Is Blink-182 without Tom DeLonge still Blink-182?

In news that may have surprised a few fans last week, Blink-182 bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus has revealed that the band plans on hitting the studio as early as next month to record album number seven, it will be the first album in the band’s 23 year career that won't involve Tom DeLonge. Hoppus and drummer Travis Barker more or less ‘fired’ DeLonge from Blink earlier this year, after he allegedly ignored their repeated efforts to get the band back in the studio to record. Hoppus and Barker have enlisted Alkaline Trio's Matt Skiba as DeLonge's replacement on album number seven, after he filled in more than capably on guitar/vocals for Blink's most recent tour dates.

I guess a couple of major questions that arise from this massive news would be:

1. Is Blink-182 without Tom DeLonge still Blink-182?

and

2. Will we still embrace this band as lovingly as we have over the last two decades with an altered line-up?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m always going to have time for Blink and I’m always going to make time to check out anything that they release, afterall, they’ve been such a massive part of mine and so many other’s musical education, but it just won’t be the same without DeLonge. His unmistakable, nasal drawl was so much a part of what made Blink the most important band of our childhoods and adolescences. I guess we’ll just have to wait until we hear the new material to see if Matt Skiba is able to fill some undeniably enormous shoes.

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