Good Charlotte, PVRIS, Frank Carter & the Rattlesnakes, Creeper, Thursday, Every Time I Die, Knuckle Puck, Crown the Empire and Real Friends will join the likes of Jimmy Eat World, Taking Back Sunday and more at the festival which takes place in Leeds, Hatfield and Birmingham, from the 26th to the 28th May 2018. More acts will be announced soon.

It should be noted that next year will see the Hatfield site expand to Hatfield Park due to outgrowing its previous home at the University. Tickets are available now and cost either £49 or a £55 option which includes entry into the afterparty. They will be available here.

MAY 2018
26 LEEDS City Centre
27 HATFIELD Hatfield Park
28 BIRMINGHAM NEC

1. Glassjaw – ‘New White Extremity’

Any fan of the band simply couldn’t ask for a better opening track for the first full-length release in 15 years, an absolute abominable banger of a tune! [Gary]

2. Thursday – ‘Autobiography of a Nation’

‘Full Collapse’ had such a huge impact on  my playing. I love the chord progressions and shapes on this album and I think a lot of this influence still comes out in my writing 15 years on. It was hard picking one track, but this just edges as a stand out for me. [Dave]

3. Bear vs Shark – ‘Catamaran’

This song is just an absolute lesson in fast punky melody and vocal delivery. Just love the random jump in tempo after one line it hits you like an uppercut. [Seán]

4. Sparta – ‘Guns of Memorial Park’

The big tom rolling and ambient production just gives this track a really melancholic tone that I love with really catchy vocals of the era. [Seán]

5. Radiohead – ‘Airbag’

On a personal level this track is a big driver behind the type of atmosphere and sound I aim for when writing. [Brett]

6. A Perfect Circle – ‘Judith’

‘Mer de Noms’ is packed with great lead work that is not to fussy, also a massive influence on my playing once again! [Brett]

7. The Mire – ‘Stone Devils’

The final track from the album ‘Glass Cathedrals’ is huge and emotive; post-metal at its finest! [Mark]

8. Alexisonfire – ‘Grey’

I got in to Alexis quite late and I think I prefer them at their weirdest. I love the muddy guitar tones and vocals on all of ‘Dogs Blood’, and the spooky reverb and feedback lead lines on ‘Grey’ are awesome. [Dave]

9. Circa Survive – ‘House of Leaves’

Best secret track ever… just when you think it couldn’t possibly get any more massive, it does. Atmosphere up the yin-yang! [Gary]

10. Hopesfall – ‘The Bending’

Hopesfall are one of our biggest collective influences and this track encompasses the true awesomeness of the early ’00s sound that we love so much. [Mark]

“Five years ago, we found it necessary to end Thursday for reasons beyond our control,” singer Geoff Rickly explains. “Earlier this year, we were able to reconcile all of our differences and spend time together. This is a vital component to what we loved about being in Thursday and we’re happy to say that we’ll be playing this show as the same line-up that began touring together on ‘Full Collapse’ and jointly worked on every record since.”

Thursday will be joined by the likes of Quicksand, L7, Drive Like Jehu and Dinosaur Jr at the festival, to be held in Atlanta from the 13th to the 14th August 2016. Motion City Soundtrack are also on there despite their recent split announcement, as are pretty much every awesome band ever. American Football, American Nightmare, Deafheaven, Good Riddance, Joyce Manor, Pears, Ceremony, Turnstile, Jeff Rosenstock… Stop us whenever you want…

Full details of the festival can be found on the Wrecking Ball website.

“At our peak, Thursday were a band fiercely devoted to local music, community and compassion,” Rickly continues. “We plan to use this occasion to renew our commitment to those ideas. As such, we’ll be donating part of the proceeds from Wrecking Ball to SisterSong, an Atlanta-based Reproductive Justice Collective.”

There’s no word of any other live dates or new music at this stage. Rickly’s newer outfit, No Devotion, revealed they were working on new material via Twitter earlier this month.

The world probably doesn’t need another Nirvana tribute album – and it’s a brave thing to do. But Robotic Empire have spent 7 years making this tribute to In Utero to mark it’s 20th anniversary – and it is packed with bands you’d really want to hear covering Nirvana. And, if you’re going to fork out $9.99 for the download, may as well upgrade to the vinyl version too from the label store.

