Thursday - Common Existence
by Adrian Huggins
published: 3 / 3 / 2009
Label:
Epitaph Records
Format: CD
intro
Stunning return to form from emo veterans Thursday which proves to be their best album to date
New Jersey natives Thursday return with their much anticipated album ‘Common Existence’. The band have been around for ten years now and were one of the bands that led the modern emo/Screamo scene in 2001 and 2002. Along with bands like Thrice, Finch and Glassjaw, Thursday lead the way playing emotionally driven and honest songs. While they have never really matched the success of their major debut, ‘Full Collapse’, they sound on their new album, 'Common Existence', like a band with a new lease of life. This record has a bigger sound than all their previous outings. Some of their other records never quite seemed to capture the rawness of their live performances, but they have really hit the mark this time and it has all the elements that make this band still so important to so many. Singer Geoff Rickley’s vocals on 'Common Existnce' are slightly more controlled and, therefore, much stronger than they have been in the past. Opening track ‘Resuscitation of a Dead Man’ crashes in with a huge drum role. It is instantly recognizable as classic Thursday, but is the music of a band who have beefed up their sound. The really excellent thing is that they keep this up for most of the album. ‘As He Climbed the Dark Mountain' see Thursday at full throttle. The driving guitar is very much in the classic Thrice style and is backed with some fine drum work which continues to shine throughout the album. As the song progresses the melodies also come through and give it the mature edge that they have always excelled at. ‘Friends in the Armed Forces’, a bold statement about the stupidity of war and the consequences it has on others, has a superb tune that could very easily appeal right across the board. ‘Unintended Long Term Effects’ features some of the most intense guitar playing on the entire album. One of the other stand out tracks is ‘Circuits of Fever’, which has a fantastically creepy and haunting intro that looms deep beneath the entire song and gives it a subtle yet brutal sound. This to me is the band's best album to date. I would imagine that this will catapult Thursday from one of the bands that have always been on the edge of bigger things into the top league. It kicks the hell out of so many other bands currently playing emo music. Whereas some of their old peers have calmed down, Thursday have all the passion they started out and also have really grown as a band.
Track Listing:-
1 Resuscitation of a Dead Man2 Last Call
3 As He Climbed The Dark Mountain
4 Friends In The Armed Forces
5 Beyond The Visible Spectrum
6 Time's Arrow
7 Unintended Long Term Effects
8 Circuits of Fever
9 Subway Funeral
10 Love Has Led Us Astray
11 You Were The Cancer
Label Links:-
http://epitaph.com/https://www.facebook.com/epitaphrecords
http://epitaphrecords.tumblr.com/
http://www.kingsroadmerch.com/epitaph-records/region/
https://twitter.com/epitaphrecords
https://www.youtube.com/epitaph
reviews |
Five Stories Falling (2003) |
New largely live offering from New Jersey emo six piece, Thursday, who are developing a strong critical following |
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