I saw their farewell tour in Chicago 4 years ago today. I ugly-face cried during Fin. Unforgettable night.
Honestly, i'm surprised stephen & joey were as open as they were about it. the rest of the guys, i'm not surprised given how they had just spent the past year talking about the band's end (your post went up just 51 days after the band's last show).
Yes, I recognize that, but I was aiming to capture the history of the band, not just their decision to disband.
Did you only contact them after they’d finished or were you working on it during their final year? Not that it really matters, just interested how long it took you to put together!
I got in touch with them (Stephen, at least) in the spring of that year IIRC, and then started working on the project on my own using all the info I could find online and in all the various interviews they’d done online over the years. Then at a Warped Tour stop early that summer I took them all a printed copy of the first few sections and told them I’d be coming to another Warped date later in the summer and that I would love to talk with them then if they were interested/available. That second Warped date was when Stephen set up a chat with Joey for me. And I talked to Stephen on the phone once or twice that fall. I wasn’t working on it constantly by any means but it was probably 9 or 10 months from when I started it to when I posted it all online.
I appreciate your hard work. It’s an excellent overview and insightful. I don’t think you did anything wrong by asking every member if they’d chip in and I’m pleased you got Stephen and Joey to get involved! Edit: also I think this info highlights that the above critique was a bit harsh. This is no different to a journalist asking for an interview. It’s their choice to say yes or no but it wasn’t as though you were badgering them just after they’d finished.
Any guesses to their first set back? As an opening, I'd assume only like 7-8 songs with the hits probably. Something like: Paperthin Hymn A Day Late Godspeed Dismantle.repair We Owe This to Ourselves Impossible Self Starter Feel Good Drag
I know they’re technically an opener but the way the poster set it up, the fact that they’re friends with Underoath and the fact that they’re getting back together for this show makes me think it’ll be more of a longer “co-headlining” set. At least 10 songs, maybe more!
So I’m listening to DITW all the way through for the first time in ages, and uh, its honestly really awesome? Pray Tell and Art of War back to back rivals any 1-2 punch in the discog. I think Stephen has his best vocal performance on this record as well.
I dunno if I would say it's the best since there are a lot of fantastic 1-2 punches in this bands existence, but it is certainly one of the good ones!
Should I rank the band's best runs of songs? I'll answer my own question. Sure! 1. Self-Starter - Little Tyrants - Other Side [Vital] 2. Inevitable - Dismantle. Repair. - (*Fin) [Cities] 3. Closer - You Belong Here - Pray Tell [DITW, LIAP] I know, I left Art of War out. Interestingly, I find that the best Anberlin songs tend to be scattered on each album. These are the three big exceptions for me.
my wack ass ranking Vital Dark Is The Way Cities Never Take Friendship Personal Lowborn New Surrender Blueprints
The end of NTFP (Feel Good Drag, Audrey, Christa Paffgen), Cities (Inevitable, Dismantle.Repair, (fin)), beginning of Vital (Self Starter, Little Tyrants, Other Side) and beginning of Lowborn (We Are Destroyer, Armageddon, Stranger Ways).
Yeah, almost put that! I’d go one further and put Type Three in that grouping too! End of NTFP and especially the beginning of Lowborn came to mind for me too. I also really happen to love Atonement through Losing it All on Lowborn even though Birds of Prey and Dissenter are pretty divisive.