Thursday - No Devolución

Fresh out of New Brunswick, New Jersey hardcore rockers Thursday are back with their latest release, No Devolución. The follow up to 2009's Common Existence is also the very last Thursday album we'll be hearing and is also a testament to their devoted and adoring fanbase, who has stuck by the band all these years and have had a deep respect and admiration for what the band does and how much they've inspired their fans with their amazing songs.

The album kicks off with "Fast to the End", a no frills, straight to the point rocker that gives lead singer Geoff Rickly the chance to show his familiar vocal refrain among the bevy of guitars breaking out intermittently throughout. "A Darker Forest" is a dark, mysterious tune with ominous sounds generated throughout that makes you look off in wonder and hear the band's meticulous craft hard at work. My favorite song off the disc is "Sparks Against the Sun", an emotionally resonating, climatic track that best encapsulates this album and the career of Thursday as a whole with drummer Tucker Rule making sure his drum beats have a loud and explosive texture to them that really is the heartbeat of the song as a whole, a truly magnificent track. "Open Quotes" is one of the more melodic, intense tracks you'll find on the album with the song moving at an incredible pace right out of the gate, and really never lets up right until the very end.

We start off the disc's second half with "Magnets Caught in a Metal Heart" a nostalgic, throwback track that features elements of "Signals From The Air" from their 2003 disc War All The Time, with the midtempo breakdowns giving it that extra spark to get it to the finish line in time. "A Gun in the First Act" begins to set in the sense that the record is almost done and that it's Thursday's final album with Geoff's vocals melding in together beautifully with the dark and brooding guitar riffs and Tucker's masterful drum work once again put on display here. We start to get ready to end it all here with "Turnpike Divides" a heavy, fast paced track that features an assortment of midtempo guitar riffs and Geoff's vocals provide for the emotional sparkplug that sets this whole song ablaze with greatness. It all comes to an end on "Stay True" an amazing, almost 8 minute opus that encapsulates everything about Thursday in one fell swoop and is also a synopsis of their career up until this point, a point that none of them wanted to come to but as they say, all good things must come to an end. Thursday have always held a special place close to my heart, and always have been one of those bands who were never afraid to experiment in their songs, and absolutely loved and adored their fans and treated them like family at their shows. I managed to catch their final Boston show just before New Years Eve at Royale, and I was so glad that I finally got the chance to see them before they went their separate ways. I will continue to support the guys in whatever musical endeavor they embark upon.

All in all, a gritty and consistent effort from Thursday, who put a cap on their 14 year career with a highlight reel of all the elements that made them a terrific band, and sees them setting off into the sunset with the world at their fingertips.

                                                                                                                           Album Score: 3/5

Track Listing:

1. Fast to the End
2. No Answers
3. A Darker Forest
4. Sparks Against the Sun
5. Open Quotes
6. Past and Future Reins
7. Magnets Caught In A Metal Heart
8. Empty Glass
9. A Gun in the First Act
10. Millimeter
11. Turnpike Divides
12. Stay True