''Full Collapse'' is the second studio album by American

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. Like the term " post-punk", the term "post-hardcore" has been applied to a broad conste ...

band

Thursday Thursday is the day of the week between Wednesday and Friday. According to the ISO 8601 international standard, it is the fourth day of the week. In countries which adopt the "Sunday-first" convention, it is the fifth day of the week. Name Th ...

. It was released on April 10, 2001, through

Victory Records Victory Records is a Chicago-based record label founded by Tony Brummel. It operates a music publishing company called "Another Victory, Inc." and is the distributor of several record labels. It has featured many prominent artists including Thu ...

, to whom the band signed after leaving

Eyeball Records Eyeball Records is an independent record label originally established in NYC out of Apartment 4C on 14th St at Avenue A by Alex Saavedra and Vincent Li. The label later moved to Kearny, New Jersey. Eyeball has released albums by artists such as ...

. With the addition of guitarist Steve Pedulla, recording sessions for the album were held in November 2000 at Big Blue Meenie Recording Studios in

Jersey City Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

Sal Villanueva Salvatore Villanueva is an American record producer. Villaneuva's first entrance into the New York hardcore scene came when playing in bands including Demonspeed and Murphy's Law. He's currently the bassplayer for Joe Coffee, the new band of ex- ...

, who served as the producer, the production team and members of different bands contributed additional instrumentation to the recordings. ''Full Collapse'' is considered a

album. Preceded by a two-month United States tour, the album's release was promoted with a short series of shows. The band toured the US in 2001, with

BoySetsFire BoySetsFire is an American post-hardcore band from Newark, Delaware. Formed in October 1994, BoySetsFire is composed of guitarists Chad Istvan and Josh Latshaw, vocalist Nat Gray, drummer Jared Shavelson, and bassists Chris Rakus and Robert Ehre ...

, Waterdown,

Rival Schools ''Rival Schools: United by Fate'', known in Japan as is a 1997 3D fighting game produced by Capcom originally released as an arcade game on Sony ZN-2 hardware. ''Rival Schools'' revolves around tag team battles between groups of students fro ...

, and Saves the Day. At the end of the year, the band released

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

s for "

Understanding in a Car Crash "Understanding in a Car Crash" is a song by American post-hardcore band Thursday. It was the band's debut single and the lead single from their second album, ''Full Collapse'', in late 2001. "Understanding" was chosen for release as a single and ...

" and "Cross Out the Eyes". In early 2002, keyboardist Andrew Everding joined the band. They went on tour with

the Movielife The Movielife is a Long Island punk rock band composed of vocalist Vinnie Caruana, guitarist Brandon Reilly, and drummer Brett Romnes. The band originally formed in 1997 and disbanded in 2003, but announced their official reunion in December 20 ...

and

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

and appeared on the

Warped Tour The Warped Tour is a Concert tour, touring Rock music, rock music festival that toured the United States and Canada each summer from 1995 until 2019, and returned in 2025 for its 30th anniversary. By 2015, Warped was the largest traveling music ...

soon afterwards. Around this time, the band made it known that they had several issues with Victory Records and its founder, Tony Brummel. Thursday has performed the album in its entirety on tours in 2011 and 2018. ''Full Collapse'' peaked at number 178 on the US ''Billboard'' 200. It also appeared on two ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' component charts: number ten on

Heatseekers Albums The Heatseekers charts were "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales b ...

, and number nine on the

Independent Albums The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by '' Billboard'' mag ...

. The album received favorable reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

, many of whom praised the album's musicianship. It is referred to as a classic

emo Emo () is a genre of rock music characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of hardcore punk and from the Washington, D.C., hardcore scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore. The bands ...

album and praised as one of the best emo albums of all time, by publications such as ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British music webzine and quarterly magazine that primarily covers rock, punk and heavy metal music. Since 2017, the magazine has been published by Wasted Talent Ltd (the same company that owns electronic music publication ...

'', ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'', and ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

''. It has influenced bands such as

As Cities Burn As Cities Burn is an American post-hardcore band from Mandeville, Louisiana, that formed in 2002 and has released four studio albums. Their debut, '' Son, I Loved You at Your Darkest'', was released in 2005. Two years later, they released '' Com ...