FULL TRACKLISTING:
1.PYGMY LUSH Serve The Servants
2.CIRCA SURVIVE Scentless Apprentice
3.THESE ARMS ARE SNAKES Heart Shaped Box
4.THURSDAY Rape Me
5.JAY REATARD Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge On Seattle
6.YOUNG WIDOWS Dumb
7.MEAN JEANS Very Ape
8.THOU Milk It
9.WHIRR Pennyroyal Tea
10.DAUGHTERS Radio Friendly Unit Shifter
11.CEREMONY Tourette’s
12.BLACK MATH HORSEMAN All Apologies

Playing this year will be Geoff Rickly (Thursday), Koji, Brian Marquis and Rob Lynch. Tickets go on sale this Wednesday.

APRIL
20 Southampton Joiners
21 Cardiff Clwb Ifor Bach
22 London Borderline
23 Bristol Thekla
24 Norwich Epic Studios
25 Nottingham Basement
26 Wolverhampton Little Civic
27 Glasgow ABC 2
28 Sheffield Corporation
29 Leeds Cockpit
30 Manchester Deaf Institute

At Warped UK 2014, we took over the acoustic basement, putting on The Maine and many more across the weekend. You can check out footage from the stage in our documentary below.

Andrew Everding. Keyboard player

PT: How are you and where in the world are you today?

AE: I’m well, I’m eating breakfast in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, New York.

PT: Did you have a nice Christmas? What do Thursday get up to in the holiday season?

AE: I had a lovely Christmas, Thursday took a break for the holidays. We were supporting Rise Against in Canada before Christmas. We usually do a Holiday show in New Jersey, but for unforeseen reasons, we decided against it.

PT: We’re all very excited about the new Thursday album here. How would you describe the overall sound of ‘Common Existence’ compared to your earlier albums?

AE: Overall, I think it’s a bit of a faster record for us. There are a few songs with genuine Thursday equations, and some songs with insight into the future of Thursday. I think we managed to finally capture the intensity of Thursday with Common Existence. I saw a review that said we were doing our best to shed our “screamo roots” for a new “neo-punk” sound. I don’t know how much I agree with that.

PT: What are your favourite songs from the album?

AE: ‘Circuits of Fever’ and ‘Beyond the Visible Spectrum’ are my favorites, I think they are an unobstructed view into the future of Thursday. I think the standout is ‘Friends in the Armed Forces’, it’s a powerful traditional Thursday song with some complex subject matter.

PT: Where did the album title come from?

AE: A variably good question for Geoff. My guess is that it came from our regressing attitudes, as you progress in life you realize moments the equalize you to similar states of your peers.

PT: Geoff has said before that it’s a record that looks at the world from a more ‘adult’ perspective. What events have inspired the lyrics this time around?

AE: Growing older for one, not having a secure footing in reference to normal lives. Watching the American public fall apart, and the world’s resulting anger for what we’ve done. Watching the earth become angrier. An adult loss of innocence.

PT: The record will be coming out through Epitaph on February 16th. What brought you to working with Epitaph?

AE: Our deal with a major label was an obvious mistake after the last record. We had the opportunity of meeting with a number of labels after our departure from Island/Def Jam, and Epitaph stood out. They were excited about us, and are willing to work hard as long as we work hard.

PT: As soon as the album’s released you hit the road for a good solid couple of months with the Taste of Chaos Tour. How do you deal with such long stints on the road? Any touring tips for other bands?

AE: Touring can be really hard on your physical health, especially when you get older. So you have to be good to your body. We try to be comfortable, and being on a tour bus certainly helps. Tips for other bands… Stay friendly with your bandmates, nothing is worse than fighting on the road. Plenty of sleep, water, food, and clean bathrooms.

PT: How has life on the road changed since the days of “Waiting” & “Full Collapse’?

AE: Much more comfortable. Tour buses instead of vans. Being able to eat and sleep on a regular basis.

PT: You’re heading the Taste of Chaos bill this year. What are your thoughts on this year’s line up?

AE: To be honest, I’ve never heard any of the bands we’re playing with. I’m going to go listen to them after this interview.

