Full Collapse
Artist: Thursday
Release Date: April 10, 2001
Label: Victory Records
Track listing
- A0001
- Understanding in a car crash
- Concealer
- Autobiography of a Nation
- A Hole in the World
- Cross Out the Eyes
- Paris in Flames
- I am the Killer
- Standing on the Edge of Summer
- Wind-Up
- How Long is the Night?
- I1100
On this album, the first thing people tend to notice about the track list is that the first and last track have similar titles. And once you give the disc a listen, you see why. They are both soft, instrumental tracks that melt into one another if you play the disc on repeat. This was intended to give the CD a cyclical feel to it. The first tracks tend to be more emotional, positively oriented songs, while towards the end the obvious destructive power of the music comes through loud and clear. This was, according to Geoff Rickly, lead singer, all part of the album’s plan. They wanted it to feel like a cycle of birth, growth, death (or collapse, like the title, get it?), and recreation. Rickly said this was supposed to point out how everything is in cycles, from reincarnation to the grand unification theory.
The songs themselves are great. They demonstrate Thursday's trademark haunting vocals over screamed back-up lines. The guitars are also much more focused in this album, as they obviously lead the way to the melody that is Rickly's whine (or shriek, as the case may be). The bass and drums melt together for a well paced album, slowing more on easier tracks like Standing on the Edge of Summer, and Wind-Up. The album reaches a peak with the out-and-out "Scream and jump, dammit!" feel of Paris in Flames and Cross out the Eyes. Altogether, the album may make the Nu-Metal listener feel somewhat comfortable, but still over to current hardcore and emo influences. It is a well-rounded, very approachable sound.
This album was a breakout for Thursday, as their second release. It actually showed some direction, unlike their first album, and thus has much more power as the whole than as the sum of its parts. Since it’s release, Thursday has toured with bigger bands such as Saves the Day and Piebald. Also, they have recently signed with Island records, a much larger label.
Sources include www.fullcollapse.com, www.victoryrecords.com, and my own memory.