context.

“The Drowned in Sound thing is a misquote,” he told Pitchfork. “It’s true, Godspeed hasn't existed for years, we've been on permanent hiatus since 2002. If and when we do call it quits permanently, it won't be because of the Iraq war.”

Members of the group have been busy with numerous other projects, notably Silver Mt. Zion, which features Godspeed members Menuck, Thierry Amar, and Sophie Trudeau. They have a new album on the way, 13 Blues For Thirteen Moons, which is released on March 10.