PT: You’ve got UK upstarts Bring Me The Horizon on the bill with you. Are there any UK bands that you’re really digging right now?

AE: Radiohead – always have always will.

PT: Have you any plans to return to the UK in 2009 yet?

AE: We’re talking about it right now, hopefully you’ll see us a few times this year.

PT: Election Day 2008 also saw you release your split with Japanese legends Envy. How did that come about?

AE: We were introduced to Envy by Mogwai. As a band we love what they do. When we came off tour from ACBTLD we met Jeremy from Temporary Residence who happens to put out some of Envy’s records in the States. We’ve always wanted to do shows with them, but it never materialized. I guess doing a split was the next best thing.

PT: Was there significance in releasing it on US election day? Has there been much political motivation in the writing on the split and the new album?

AE: We’ve always been a political band, but it doesn’t always focus on governmental politics, a majority of the songs have to do with interpersonal politics. We watched most of the American election process while writing and recording Common Existence, and I think you’ll be able to hear the concern of what was going on in some of the music. Friends in The Armed Forces is pretty explicit in this regard.

PT: It’s coming up to Thursday’s ten year anniversary, and it’s been one hell of a decade for you guys. Do you have any plans to celebrate?

AE: The ten year mark already passed. I don’t think we really did that much celebrating. We should probably make up for that while on tour.

PT: Where do you see yourself in ten years from now?

AE: Composing, playing occasional shows. Having a self-sustainable farm somewhere.

PT: Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for us! Anything you’d like to add?

AE: Anytime. Hope to see you at the shows. Buy the record if you can, the money is going to good people this time around instead of the nasty major labels.

Thursday‘s new album, Common Existence is out February 16th through Epitaph.

www.myspace.com/thursday

Andrew Everding. Keyboard player

PT: How are you and where in the world are you today?

AE: I’m well, I’m eating breakfast in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, New York.

PT: Did you have a nice Christmas? What do Thursday get up to in the holiday season?

AE: I had a lovely Christmas, Thursday took a break for the holidays. We were supporting Rise Against in Canada before Christmas. We usually do a Holiday show in New Jersey, but for unforeseen reasons, we decided against it.

PT: We’re all very excited about the new Thursday album here. How would you describe the overall sound of ‘Common Existence’ compared to your earlier albums?

AE: Overall, I think it’s a bit of a faster record for us. There are a few songs with genuine Thursday equations, and some songs with insight into the future of Thursday. I think we managed to finally capture the intensity of Thursday with Common Existence. I saw a review that said we were doing our best to shed our “screamo roots” for a new “neo-punk” sound. I don’t know how much I agree with that.

PT: What are your favourite songs from the album?

AE: ‘Circuits of Fever’ and ‘Beyond the Visible Spectrum’ are my favorites, I think they are an unobstructed view into the future of Thursday. I think the standout is ‘Friends in the Armed Forces’, it’s a powerful traditional Thursday song with some complex subject matter.

PT: Where did the album title come from?

AE: A variably good question for Geoff. My guess is that it came from our regressing attitudes, as you progress in life you realize moments the equalize you to similar states of your peers.

PT: Geoff has said before that it’s a record that looks at the world from a more ‘adult’ perspective. What events have inspired the lyrics this time around?

AE: Growing older for one, not having a secure footing in reference to normal lives. Watching the American public fall apart, and the world’s resulting anger for what we’ve done. Watching the earth become angrier. An adult loss of innocence.

PT: The record will be coming out through Epitaph on February 16th. What brought you to working with Epitaph?

AE: Our deal with a major label was an obvious mistake after the last record. We had the opportunity of meeting with a number of labels after our departure from Island/Def Jam, and Epitaph stood out. They were excited about us, and are willing to work hard as long as we work hard.

PT: As soon as the album’s released you hit the road for a good solid couple of months with the Taste of Chaos Tour. How do you deal with such long stints on the road? Any touring tips for other bands?

AE: Touring can be really hard on your physical health, especially when you get older. So you have to be good to your body. We try to be comfortable, and being on a tour bus certainly helps. Tips for other bands… Stay friendly with your bandmates, nothing is worse than fighting on the road. Plenty of sleep, water, food, and clean bathrooms.

