Almost every band has an unbelievable peak of excellence, were there song writing is perfect, there vocals and instruments are played well, and there music is taken well in the public. But rarely is this the bands second full-length album following an album that barely even made it out to the public. Even though they were against all odds with "Full Collapse", Thursday still made a near perfect record.
Thursday is a post-hardcore band, even people that don't listen to the band often know that fact. And on this album the band were screaming, yelping, and playing there instruments is loud as they possibly could. What's wrong with this? Well, the record company producing this album is "Victory Records", a company known for producing more of a pop-punk sound than anything. Another obstacle is that screaming music was rarely accepted in music unless it was in Metal, Death Metal, or Hair Metal. So, Thursday decides to blend the screaming with punk music perfectly and we have this record.
This is also a pretty significant record, since it is the first really screaming/punk record to make it mainstream. Since this, has inspired bands such as Under OATH and many others bands to try this. So this is why this record is so significant.
The first track, "A0001", is a lighting quick intro to the album. It would start off the album better if it was a hard song. But it's 36 seconds of pure distorted vocals and beautiful instruments, 4/5.
"Understanding In A Car Crash", is a brilliant song after the albums opener mislead us. The surrounding vocals do a great job of starting out this soft to loud in the chorus formula song, then with basically no pre-chorus the song comes back. The chorus is great with the background singer screaming perfectly after the lead singers verse, this song even though it was not produced well still sounds well because of the way Thursday had written it. The second verse is like one pre-chorus which is pretty awesome especially since we didn't really have a pre-chorus on the first verse: The lead vocalist screams "I don't want to feel this way forever". After the second reputation of the chorus an instrumental session occurs for about :30 seconds and then the song moves on. This is a song that was well crafted, had good structure, and perfect emotion. 5/5
"Concealer", is a quick 2 minute song that leads perfectly in the next song. The instruments are kind of a disappointment of the last track, and the production fails to lead the 1st verse vocals into the chorus. But looking up the lyrics to this song it seems to be very well written, so again production by Victory trying to make this song poppy is kind of a failure. The limited screaming is kind of a disappointment giving that the album at this point already has a reputation, and this song was also kind of a filler. 3/5
"Autobiography Of The World", is a unbelievable track and is when Thursday is at there best. This song features intense vocals and lyrics, well-executed screaming, and a great chorus. The song starts out with a kind of sweet laid back guitar riff, and then an explosion of lyrics and noises come in with one of the hardest rocking songs of the album. The beat doesn't really change during the chorus, which isn't really necessarily since the band were doing such a great job with the particular hardcore beat. The chorus sounds like the singer is begging for something a new life or a new start as he cries: "Is This What You Wanted?", and the distorted screaming in the background similar to "Understanding In Car Crash" works out well. The breakdown isn't as well-executed as the chorus, but it still works out for a classic song. 5/5
If you are listening to this album in track-by-track order and not skimming and choosing whatever songs you like, "A Hole In The World", is the kind of track you need. It gives you time to take a breath after "Autobiography Of A World", while still remaining intense in the lyrics. The song has limited screaming and the beat is similar to that of "Conclear", just a little bit slower. But the chorus of this song is great as the vocalist sings: "When the world keeps crashing down". This song also has the best instrumental breakdown of the album with the piano played leading perfectly into a kind of random end of the song screaming session. Though the session was random, it just shows that Thursday can put emotion into any type of song they play. 4.5/5
"Cross Out The Eyes", is more of a punk song than a hardcore song though it still contains screaming it isn't so that you can't listen to it in your car. The beat isn't as hardcore as the previous songs on this album and the guitar riff is kind of distorted in the surrounding lines to the chorus. But this is some of the best songwriting done on this album, if Victory would have produced this record better and made the vocals more clear, I think it would have been a classic song. But the songs chorus carries it through with the singer practically rapping with the background vocalist screaming in the background. The songs ending is beautiful lots of screaming combined with the chorus thrown at you. A great song that could even be better, but I will still give it a 5/5.
"Paris In Flames", sounds like a political cry combined with the type of hardcore/punk mix that Thursday does best. The surrounding lines are sang quietly but if you look up the lyrics you see that the lyrics are perfectly getting you ready for the chorus. If you are a fan of "War All The Time", you will love this song. The emotional lyrics, and the randomness of the song that keep you listening throughout the whole song. The chorus isn't as well executed as the other songs, but the lines after the chorus are so good that it makes up for it: "I think it is going to rain down", is a mysterious lyric that you never thought a hardcore band could take the time to think of. An overall great song, 4.7/5.
"I Am The Killer", is one of the few songs on this album that start out with a quick beat that stays quick basically the whole song. And it really adds another dimension to the album since all the rest of the songs are "soft-loud chorus formula", this is a song that is loud in the surrounding lines and even louder in the chorus. And in this song the background vocalist screams aren't distorted but they are heard loud and clear and it really makes for a great experience overall. Though the song really doesn't have any structure at all, it is such a hardcore rocker unlike anything heard on the album it makes for a very enjoyable experience. It also seems like the vocals are telling a story in the background of the song, which is another cool thing about the song. 5/5.
"Standing On The Edge Of The Summer", is a nice song because it remains me of "Running From The Rain" on Thursday latest album it is not at all a hard song the beat in the chorus is very enjoyable and the background screams rarely appear in the song. This song with it's beautiful beat really showcases the bands songwriting abilities perfectly. The breakdown to this song really makes the song with the beat continuing but the bands vocals coming at a more steady pace. Regardless to popular opinion this song is not a filler, rather an attempt at something new. In the end it doesn't work out to badly. 4.5/5
"Wind Up", isn't to unique of a track but you can tell that it is building to something in the surrounding lines that is just incredible. Another under produced song, "Wind Up", can contain anything from a guitar solo to an all screaming chorus. Just when you thought the band couldn't do anything new they do anything they could do to make this track great. The end of the song contains the beat presented in the chorus with some all new lyrics that are screamed perfectly to the beat of the song. The end of the song approaches with that guitar beat used somewhat as a solo and the drums played well also. 4.7/5.
"How Long Is The Night?", is really the last song on the album and it is produced the best as well. The song comes out with a bang just like "I Am The Killer", and in the chorus it sounds like a piece of art. In the second lyrical session with an all new beat some of the best recognizable lyrics are repeated, and in the end the background screaming accompanies the lead vocalist's lyrics swiftly. After a few worthless repeated lines the beat picks up towards the chorus. And this time the chorus sounds like an explosion of ideas leading into an emotional breakdown. The production is finally perfect and this song earns a perfect rating of 5/5.
"I1100", is an sort of an instrumental like the start of the album. But the song has more of a cool beat with some robot vocals and it is a cool end to the album. 4.2/5
This album is a classic. It introduced a whole different kind of mainstream style to music and features many great songs, and really doesn't have one bad songs. With really 10 songs that are actual music clocking in at 40 minutes it is an enjoyable and quick listen.
Pros:
Something New
Great song structure
Seems like it is telling a story
Cons:
Production by Victory Records
Recommendations:
Understanding In A Car Crash
Autobiography Of A Nation
How Long Is The Night?
