New Brunswick, New Jersey’s Thursday graced the Metro stage in Chicago as half of a Riot Fest aftershow, marking the twentieth anniversary of their third album, War All the Time. The report is a visceral journey via the tumultuous human expertise, teetering on the precipice of anxiousness and loss.
The present, akin to the album itself, commenced with unmatched depth from the first riffs of “For the Workforce, Drowning” and surged ahead with ferocious vigor. Geoff Rickly’s vocals sliced via the air with the similar efficiency as they did 20 years in the past whereas the band’s sonic assault left the viewers breathless. Norman Brannon and Steve Pedulla’s scorching guitar work, in concord with Tucker Rule’s thunderous drumming, delivered a sonic wall that washed over the crowd like a tidal wave of emotion.
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As the band delved into the album, observe by observe, it felt as if time had stood nonetheless. “Signals Over the Air” and “Division St.” had the crowd swaying and singing alongside whereas Thursday took us on an escalating journey of stress and unease. The album’s apex, and arguably its emotional epicenter, got here with “This Song Brought to You by a Falling Bomb.” At this pivotal second, the tone of War All the Time underwent a dramatic shift. The relentless anxiousness that had constructed up all through the first half gave strategy to a poignant exploration of mourning and loss. Rickly’s lyrical prowess shined as he delved into themes of despair, the profound affect of tragedy, and the “war” that’s our on a regular basis lives.
As the full album drew to an in depth, the band adopted the ultimate observe, “Tomorrow I’ll Be You,” with the fan favourite “Jet Black New Year,” which was initially supposed for the album. The two tracks have been to function a “before and after” story of a New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day gone horribly incorrect.
It was revelatory to find that Rickly, initially skeptical of the album because of its overwhelming anxiousness, had come to comprehend that it mirrored the world’s collective turmoil throughout that period. In some ways, it served as a time capsule of the anxieties and uncertainties that outlined the early 2000s. Rickly has since grown to like the album. The mixture of his heartfelt lyricism and the band’s intricate musicianship left little question as to why this album is hailed as a post-hardcore masterpiece.
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