My Chemical Romance My Chemical Romance is an American Rock music, rock band from New Jersey. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, lead guitarist Ray Toro, rhythm guitarist Frank Iero, and bassist Mikey Way. They are considered one of ...

, and

Senses Fail Senses Fail is an American rock band formed in Ridgewood, New Jersey, in 2001. Founded by vocalist Buddy Nielsen, drummer Dan Trapp, guitarists Garrett Zablocki and Dave Miller, and bassist James Gill (replaced by Mike Glita shortly after); th ...

Background and production

Thursday released their debut album, ''

Waiting Waiting, Waitin, Waitin', or The Waiting may refer to: Film * ''Waiting'' (1991 film), a film by Jackie McKimmie * ''Waiting...'' (film), a 2005 film starring Ryan Reynolds * ''Waiting'', a 2007 film by Zarina Bhimji * ''Waiting'' (2015 film) ...

'', in November 1999 through

. With the band touring more often, all of the members dropped out of

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

. As they lacked a permanent second guitarist, the band had multiple people filling in on guitar. Guitarist Steve Pedulla, whose brother was friends with members of Thursday, joined the band in 2000 after filling in for a show. Eyeball was aware that Thursday was outgrowing what support they could provide, and asked other labels to sign the band. ''Waiting'' received enough attention to be noticed by

, who flew out representatives to watch them play a show in their hometown. By the time the band signed with Victory, they were able to tour full-time. Drummer Tucker Rule said the reason they went with Victory was that the label had previously signed

Earth Crisis Earth Crisis is an American metallic hardcore band from Syracuse, New York, active from 1989 until 2001, reuniting in 2007. Since 1993, the band's longest-tenured members include vocalist Karl Buechner, lead guitarist Scott Crouse, bassist Ia ...

and

Refused Refused (also known as the Refused) is a Swedish hardcore punk band originating from Umeå and formed in 1991. Refused is composed of vocalist Dennis Lyxzén, guitarist Kristofer Steen, drummer David Sandström, and bassist Magnus Flagge. Guita ...

. Bassist Tim Payne said Thursday was one of a few acts that strayed from the label's typical

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...

style. After signing, they were told by their friends that they would find themselves in "a situation that we would regret". The members of Thursday were unsure what their friends were referring to – they assumed that the signing would work out fine. They wrote the new songs in a collaborative manner. In comparison, most of the songs on ''Waiting'' were written by a single person. The majority of the songs that ended up on ''Full Collapse'' were written in the basement of frontman

Geoff Rickly Geoffrey William Rickly (born March 8, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and author, best known as the lead singer and songwriter of rock band Thursday. Rickly is also a member of hardcore punk band United Nations, and the ...

's parents' house. They began recording the new album after a US tour. Sessions were held at Big Blue Meenie Recording Studios in

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

, with producer

of metal band Demonspeed. The sessions in November 2000 lasted for 20 days. Tim Giles and Erin Farley acted as

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

s, with assistance from Codie Brown. Giles mixed the recordings, before the album was

mastered Mastering is a form of audio post production which is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device called a master recording, the source from which all copies will be ...

by Timo G. Less at Surgical Sound.

Music and lyrics

''Full Collapse'' has been mainly described as a

release, while also being labelled as

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

emo pop Emo pop (alternatively typeset with a hyphen, also known as emo pop-punk and pop-emo) is a fusion genre combining emo with pop-punk, pop music, or both. Emo pop features a musical style with more concise composition and Hook (music), hook-filled ...

, and

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

. Throughout the album, Rickly's singing switches between

crooning A crooner is a singer who performs with a smooth, intimate style that originated in the 1920s. The crooning style was made possible by better microphones that picked up quieter sounds and a wider range of frequencies, allowing the singer to acce ...

screaming A scream is a loud/hard speech production, vocalization in which air is passed through the vocal cords with greater force than is used in regular or close-distance vocalisation. This can be performed by any creature possessing lungs, including h ...

. ''Full Collapse'' lacks some of the typical traits of emo in favor of

Johnny Marr John Martin Marr (Birth name#Maiden and married names, né Maher; born 31 October 1963) is a musician, songwriter and singer. He first achieved fame as the guitarist and co-songwriter of the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. He has sinc ...