PT: How has life on the road changed since the days of “Waiting” & “Full Collapse’?

AE: Much more comfortable. Tour buses instead of vans. Being able to eat and sleep on a regular basis.

PT: You’re heading the Taste of Chaos bill this year. What are your thoughts on this year’s line up?

AE: To be honest, I’ve never heard any of the bands we’re playing with. I’m going to go listen to them after this interview.

PT: You’ve got UK upstarts Bring Me The Horizon on the bill with you. Are there any UK bands that you’re really digging right now?

AE: Radiohead – always have always will.

PT: Have you any plans to return to the UK in 2009 yet?

AE: We’re talking about it right now, hopefully you’ll see us a few times this year.

PT: Election Day 2008 also saw you release your split with Japanese legends Envy. How did that come about?

AE: We were introduced to Envy by Mogwai. As a band we love what they do. When we came off tour from ACBTLD we met Jeremy from Temporary Residence who happens to put out some of Envy’s records in the States. We’ve always wanted to do shows with them, but it never materialized. I guess doing a split was the next best thing.

PT: Was there significance in releasing it on US election day? Has there been much political motivation in the writing on the split and the new album?

AE: We’ve always been a political band, but it doesn’t always focus on governmental politics, a majority of the songs have to do with interpersonal politics. We watched most of the American election process while writing and recording Common Existence, and I think you’ll be able to hear the concern of what was going on in some of the music. Friends in The Armed Forces is pretty explicit in this regard.

PT: It’s coming up to Thursday’s ten year anniversary, and it’s been one hell of a decade for you guys. Do you have any plans to celebrate?

AE: The ten year mark already passed. I don’t think we really did that much celebrating. We should probably make up for that while on tour.

PT: Where do you see yourself in ten years from now?

AE: Composing, playing occasional shows. Having a self-sustainable farm somewhere.

PT: Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for us! Anything you’d like to add?

AE: Anytime. Hope to see you at the shows. Buy the record if you can, the money is going to good people this time around instead of the nasty major labels.

Thursday‘s new album, Common Existence is out February 16th through Epitaph.

www.myspace.com/thursday

The words that come from Geoff Rickley’s mouth suggest that despite them being a band at the forefront of their scene, these six men from New Brunswick are still fully aware that as a band, they can bring the suck at times.

“I think with most bands, they shoot to be good on stage, playing their songs like they’ve written them. With us, it’s all or nothing. It’ll either be a glorious night for everyone or it’s just gonna be fucking awful!”

At the time of speaking, Rickley is just a few hours away from giving their London fans one of the more glorious Thursday spectacles. Tonight at London’s Metro Club, they most definitely did not disappoint. Oxford Street’s Metro Club is hardly an accommodating venue for a band of Thursday‘s calibre. Approaching their ten year anniversary, and with four acclaimed albums, both critically and commercially, you’d expect them to be playing somewhere a little bit more upmarket on their first return to the UK since last year’s Reading & Leeds Festivals.

“You know Chris [Baker, Full Time Hobby] was the guy who got this show happening. We had the one night off on the arena tour with My Chemical Romance, and he was like ‘what are you doing on your off night?’ We thought he’d suggest somewhere like The Garage, or The Underworld, and he suggested here, it’s even smaller and likely to be a huge amount of fun.” If you weren’t aware, Thursday have been touring up and down the UK’s arenas as My Chemical Romance‘s main support over the last few weeks. If you were lucky enough to get tickets for those dates, you would have seen Thursday at their most choreographed, their most sterile, and ultimately, their most uncomfortable.

“The arena shows have been all planned out. If you don’t plan anything carefully, it just doesn’t work because it’s so hard to connect with each other at an arena show. Not only is the audience really far away, so are the rest of the band so you don’t have the same chemistry. Tonight’s show is completely different. We haven’t even decided what songs we’re playing yet!’ Aside from being Thursday‘s posterboy, Rickley was himself partly responsible for the success of their hometown friends My Chemical Romance. In the beginning years, he booked them shows, and got their name around, generally becoming their mentor.

