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 | ThursdayWar All the Time2003 Island 
 Review by: Aubin See others by this writer ![[staff]](/images/icons/staffsticker.gif){kind=icon}
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Published on September 19th 2003
As I write this, hurricane Isabel is bearing down on the east cost. It promises to bring thundering rainstorms, powerful gusts of wind, and coldly quiet interludes in the eye of the storm before the thundering resumes as it passes. And as the rain begins to fall, it seems oddly poetic to be writing about Thursday's newest record War All The Time. Without becoming too abstract, the record shares many parallels with the imminent storm; the barreling guitars, the immediacy of the lyrics, and the oft imitated but rarely matched vocals. The structure of the record also resembles the aforementioned storm; exploding into view with "For the Workforce, Drowning" and building into explosive energy, then suddenly crashing into the gentle "The Song Brought To You By a Falling Bomb." As before, Thursday's most striking characteristic is Geoff Rickly's anguished wail; while many acts have dabbled in his vocal stylings, Thursday never allows it to turn into another rhythmic device, delivering genuine catharsis with every scream, something most of the Thursday imitators would be smart to remember. After all, since their 2001 breakthrough, Full Collapse, the band has proven to be one of the most blatently copied acts around; while they certainly didn't invent the mixture of singing and screaming on that record, they certainly proved the most influential manipulators of it. Often forgotten was the strong songwriting, and excellent musicianship, which is probably why so many of the Thursday-lite's just didn't get it. The screaming was never the point. It wasn't about contrast, or a juxtaposition, or an irony. It was the emotional climax to the lyrical and musical content, and if you listen closely to a Thursday record, and their nuanced use of the sound, you can clearly hear what so many other bands are doing wrong. I think Thursday was aware of the fact that their trademark dynamics was getting the attention instead of the songs themselves, and so the leap in songwriting prowess is apparent. In many of the tracks, things are more toned down, but the dynamic range is clearly larger. Take the first single "Signals Over the Air", it opens with a straightforward drum pattern; the clean guitars enter, accompanied by Geoff's whispering vocals. The song gradually builds into a heavy crescendo, before returning to the softness from before. In the same vein is the likely crowd favourite "Asleep in the Chapel" which opens softly as so many Thursday songs do, but continues to grow, shifting back and forth from the bombast of the sing-scream interplay, and then hits a anthemic chorus. But many of the tracks veer sharply from the expected path; like "The Song Brought To You By a Falling Bomb", which has minimal vocals over a piano. While the band is frequently lumped into the so-called "screamo" vein, there is very little in common with the maligned genre on this record; neither musically, nor lyrically. If you get past the "hook" of the band, you'll find emotionally complex, aggressive and forward moving music that you cannot miss. People who liked this also liked:           Please login or register to post comments. What are the benefits of having a Punknews.org account?
excellent. only slightly less so than full collapse amazing what a great band awesome Wow you people suck at life the comments here make me very sad to see how few kids actually know ANY of the history behind the screamo genre. nowhere near as good as full collapse but thursday is the kind of band that stays constant with little changes here and there but stays where they should be I went back to my Thursday cd's after finding an old Thursday t-shirt in my room. However crazy and ridiculous the immitators and the whole shitty screamo thing gets, Thursday is still good. I feel that these guys actually mean it. This was an awesome record. It wasn't as good as Full Collapse, but it was good nonetheless. "war all the time" and "for the workforce, drowning" were really awesome. My favorite song on the Cd would have to be "Signal over the Air" this album isnt as good as full collapse, but it has some good songs on it. i guess that makes me a "screamo" fan. whatever. War All the Time isn't Full Collapse, but I still think it's a great album. Some songs just passed like wind though my ears (and that's why I did not rate 5 stars). The music itself do not describe the emotion as much as Full Collapse, but the lyrics are still amazing. I actually do wish that "This Song Brought to You by a Falling Bomb" was sang more emotionally in the album (because I can't help loving both the music and lyrics). you said they are poser punks, your sooo dumb. they left their old label partly because they wanted them to be more pop punk and punk. they are liek screamo, post hardcore sort of stuff. I have to almost completely agree with the person who wrote the previous review: How are they poser punks? They're not even trying to be punk rock. fuck this band they suck, fucking poser punks i believe another band has already used a charles bukowski reference in their