-like picking in a

minor key In music theory, the key of a piece is the group of pitches, or scale, that forms the basis of a musical composition in Western classical music, jazz music, art music, and pop music. A particular key features a '' tonic (main) note'' and it ...

, against

power chord A power chord , also called a fifth chord, is a colloquial name for a chord on guitar, especially on electric guitar, that consists of the root note and the fifth, as well as possibly octaves of those notes. Power chords are commonly pla ...

s. Members of other bands and members of the production team contributed various instrumentation to the tracks: Farley with additional guitar on "

Joe Darone Joe Darone (born Joseph Edward McDonald on October 30, 1971), is an American musician and visual artist. He began his recording career at the age of 15 as drummer/art director for the New Jersey pop-punk band, The Fiendz. The Fiendz went on to rel ...

of the Rosenbergs with additional vocals on "Autobiography of a Nation"; Tom Schlatter of the Assistant with additional vocals on "Autobiography of a Nation" and "Cross Out the Eyes"; Villanueva with additional guitar on "Autobiography of a Nation" and "Wind-Up"; Giles with

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

and melotone on "Paris in Flames"; and Frank Giokas of Unsound with additional guitar on "Standing on the Edge of Summer". The opening track, "A0001", sees Rickly pondering whether a robot is capable of dreaming, as

guitar feedback The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with some exceptions) and typically has six or twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the ...

gives way to two

snare SNARE proteins – "Soluble NSF attachment protein, SNAP REceptors" – are a large protein family consisting of at least 24 members in yeasts and more than 60 members in mammalian and plant cells. The primary role of SNARE proteins is to m ...

hits. He said people were "spending so much of our time in front of computers that it's feeling like we're becoming robots". "Understanding in a Car Crash" details the death by car crash of Rickly's girlfriend and best friend and his subsequent visit to the hospital. Rickly said the song was inspired by what they were listening to at the time,

Joy Division Joy Division were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Ian Curtis, guitarist and keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris (musici ...

, and put that "within the realm of hardcore". "Concealer" is a short

up-tempo A variety of musical terms is encountered in printed scores, music reviews, and program notes. Most of the terms are Italian, in accordance with the Italian origins of many European musical conventions. Sometimes, the special musical meanings ...

song that is followed by

the Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Crawley in 1976 by Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums). The band's current line-up comprises Smith, Perry Bamonte (guitar and keyboards), Reev ...

-esque "Autobiography of a Nation", which talks about

genocide Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...

. "A Hole in the World" features a guitar riff in the vein of Jawbreaker and ends with a piano part. "Cross Out the Eyes" is the heaviest song on the album, featuring screaming from Schlatter. Rickly said he wrote it about wanting to "obliterat the whole authorial me-me-me-this-is-about-me tance; it was one of the first song he wrote on guitar. "Paris in Flames" discusses

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

and

LGBT activism Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) movements are social movements that advocate for LGBTQ people in society. Although there is not a primary or an overarching central organization that represents all LGBTQ people and their ...

, as well as mentioning prejudices that a gay friend of Rickly's had faced. "Standing on the Edge of Summer" talks about impending death and reuses a guitar effect heard in "Understanding in a Car Crash". "Wind-Up" begins with a slow verse section that gives way to a screaming chorus, complete with dueling vocals. "How Long Is the Night?" is about Rickly's partner in French class, who would lay on the train tracks behind their school, wishing that the a train would run them over. The album ends with "i1100", which consists of distorted sound effects.

Release

Initial touring and promotion

Thursday announced ''Full Collapse'' on February 5, 2001, for release two months later. The band created hype for the album by touring the United States for two months with bands Midtown, Grey AM, and

Every Time I Die Every Time I Die was an American metalcore band from Buffalo, New York, formed in 1998. For most of the band's career, the line-up was centred on brothers Keith (vocals) and Jordan Buckley (guitar), as well as rhythm guitarist Andy Williams, ...

