The Menzingers Share 10 Year Anniversary Re-issue Of Iconic Album ‘On The Impossible Past’
Today beloved Pennsylvania band The Menzingers share a re-issue of their seminal third studio album ‘On The Impossible Past’ in celebration of its ten-year anniversary. The deluxe re-issue LP includes eight acoustic demos previously only released on vinyl as ‘On The Possible Past’, now available to stream for the first time today.
Speaking on the impact that the album has had on the band after a decade, guitarist and vocalist Tom May states: “This record changed our lives forever. The last ten years have been a whirlwind of vans and airplanes, loud stages, late nights, love, dear friends, and once in a lifetime experiences. On the Impossible Past was the ticket. It was a rocket that took the four of us from our small smoke-filled basement in South Philly to stages in cities all over the world.”
On The Impossible Past was recorded at Atlas Studios in Chicago with longtime collaborators Matt Allison (Alkaline Trio, The Lawrence Arms) and Justin Yates. While the record retains all the raucous spirit of the band's earlier efforts sonically, it's a monumental step forward.
In order to write the songs that would make up On The Impossible Past the band—which also includes guitarist/vocalist Greg Barnett, bassist Eric Keen and drummer Joe Godino—took an extended break from the road for the first time following their 40-date tour with Title Fight and Touché Amoré in Summer of 2011 to focus on the task at hand. "When we got off the road to write we ended up writing even more songs about Northeastern Pennsylvania," May explains. "We're gone so much that we hadn't lived here for a couple of years so it was interesting to see how that changed and be able to reflect a little bit on that.”
That sense of self-reflection and nostalgic yearning lies at the emotional core of On The Impossible Past and while the band do not miss the Pennsylvania weather, they know can't deny how their environment shaped this album in the sense that it sees the band looking back on their past in order to move forward. "We don't miss living here but we do miss the feelings that we had during the time we did live here or the period of our lives that it encompassed," May explains when asked about the lyrical inspiration behind the disc. "Regardless of where you're from, those early events and places you've been are what shape you into the person you are today and that's something that we've always been drawn to writing lyrics about for some reason."
The Menzingers are currently on a North American headlining tour with Touché Amoré and Screaming Females as support. The band is playing their breakout album On the Impossible Past from front to back, ending December 10th in San Francisco. Tickets are on sale now, for more information visit: https://themenzingers.com/tour