Thursday’s previous album, A City By The Light Divided was a softer, more electronic side of the band that certainly took more than a couple of listens to get used to. Although this is true, it was still an excellent entry to the band’s history of releases. Common Existence, their newest album, is deeply rooted in hardcore with light touches of their previous outing, and is one of their most daring and accomplished pieces or work since War All The Time.

Common Existence comes off as gritty, with some of the band’s heaviest songs to date. The album consistently delivers a structured assault of sound on the senses, beginning with “Resuscitation of a Dead Man”. Songs such as “Last Call” and “Friends of the Armed Forces” deliver on the intense enthusiasm the band is aiming for, yet the calming aura of the band’s previous two albums remains in tact for a few of the songs here. The best example of this is “Love Has Lead Us Astray”, one of my favorite tracks on the album, while the song that really exemplifies the evolved and intensified sound that Thursday has built on is “Beyond The Visible Spectrum”. From the dissonant guitars to the unremarkably unique vocals and strong songwriting, it contains everything that makes the band who they are, as well as proving that they still have the ability to surprise and satisfy after so many albums. Plus, the string arrangements on the track make it pretty damn epic.

By now, you may be wondering if the album is anything like Full Collapse, which is considered by many to be a seminal album of the hardcore/screamo genres. In a way, it does retain the sound and feel of the album, but Common Existence is a much more mature and experienced sound that almost pushes the album to the point of being incomparable. This may be, but Common Existence IS the closest thing that the band has put out since Full Collapse.

So, album number five reinforces the notion that Thursday is a band who are not afraid to keep moving in a world where one divergence can cost a thousand fans. Commercialism requires that someone concoct an idea and repeat it until it becomes unprofitable. Art dictates that you give birth to a concept before releasing it and treating it to nurture future notions. It’s safe to say: Thursday are artists.