“When I see them now it gives me chills. In the beginning they were like my babies. I was just shoving their first record down everybody’s throats because I believed in it so much. For a while it seemed like they would never come out of our shadow, but all of a sudden they signed to Warner Brothers and I watched them go so far. I remember on New Year’s Eve I watched them play on top of the building on Times Square. It sort of hit me how big they were then, and I was like; ‘Do I have something to do with that?’ I’m not taking credit for them back then because that would just be stupid, but when I see them now, it’s unbelievable. I have to say it’s one of the things I’m most proud of.”

It’d be only human for Rickley to feel a bitterness towards the band, due to their success being far greater than Thursday‘s. However, he’s insistent to portray a different picture. “When we did their first record I said to Gerard that they could be much bigger than Thursday could ever be. You could just tell they had the knack and the want to be a stadium band. Thursday have always aspired more on a Fugazi level. We’ve accomplished that; we got much bigger than we ever planned on being. It’s impossible to be jealous of another band when I’m so pleased with how well Thursday have done so far.”

So what does a band do once they’ve accomplished all their goals? “Well we’ll just have to figure out a way to confuse everybody again, make another brilliant record and piss people off again. Working with David Friedman and the Flaming Lips dudes really helped us. I mean, they had their second wind after ten years, it made me realise we could do the same’.

Back in the present day, Thursday have just announced in the last week that they’ve parted ways with major-label Island Def Jam Records. A band not unfamiliar with label trouble in the past, you’d expect there to be some reasons we hadn’t been told about for the split.

“When we signed to Island it was this one group of people that worked there and then they all left to work at Warner Brothers. A whole new staff was brought in who were super-nice, but it just didn’t fit the same as it did before. Something just didn’t feel right when we put out the last record. It’s not something to worry about because we’re really psyched to have some time on our own. We’ve had a lot of our dream labels already offer us some greats deals, and even though they guys who used to work at Island who are now at Warner want to work with us again, we want to take some time on our own. If anything, this is really our second wind. In all honesty, I could not ever imagine being on a major again. It’s just not the same way as it was when I grew up on Indies. ”

While on his break over Christmas, it was rumoured Rickley had started a collaboration with Glassjaw‘s Daryl Palumbo under the ‘United Nations’ moniker. Not much has been printed about the potential super-group project, but Rickley was eager to discuss their plans.

“That’s what I’ve been doing on my time off. We’ve recorded seven songs, which might not even use yet. When we start the new Thursday record, I think it’ll be easy for me to find my spot in United Nations, and use all the ideas I have that wouldn’t work as Thursday songs.”
Daryl Palumbo’s side projects range from the most commercial pop (Head Automatica) to user-unfriendly House of Blow. Where would United Nations fit into his musical spectrum?

“Oh it’s totally different. This is grind-core like the Locust, only with a sort of hardcore sense to it. We’ll still have breakdowns! This is like grind and heavy shit”. So will they be dressing up in insect costumes as well? Rickley giggles. “No, not just yet!”

After parting ways, Geoff goes off to prepare for the history-making show he is to be a part of just a few hours later. In front of exclusively die-hard fans they put on one of their most energetic performances to date, with the crowd salivating at Rickley’s every word. An undeniable perfectionist, he can return to New Jersey label-free, fully content that he won’t have seen the last of the UK just yet.

Andy R

The words that come from Geoff Rickley’s mouth suggest that despite them being a band at the forefront of their scene, these six men from New Brunswick are still fully aware that as a band, they can bring the suck at times.

“I think with most bands, they shoot to be good on stage, playing their songs like they’ve written them. With us, it’s all or nothing. It’ll either be a glorious night for everyone or it’s just gonna be fucking awful!”

At the time of speaking, Rickley is just a few hours away from giving their London fans one of the more glorious Thursday spectacles. Tonight at London’s Metro Club, they most definitely did not disappoint. Oxford Street’s Metro Club is hardly an accommodating venue for a band of Thursday‘s calibre. Approaching their ten year anniversary, and with four acclaimed albums, both critically and commercially, you’d expect them to be playing somewhere a little bit more upmarket on their first return to the UK since last year’s Reading & Leeds Festivals.

