There are times you and your friends sit, reminiscing about the good old days and all the fun you had. There was the first trip to Tahoe, the limo ride from Tiki Bob’s to West Chester, and the time you busted in on your friend having sex. But then there are moments and experiences, which rip you from your current reality, totally placing your brain right back there, allowing you to relive the amazing moment again. One week ago I experienced one of these space-time continuum-bending moments.
I went to a concert. But not just any concert: it was the ten-year anniversary of the release of an album, which completely sent my life askew. Thursday’s FULL COLLAPSE. And the boys from New Brunswick played each delicious track from start to finish.
[Not to short change either of the other two acts I witnessed that night; Animals As Leaders is like listening to an epic movie soundtrack. You want to storm the castle and take on the whole Uruk-hai nation (look it up) while being bombarded by dueling eight-string guitars and a punishing drum section. Something so simple making the earth shake with the power of a thousand Orc armies. And Underoath constantly uping the ante with each year they are in existence, tearing through the rooms ear drums leaving each concert with a little less aural power. They are slowly perfecting their brand of metal, being led by the strongly poetic lyrics of Spencer Chamberlain, who is slowly becoming my favorite front man.]
The drums beats of “Understanding In A Car Crash” were the first thing to catch my ear. I remember stumbling through the dorm room on the second floor of St. George Hall. MTV2 was playing in the background as I packed my bag, preparing for my day of classes after an especially brutal morning workout. I almost tripped over the hand-me-down couch acting as the centerpiece of the living space I shared with my best friend Todd.
I heard the “snap-snap” of Tucker Rule’s snare drum, followed by musical chaos, reminiscent of At The Drive-In’s “Relationship Of Command” for which I discovered earlier that year. I had to stop and listen and watch the video; I needed to figure out what the name of the band performing on Todd’s television. I remember sitting there so intently, mesmerized by the live video. I couldn’t miss the info that would inevitably pop up on the bottom left of the screen, and inevitably change my personal musical landscape forever. I also recall this was the first time I really related to a band, on a personal level. The guys in Thursday weren’t gods who were out of reach to the common man, but rather average people my own age, playing music I love. I was listening to peers.
Until last night, looking back at the last ten years and at how much of this world I traversed (both physically and metaphorically), I never realized how much an affect this album had on me. To remember where I was when I first heard it and see where I am now. Growing and evolving along side the band and the music they have produced over the last decade.
Full Collapse dropped at a time in my college career when I was trying to figure out who I was, what I believed in, and Thursday steered me in the right direction, introducing me to a world void of major labels and the shit music and fashion sense being shoved down our throats. Each time I entered a new stage in my life, Thursday seemed to release a new album of post-hardcore goodness. Over the last ten years, I have changed both internally and externally. Still, through each major era in my existence, there was always one constant: Thursday and Full Collapse.
And I always go back…
Full Collapse
Released: April 10, 2001 on Victory Records
Track Listing:
1. A0001
2. Understanding In A Car Crash
3. Concealer
4. Autobiography Of A Nation
5. A Hole In The World
6. Cross Out The Eyes
7. Paris In Flames
8. I Am The Killer
9. Standing On The Edge Of Summer
10. Wind Up
11. How Long Is The Night?
12. i1100
It's the sound of your racing heart… That beats in time with every start… That reaches up and across the sky… It makes you want to rise…
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