musical career, and that band is Hot Water Music. a band that completely destroys this band in about every way, shape or form. and i know that an album name and a band name are two different things, but they are both very significant aspects to any band, and HWM did it first.there have probably been other references to bukowski before HWM but i am drunk and i don't care, so fuck you. "MAN DID YOU HEAR THAT NEW ONE BY HURRICANE ISABEL? IT FUCKING ROCKED. I LIKE THAT ONE LINE WHERE IT'S ALL LIKE "WOOOOOOSH" AND SHIT" thursday is a good band and everyone has their opinions on things and thats cool. but i personally liked this cd and i dont know who the cure are but thats not my problem. if i heard of them i wouldnt compare them because each band has their own personal and individual sound and thats the best part of bands. their all unique. i think this cd is awesome, (not as good as full collapse) Waiting was good, but the recording was pretty average. I love "streaks in the Sky" This album is pretty good but Geoff's voice annoys me a little bit on this one. I personally enjoy his vocal styling on the first album "waiting". On another note anyone get the new On the Might Of Princes records? "Of course Thursday didnt invent screamo, but they are largely responsible for it breaking out, and they are a huge influence on any screamo band that has came out after them. Most of it sucks." the more i listen to this cd the more i like it. its got something that full collapse doesnt have but at the same time full collapse has something this one doesnt have. i have to admit, this is one hella good cd. You're right, they don't sound like the cure! They sound like Morrisey!!! "if you think thursday sounds like the cure, youre a fucking moron who's probably never actually LISTENED to the cure." "You must hate talented music than, because I know if i didn't like a band that was unbelievably musically and lyrically talented I would not disrespect them." Even better than I thought it'd be. "and if thrice is so well read, then they should of stumbled on this book called, "Pop punk Mixed with Metal Sucks Ass"" THURSDAY!!!! ""We woke up this morning to a street filled with a thousand burning crosses and what we thought was the sunrise, just passing headlights". That lyric is the only one that even closely resembles your "the sky had no air..." Perhaps next time you should consider removing your head from your ass before you listen to a record. But hey, maybe the acoustics are really good in there." **-_- TROGDOR the BURNINATOR -_-** liked it more than full collapse. didnt like full collapse. some of the songs i love a lot, others i've learned to enjoy. but i can can only listen to it so much before it runs together. some of the lyrics are good. others, not so. 6 boners up. "if anyone can tell me what in the hell "the sky had no air in it" means, i'll give you a hundred bucks" hey, why talk all this shit. say if the album was good or not. THey don't sound like The Cure, They weren't the first "scremo" band, so shut the fuck up and listen to the record. "We woke up this morning to a street filled with a thousand burning crosses and what we thought was the sunrise, just passing headlights". That lyric is the only one that even closely resembles your "the sky had no air..." Perhaps next time you should consider removing your head from your ass before you listen to a record. But hey, maybe the acoustics are really good in there. i give this band a 10 for touring with thrice (best band to ever exist), and not sucking "if anyone can tell me what in the hell "the sky had no air in it" means, i'll give you a hundred bucks" I think 90% of the people on this website are retarded. this album kicks alot of ass...alot of ass... "and i noticed that really far down, some dude said he hates 90% of "screamo" bands that came about through thursday's influence. if this kid honestly thinks thursday is the beginning of the "screamo" genre, he wins the award for most musically retarded person of 2003" "i woke up one morning and the sky had no air in it and all the streets were filled with 1000 burning crosses" if you think thursday sounds like the cure, youre a fucking moron who's probably never actually LISTENED to the cure. "i woke up one morning and the sky had no air in it and all the streets were filled with 1000 burning crosses" this was good. a lot of thursday in general sounds like The Cure. I really like this record. I think it's solid and much better than The Full Collapse. War All the Time makes better use of Rickley's vocals than the last record. Good stuff from a good band. Is it me, or does "Division St." remind anyone of the Cure? I heard a couple of songs off this cd and i thought they were just ok.... so i tried to dl some other ones, but most of the songs are decoys.... kind of weird because when i saw them at warped last year they told everyone to dl their cd's chill man division st one of the best songs on the cd and so is war all the time ...didnt think much of the 1st one this cd opens with an incredible song, "for the workforce,drowning.' from there,it goes downhill until after the terrible falling bomb song. when he wails his voice in that song i want to vomit. everything after that is ok. i agree with whoever said that they were dissapointed and expected things to