. On March 19, 2001, "Cross Out the Eyes" was posted as a free download through Victory Records' website. ''Full Collapse'' was released on April 10, 2001 through Victory. The design of the physical was debated: the band hoped to create a booklet of artwork for ''Full Collapse'' but were discouraged by Victory founder Tony Brummel who insisted on a less expensive one-page insert without printed lyrics. A compromise was reached, which resulted in the final chosen packaging. The album's release was promoted with a series of shows with Midtown and River City High. "Understanding in a Car Crash" was released as a single to college radio stations in April 2001. In June 2001, Thursday embarked on an East Coast US tour with

Skycamefalling Skycamefalling is an American metalcore band from Long Island, New York. Formed in 1996, the band released three EPs and one full-length album from 1996 to 2003. After going through several lineup changes (mainly several drummers and bassists), ...

and

Fairweather Fairweather or Fair Weather may refer to:. People * Fairweather (surname) Music * Fairweather (band), an American indie rock band * Fair Weather (band), a British pop group from 1970 to 1971 * ''Fair Weather'' (album), a 2000 album by Aliso ...

. In July, the band toured with BoySetsFire,

Samiam Samiam (pronounced "sam-I-am") is an American punk rock band from Berkeley, California, active since 1988. History Samiam was formed in late 1988 after the breakup of the 924 Gilman Street, Gilman club mainstay Isocracy (band), Isocracy. Their ...

, and

. Following this, they toured across the US with Waterdown and

Drowningman Drowningman is an American metalcore/ hardcore band from Burlington, Vermont that was active from 1995 to 2005. Formed in the fall of 1995 by Simon Brody, Denny Donovan, Javin Leonard, Dave Barnett and Todd Tomlinson, the band was heavily influe ...

until August. After three shows with

, the band toured with

. In October, the band toured the West Coast for a week with

Murder City Devils The Murder City Devils is an American garage rock band formed in 1996. History The band's original lineup, consisting of Spencer Moody, Dann Gallucci, Derek Fudesco, Coady Willis, and Nate Manny, formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1996. Gabe ...

and American Steel, before touring the East Coast with

Piebald A piebald or pied animal is one that has a pattern of unpigmented spots (white) on a pigmented background of hair, feathers or scales. Thus a piebald black and white dog is a black dog with white spots. The animal's skin under the white backg ...

the Lawrence Arms The Lawrence Arms are an American punk rock band from Chicago, formed in 1999. They have released seven full-length albums and toured extensively. Band history Pre-history Prior to forming the Lawrence Arms, the three band members were active ...

, and Recover in November. Thursday toured with

Hey Mercedes Hey Mercedes is an alternative rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Chicago, Illinois, United States, formed after the dissolution of Braid by its former members Bob Nanna, Todd Bell, and Damon Atkinson. History Early years and ''Everynight ...

and Saves the Day until the end of the year. In December 2001, the music video for "Understanding in a Car Crash", which consists of live footage, began airing on

MTVX MTVX was an American hard rock music music video, video channel operated by Viacom (1952–2005), Viacom's MTV Networks division. A sister channel of MTV, MTVX was available exclusively on digital cable providers, being the first network to be mad ...

MTV2 MTV2 (formerly M2) is an American pay television Cable television, channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global, through PMN’s MTV Entertainment Group Subdivision. The channel launched initially as an all-music ...

, and

MuchMusic Much is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. It is headquartered at 299 Queen Street West in what was o ...

. Following this, a music video directed by

Darren Doane Darren Doane (born September 20, 1972) is an American filmmaker, actor, and music video director. Doane interpreted the song to be about rebirth and marriage; the video is centered around a guy, who is jobless, single, and offers nothing to society. He is taken by people and has his skin removed, indicating that he is a new person, and sold to a rich woman. As a result of this, he is given marriage status, making him a valuable member of society. By January 2002, Thursday was gaining

feature stories A feature story is a piece of non-fiction writing about news covering a single topic in detail. A feature story is a type of soft news, primarily focused on entertainment rather than a higher level of professionalism. The main subtypes are th ...

in publications such as ''

Metal Edge ''Metal Edge'' was a magazine covering heavy metal music published by Zenbu Media. The magazine was founded in the summer of 1985, during the height of glam metal's success. While its sister publication, ''Metal Maniacs'' focused more on extreme ...

'' and ''

Metal Maniacs ''Metal Maniacs'' was an American magazine that was based around heavy metal music. History Founded in 1989 by Mike 'G' Greenblatt and Katherine Ludwig of Metal Shop. Where its sister publication '' Metal Edge'' largely covered glam metal, ''Met ...