“You know Chris [Baker, Full Time Hobby] was the guy who got this show happening. We had the one night off on the arena tour with My Chemical Romance, and he was like ‘what are you doing on your off night?’ We thought he’d suggest somewhere like The Garage, or The Underworld, and he suggested here, it’s even smaller and likely to be a huge amount of fun.” If you weren’t aware, Thursday have been touring up and down the UK’s arenas as My Chemical Romance‘s main support over the last few weeks. If you were lucky enough to get tickets for those dates, you would have seen Thursday at their most choreographed, their most sterile, and ultimately, their most uncomfortable.

“The arena shows have been all planned out. If you don’t plan anything carefully, it just doesn’t work because it’s so hard to connect with each other at an arena show. Not only is the audience really far away, so are the rest of the band so you don’t have the same chemistry. Tonight’s show is completely different. We haven’t even decided what songs we’re playing yet!’ Aside from being Thursday‘s posterboy, Rickley was himself partly responsible for the success of their hometown friends My Chemical Romance. In the beginning years, he booked them shows, and got their name around, generally becoming their mentor.

“When I see them now it gives me chills. In the beginning they were like my babies. I was just shoving their first record down everybody’s throats because I believed in it so much. For a while it seemed like they would never come out of our shadow, but all of a sudden they signed to Warner Brothers and I watched them go so far. I remember on New Year’s Eve I watched them play on top of the building on Times Square. It sort of hit me how big they were then, and I was like; ‘Do I have something to do with that?’ I’m not taking credit for them back then because that would just be stupid, but when I see them now, it’s unbelievable. I have to say it’s one of the things I’m most proud of.”

It’d be only human for Rickley to feel a bitterness towards the band, due to their success being far greater than Thursday‘s. However, he’s insistent to portray a different picture. “When we did their first record I said to Gerard that they could be much bigger than Thursday could ever be. You could just tell they had the knack and the want to be a stadium band. Thursday have always aspired more on a Fugazi level. We’ve accomplished that; we got much bigger than we ever planned on being. It’s impossible to be jealous of another band when I’m so pleased with how well Thursday have done so far.”

So what does a band do once they’ve accomplished all their goals? “Well we’ll just have to figure out a way to confuse everybody again, make another brilliant record and piss people off again. Working with David Friedman and the Flaming Lips dudes really helped us. I mean, they had their second wind after ten years, it made me realise we could do the same’.

Back in the present day, Thursday have just announced in the last week that they’ve parted ways with major-label Island Def Jam Records. A band not unfamiliar with label trouble in the past, you’d expect there to be some reasons we hadn’t been told about for the split.

“When we signed to Island it was this one group of people that worked there and then they all left to work at Warner Brothers. A whole new staff was brought in who were super-nice, but it just didn’t fit the same as it did before. Something just didn’t feel right when we put out the last record. It’s not something to worry about because we’re really psyched to have some time on our own. We’ve had a lot of our dream labels already offer us some greats deals, and even though they guys who used to work at Island who are now at Warner want to work with us again, we want to take some time on our own. If anything, this is really our second wind. In all honesty, I could not ever imagine being on a major again. It’s just not the same way as it was when I grew up on Indies. ”

While on his break over Christmas, it was rumoured Rickley had started a collaboration with Glassjaw‘s Daryl Palumbo under the ‘United Nations’ moniker. Not much has been printed about the potential super-group project, but Rickley was eager to discuss their plans.

“That’s what I’ve been doing on my time off. We’ve recorded seven songs, which might not even use yet. When we start the new Thursday record, I think it’ll be easy for me to find my spot in United Nations, and use all the ideas I have that wouldn’t work as Thursday songs.”
Daryl Palumbo’s side projects range from the most commercial pop (Head Automatica) to user-unfriendly House of Blow. Where would United Nations fit into his musical spectrum?

“Oh it’s totally different. This is grind-core like the Locust, only with a sort of hardcore sense to it. We’ll still have breakdowns! This is like grind and heavy shit”. So will they be dressing up in insect costumes as well? Rickley giggles. “No, not just yet!”

After parting ways, Geoff goes off to prepare for the history-making show he is to be a part of just a few hours later. In front of exclusively die-hard fans they put on one of their most energetic performances to date, with the crowd salivating at Rickley’s every word. An undeniable perfectionist, he can return to New Jersey label-free, fully content that he won’t have seen the last of the UK just yet.

Andy R