be more like 'jet black new year' **-_- TROGDOR the BURNINATOR -_-** "okay, boba fett's a dumbass.... Did anyone catch the part on the falling bomb song when geoff built up his voice to a very loud pitch and then it slowly faded away. This album is good but not as good as full collapse i like more the artist in the ambulance of thrice that this new thursday album. hey TheEvilMonkey ur full of shit haha u dont no anything about dyslexia yeah we have trouble reading and writing only because the right side of are braine is more developed then or left we are visual learners and we have better comprehension and we are more creative and we just think in a differnt way then others My caps button is broken.... Lucky for all of you-oldpunker- To the guy two posts below me, if you're taking the time to actually type that out, you're girlfriend must be pretty damn ugly. Although I could care less about this band, I thought it worth nothing that I had two straight-edge Moscow chicks at my apartment on Friday night who dug Thursday and were surprised when I told them the band was on a major. I guess news travels slowly. This score is for the hot chicks, with some points subtracted for them being edge. You kids crack me up. I can totally see little Bobby Jones at his computer, hands down his pants, huffing and puffing with a tear trickling down his cheek as he spends an hour getting fatter and defending his favorite "emo" band, Thursday. At the same time on the other side of the country, young Jim McGee is simply foaming at the mouth, equally intense in his defamation of said band, armed only with a bag full of the ever-so-articulate "suck asses" and "go to hells." "Without becoming too abstract, the record shares many parallels with the imminent storm; the barreling guitars, the immediacy of the lyrics, and the oft imitated but rarely matched vocals." "and if thrice is so well read, then they should of stumbled on this book called, 'Pop punk Mixed with Metal Sucks Ass'" I consider it one of the best of the year. kids these days are real dumb. ruin this site's reputation of being intelligent and shyat. wakka wakka. hula yo mamma. woowwoowoowowo you cannot possibly say that ur breaking heart man full collapse is a fucking master peice that will never be matched no doubt war all the time is a good record but u my frend are the retard and if thrice is so well read, then they should of stumbled on this book called, "Pop punk Mixed with Metal Sucks Ass" "Let's say I have a school projec to make a poster detailing information about various wars that go on in the world. okay, boba fett's a dumbass.... bullshit, who are you to say thursday isn't as well read as thrice. How can you possibly know?? Both groups seem very intelligent to me. Hey Heidi, you might have deep thoughts, and whether that's true or not, it doesn't really matter, because it sure as hell isn't caused by you having dyslexia. Dyslexia just prevents you from using the intelligence you have with reading and writing, it doesn't give you intelligence. i like full collapse more because it was better. i like this album, better than full collapse, i like the change, donno, just do. u should get it u I think Thrice is a group of intelligent, well-read, and generous individuals... while Thursday is a group of self-pitying bastards. The only guy I like is the 30-something guy who is always ignored in videos, interviews, and promo pictures. I think he is the lead guitarist. Anyway, he rocks. The rest of the band blows cock. And hey, why should I have to go online to get the lyrics? What the hell is the point of having a lyrics booklet then? "well evil monkey- have u ever considered the fact u can get the words online just as good and they didnt cover it all its still read able they jsut put a line through a few words big deal u must be blind i can read it fine " Best hurricane CD: Alkaline Trio - Maybe I'll Catch fire. It's a great CD to be really bored to. I can't say this is a bad CD. I can't say it's the greatest either. I guess I was expecting more... well evil monkey- have u ever considered the fact u can get the words online just as good and they didnt cover it all its still read able they jsut put a line through a few words big deal u must be blind i can read it fine I love to ROCK out to the new Thursday & Thrice while I'm at my pilates class! "And there is no such thing as the best album of 2003, it's called an opinion." this is awful. war all the time is a good cd, not great. i still think this side of brightness is the best thursday song, it got me hooked. "Well, thank god you settled that. Atticus Finch was a relatively good character in a solid novel written for 12 year olds. But that is it. The book is overrated. It is not a classic novel. Just a classic children's novel. Hey Heidi, consider this: "I'm guess Im the only person in the world who isn't amazed by this band. Granted, I like a few songs, but I'm not ready to give them my first born or anything." Well, thank god you settled that. okay i'll settle this: atticus is a great name. one of the best literary characters of all time. Ya leave the poor kid alone, he no's what he is talking about. i was in the hurricane and i listinied to thish cd the whole time it really connected to what was happining out side great cd yeah um ok i cant spell