''. The following month, keyboardist Andrew Everding joined the band. He had been relaxing at Rickly's apartment and was invited to a practice session with the band. The same month, the band toured across the United Kingdom with the Movielife. The music video for "Understanding in a Car Crash" was successful at MTV2, where it stayed in rotation for eight weeks. In March and April 2002, the band went on tour with

. They were denied clearance at the Canada–US border, and as a result, had to cancel a show. Shortly afterwards, the band appeared at the Skate and Surf festival. They had planned to support Face to Face on their headlining US tour, but were replaced by the Movielife.

Issues with Victory and subsequent touring

In May 2002, as Thursday's signing to

Island Def Jam Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJMG) was an American record label group formed on December 31, 1998, by Universal Music Group. Before 2014, IDJMG encompassed labels originally established under the umbrella of Island Records and Def Jam Recording ...

had become imminent, the band released a statement through their website detailing their internal problems with Victory and reasons for leaving. The band said they had higher aspirations for the album art for ''Full Collapse'', which were undone by Brummel's desire to keep costs down. During a visit to Victory's offices, they also discovered that for promotional purposes, the label made Thursday-branded

whoopee cushion A whoopee cushion (also spelled whoopey cushion or whoopie cushion) is a practical joke device, which emulates the sound of flatulence. History and modern usage Records of a whoopee cushion date back to the 10th-century Aghlabid emir of Ifriqiy ...

s, which were intended to be distributed to fans at the Warped Tour. They were produced without Thursday's consent and so were discontinued. The band continually emphasized the need to communicate regarding art direction and promotion, but were allegedly ignored by Brummel and told that Victory was too big to run everything past its artists. Rickly recalled that upon signing, the label told them that they wanted Thursday to be their own

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

iteration of Saves the Day. In a meeting with Brummel, he claimed that Thursday was not living up to his expectations, with the band's statement explaining: "Instead of Tony's relationship with us being based on a love for music, it was based entirely on numbers." However, by late 2001, Brummel began showing more concern for the band and called more frequently regarding sales. They soon learned that Brummel planned to sell part of Victory to MCA and, as Thursday's contract only allowed them to leave Victory for a

major label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and t ...

, began reciprocating new-found interest from prominent labels. By early 2002, the decision to join Island was made as MCA began promoting ''Full Collapse'' as their own, and Thursday found itself in a legal battle with the label. Rickly would later note: "When we parted ways with Victory, we got our asses kicked. ..Victory's lawyers were so strong." "Cross Out the Eyes" was released to

modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college and commercial rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. ...

radio stations on June 10, 2002. Between late June and mid-August, the band went on the 2002 Warped Tour. Following this, the band appeared at the Bizarre,

Pukkelpop Pukkelpop is an annual music festival that takes place near the city of Hasselt, Belgium in mid- to late August. It is held within a large enclosure of fields and woodland—adjacent to a dual carriageway called ''Kempische Steenweg''—in the v ...

Reading and Leeds Festivals The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Fest ...

. Though the band were not planning on doing another tour, they appeared at three shows on the Plea for Peace tour. Keeley said the band had heard about the tour from the previous year, and felt it was an appropriate way to end the touring cycle for ''Full Collapse''. Live versions of "Understanding in a Car Crash", "Autobiography of a Nation", "Paris in Flames", and "Standing on the Edge of Summer" would appear on the band's second EP ''

Five Stories Falling ''Five Stories Falling'' is a five-song Extended play, EP released by Thursday (band), Thursday in 2002. The first four tracks are live versions of songs from ''Full Collapse'', recorded while the band performed on the Vans Warped Tour. The fifth ...

'' (2002). Thursday would later use Victory's lawyers to leave Island in 2007 and reunite with Brummel to work on the live/video album '' Kill the House Lights'' (2007). It chronicles the band's career with a documentary and concert footage emphasizing the ''Full Collapse'' era. It also features demos and alternate versions of songs from that album.

Critical reception

''Full Collapse'' was met with generally favourable reviews from

. Chris Collum of ''

AbsolutePunk ''AbsolutePunk'' was a website, online community, and alternative music news source founded by Jason Tate (the most recent CEO). The website mainly focused on artists who are relatively unknown to mainstream audiences, but it was known to featu ...