its not my fault im dyslexic its a disorder i cant help it but because im dyslexic i have deeper thought and i can compreend better then most not really just cause my name is atticus dosnt mean shit its not my fault my mom named me that the point is i no what im talking about The only good thing about this album is the cover art. Just because that guy's "name" is atticus trent, it totally invalidates everything he said. "alot of u people" i really enjoy the fact that thursday kept there style unlike alot of sell outs that compleatly change there style of playing to fit the crowd. i also really like the fact that thursday left record companys to not be sell outs they jsut want to play there not worryed about the money but sharing with the world what they have to say i relaly liek that in a band and these days thats rare. full collapes was a majorly kick ass album and its message is differnt from this album but very close in style one thing i dont like about this album though is the ryhthem is a bit off but still a great album oh yeah and emo is a fad to the posers but emo- emotinal music is suposed to relate to u! for us emo kids its who we are, its how we relate to the music this cd was amazing my fav cd just for all the stupid people that are complaing about not being able to read the words u guys dont get the point of the cd teh whole blacking out of words and crossing it out its all symbolizem all chaos it all works into the theme of war the font size shows loudness and such emo its a fad. . .get over it but Redline! is the shit. poison idea is actually just terrible I actually hate this band and was only listening to it because my friend happens to love this band. I bought it today becuase last night I realized they don't suck as much as I thought they did....Deja Entendu is still my favorite CD Who's the hack at Island who signs all these overrrated bands? Thursday, Thrice, Autopilot Off etc.. Poison Idea>>>>Thursday So... when is there going to be a review of Kid Dynamite's new album of older stuff plus DVD "Cheap Shots, Youth Anthems?" I have jumped on the Full Collapse bandwagon last year and adored it. It was my audio bible. That being said, I had ho-hum expectations for WATT. Don't get me wrong, I didn't think that it was going to be bad, but I knew it wouldn't even touch Full Collapse. And El Vaquero, Finch actually writes some pretty damn good lyrics. For example: How about Less Than Jake's artwork for Anthem? Wonderful artwork, easy to read lyrics. People saw that album and fucking loved the art, and no one complained about the absence (I'm out of it right now, did I spell that right?) of fake eraser marks. Fuck "Against Me", The Mars Volta owns the Album of the Year. i love how you kids call a cd "the best cd of 2003" even though the year is not over. it cracks me up. I remember you kids called Revolutions per minute the best this year; does any still think so? I agree with this review: http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=Anuoibkd9sak0 .shit. Hey evil monkey man and anonymously posted person RE the art work. Both these cds have the same art direction design illistration company group inc. people, and ya very simular i thought the same thing that it looked like AFIs CD when i first opened this up. FUCKING GREAT. okay, as someone who does album artwork for bands, i feel the need to comment on the whole reading lyrics thing. thursgay. yes, but who actually wants to read finch's lyrics?
thursday sucks, im seeing enon and the apes tonight This record is magical. Call me jaded, but I just think it's alright. It all bleeds together and ends up being boring for me. I guess I'm the only one that doesn't get this band. to the guy below me... Finch did that too with What It Is To Burn, you cant read half the lyrics and it pisses me off... but anyways this album is really good, but my favorite Thursday album is still Waiting To the guy three posts below, the spilled blood and randomly highlighted words and randomly capitalized words is not a new thing at all, and AFI certainly did not come up with the idea. This is oldest and worst trick in the book, even though I love this album. I love the artwork, I love the music, but the lyrics pages are stupid. I wouldn't put it in on the same platter as "Full Collapse", but "War All the Time" sure does hold its own. I was a little surprised by the changes in Geoff's singing: there are far fewer screams overall, but the lyrical content is second to none. are they still the most emotional band on the planet!??!?! personnaly i prefer Full Collapse over this. this is definitely a great cd but just not as good as Full Collapse. after hearing "For The Workforce, Drowning", i thought that they were trying to hard to have abstract lyrics. most of the album feels that way to me but i still like it a hella lot. My favourite songs off War all the Time have to be "Anywhere with You" and "Driving in the Dark." Both such emotional tunes. Geoff's voice, albeit high, is just perfect.. oh wait. tee hee i was naughty The art work is amazing. the scariest moment of my life was driving in 20in rain fall on the interstate skidding around and hyrdoplaning listening to "Understanding in a Car Crash." That song still freaks me out. sorry that link was from me http://www.mis-one.com/videos/Scenesucks.mov |