'' wrote that "Thursday are something special, something that is almost unique, and this album–of their five–does the best job of getting that across." He said that the album's "biggest draw musically" was the way it moves between the "harsh and abrasive to the ambient and soothing in a matter of mere seconds". Punknews.org founder Aubin Paul said the album "delivers on the promise" of their debut "and then some". He added that there was "some serious intensity here, great powerful riffs, and a singer who can actually sing, and scream." Sputnikmusic staff member DaveyBoy said that while it wasn't the "most immediate album of all time", listeners would be "rewarded as Thursday get the best out of themselves here and hardly put a foot wrong". He praised the musicianship as being "top notch throughout, while the vocals are pleasingly satisfactory". ''

Ox-Fanzine ''Ox-Fanzine'' is a monthly punk zine from Solingen, Germany, founded in 1988. It is edited by Joachim Hiller and has had many contributors. Besides its focus on punk subculture, it also covers similar genres, reviews of comics, books and films, ...

'' reviewer Joachim Hiller found that Thursday had "two faces, which on the one hand comes across as super pop, ndon the other hand relies on the 'Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde' principle when it comes to singing: sometimes gentle, sometimes screamy, then brutal". Stuart Green of ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

'' wrote that the album "sounds sort of like a jam session showdown between

Quicksand Quicksand (also known as sinking sand) is a colloid consisting of fine granular material (such as sand, silt or clay) and water. It forms in saturated loose sand when the sand is suddenly agitated. When water in the sand cannot escape, it crea ...

and

Sense Field Sense Field was an American post-hardcore band from Southern California, formed in 1990. Originally consisting of vocalist Jon Bunch, guitarist Chris Evenson, guitarist Rodney Sellars, bassist John Stockberger, and drummer Scott McPherson, the ...

". He adds that the band "take us on a wild 14-track ride that starts with the careening "Understanding In a Car Crash" and doesn't stop until some 40 minutes later." The staff at ''

Manila Standard The ''Manila Standard'' is a broadsheet newspaper in the Philippines which, as of 2017, is owned by the Romualdez family. The Romualdezes, through incumbent speaker of the House Martin Romualdez, also own Journal Publications, Inc., the owner ...

'' said hardcore fanatics would be "dissatisfied with the mingling of genres but Thursday handles the juggling act well". ''

Wondering Sound eMusic is an online music and audiobook store that operates by subscription. In exchange for a monthly subscription eMusic users can download a fixed number of MP3 tracks per month. eMusic was established in 1998, is headquartered in New York Ci ...

'' contributor Jonah Bayer said Rickly's "strikingly literary musings were packed with so much imagery and iconography that teens all over the country instantly latched onto these post-hardcore anthems". ''

'' Gavin Edwards found the band to be "peel ngthe scab off endless varieties of pain" with their lyrics, tackling "heartbreak ...watching a friend die ... andeven guilt over genocide". He noted that when the band's guitarwork becomes "slow and subdued, it's because the band is preparing to unleash a withering assault".

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

reviewer Kurt Morris wrote that while Thursday was "generating intelligent music", they do their "best to skirt the line of emo-pop without being unexciting or blasé". He said Rickly's vocals were "smooth yet not immature, strong while not being overbearing". ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' contributor Eric Carr said that "after spending some quality time" with the album, he referred to it "as simply 'shit'. ..Thursday does a few things right, but all in all, this could have been a much better album." Todd Burns of ''

Stylus Magazine ''Stylus Magazine'' was an American online music and film magazine, launched in 2002 and co-founded by Todd L. Burns. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog. Addi ...

'' wrote that sections of tracks "exhibit obvious skill and technical proficiency, but are quickly ruined by Rickly's vocals or other elements that intrude on the small moments of interest". He says it was overall "a solid second effort for a band in this genre, but money would be best spent" on other albums.

Commercial performance and legacy

''Full Collapse'' reached number 178 on the US ''Billboard'' 200. It charted at number ten on the ''

chart and number nine on the

chart. In the first week of release, ''Full Collapse'' sold 800 copies, from the 3,400 that were originally shipped to stores.Cope 2002, p. 34 As of October 2008, it sold 380,000 copies. In February 2009, Thursday announced that they would perform ''Full Collapse'' in its entirety for a one-off show on the

Taste of Chaos Taste of Chaos (or "TOC") was a live music tour that was started in the winter of 2005 by Kevin Lyman, the creator of the successful Warped Tour along with his friend and business partner, John Reese. The Taste of Chaos tour catered to fans of ...

tour. However, on the day of the show, the band cancelled. They eventually performed the album in October 2009, while in the midst of promoting their fifth studio album, ''

Common Existence ''Common Existence'' is the fifth full-length album from rock band Thursday. Recording In March 2008, the band spent sometime recording at Big Blue Meenie Recording Studio in Jersey City, New Jersey. On August 13, 2008, the band announced that ...

''. To celebrate the tenth anniversary of ''Full Collapse'', Thursday performed the album in its entirety throughout a US tour in 2011. In 2018, the band performed a run of two-night shows where they played ''Full Collapse'' on the first night and their third studio album, '' War All the Time'' (2003), on the other, in entirety. In a 2010 interview, Rickly described the album's significance to both the band and its fans: :''Full Collapse'' was a record that changed the course and shape of my life. We began touring for it in basements and VFW halls, ..and ended up as a full-time touring band meeting hundreds of thousands of people with whom we formed deep and lasting connections. Time passes and we embrace new music and different goals but, ten years later, ''Full Collapse'' continues to move people and for that we are very grateful. This tour is a celebration of those times and the end of a chapter in the life of Thursday. According to '' Drowned in Sound'', ''Full Collapse'' was "instantly hailed san emo classic" upon release. It has influenced acts such as

, and This Day Forward (specifically their 2003 release '' In Response''). Rickly would describe ''Full Collapse'' as a "turning point record" and strongly favor it over most of the band's other work for both its passion and cohesive feel throughout. It has appeared on various best-of emo album lists, having been named in lists by ''

Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. History ''Consequence of Sound'' was founded in Septem ...

'', ''Drowned in Sound'', ''

Houston Press The ''Houston Press'' is an online newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in the Midtown Houston, Midtown area. It was also a weekly print newspaper until November 2017. The publication is supported entirely ...

'', ''

'', and ''

'', as well as by journalists Leslie Simon and Trevor Kelley in their book ''Everybody Hurts: An Essential Guide to Emo Culture'' (2007). Similarly, "Understanding in a Car Crash" appeared on a best-of emo songs lists by ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...

'' and ''

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to Nort ...

''. ''Alternative Press'' ranked "Understanding in a Car Crash" at number 10 on their list of the best 100 singles from the 2000s. The track has been covered by Wolves at the Gate for their ''Back to School'' (2013) EP.

Track listing

Track listing per booklet.

Personnel

Personnel per booklet. Thursday *

– vocals * Tom Keeley – lead guitar * Steve Pedulla – rhythm guitar * Tim Payne – bass * Tucker Rule – drums Additional musicians * Erin Farley – additional guitar on "Understanding in a Car Crash" * Tim Giles –

and melotone on "Paris in Flames" * Frank Giokas – additional guitar on "Standing on the Edge of Summer" * Thomas Schlatter – additional vocals on "Autobiography of a Nation" and "Cross Out the Eyes" *

– additional guitar on "Autobiography of a Nation" and "Wind-Up" *

– additional vocals on "Autobiography of a Nation" Production and design * Sal Villanueva – producer * Tim Giles –

, mixing * Erin Farley – engineer * Codie Brown – assistant engineer * Timo G. Less – mastering *

Mike Chapman Michael Donald Chapman (born 13 April 1947) is an Australian record producer and songwriter who was a major force in the British pop music industry in the 1970s. He created a string of hit singles for artists including The Sweet, Suzi Quatro ...

– cover photos * Dennis Keeley – center photo * Thursday – design, art direction * Patrick Larson – design, art direction

Charts

References

Citations Sources * * * * * * *

External links

''Full Collapse''
at

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

(streamed copy where licensed) {{Authority control Thursday (band) albums 2001 albums Victory Records albums Albums produced by Sal Villanueva Hardcore punk albums by American artists Punk rock albums by American artists Emo pop albums