Thrice Albums (7)
'Live at the House of Blues'
Release Date 9/12/2008
Tracks 26
Label Vagrant
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What The Critics Say
Thrice fans were treated to an onslaught of music in 2007 and 2008, from the band's multi-disc conceptual project (The Alchemy Index, which saw the musicians tackling iambic pentameter and thematic concepts) to two live recordings. If The MySpace Transmissions EP was a six-song appetizer to Thrice's live show, then Live at the House of Blues is the whole enchilada, featuring two discs of concert material and an accompanying bonus DVD. Most of the material is fairly new, with The Alchemy Index dominating the set list and only three tracks hailing from Thrice's pre-Vheissu days. While The Alchemy Index was originally split into four separately themed discs, however, Live at the House of Blues mixes those songs together, integrating the various styles in a way that showcases Thrice's aptitude and encourages an unexpected set. This may be for fans only, but they certainly won't be disappointed. ~ Andrew Leahey, All Music Guide
'Alchemy Index, Vols. III & IV: Air & Earth'
Release Date 1/1/2008
Tracks 12
Label Vagrant
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What The Critics Say
There was a telling moment on Thrice's 2005 B-sides and rarities set, If We Could Only See Us Now. The quartet's live, acoustic performance of "Artist in the Ambulance" was notable for how much it suggested the Cure when unplugged. But there were also those kids in the background, solemnly singing along with vocalist Dustin Kensrue. These are the adoring submissives, the fans who filled Thrice-related message boards with dramatic tributes and pledges of allegiance in the run-up to Vheissu's October release. They represent the leap Thrice has evidently made, to go beyond the usual hardcore and metal dynamics and conventional emo devotion to become a guiding light. Thrice fuels that devotion -- Vheissu's deluxe edition includes wordy, earnest testimonials from each bandmember on his inspirations, his songwriting, and the recording process. However, the real earnestness is in Vheissu's music. Insular and meticulously layered, it switches restlessly between gauzy piano figures and righteous, full-bore post-hardcore, often suggesting a more thoughtful At the Drive-In. "Like Moths to Flame," "Image of the Invisible," and "For Miles" do this effectively, and the atmospheric stretches of "Stand and Feel Your Worth" opt for the cool, liquid tones of a Rhodes. But Kensrue inevitably screams again, and when he does he'll usually say something unfortunate like "Awed by grace I fall on my face." Like Incubus on Crow Left of the Murder or the extremes of ATDI spawn the Mars Volta, Thrice's ambition borders on self-indulgence. In Vheissu's most opaque moments you wonder, is this for everyone, or just the converted, those kids standing next to their stereos in salute? And yet, a record with too much ambition is better than another emo placeholder. And when their curiosity is aligned with more measured songwriting -- as on the breathy, dreamlike "Atlantic" or surging closer "Red Sky" -- Thrice throw open the doors of their devoted club to let the light shine with promise. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide
'If We Could Only See Us Now'
Release Date 3/29/2005
Tracks 9
Label Island
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What The Critics Say
Thrice rose quickly from playing all-ages shows in Orange County backyards to rocking the Warped Tour and a record deal on Island. Released early in 2005, If We Could Only See Us Now chronicles the California quartet's first six years with assorted live footage and extensive interviews with the bandmembers, their people, and Thrice fans themselves. That's who this set's for anyway: the fans -- it's a holdover until the follow-up to Artist in the Ambulance, slated for August 2005. Packaged with the DVD is a nine-song EP of B-sides, live cuts, and non-LP tracks. Everything was released previously, but it's nice to have it all in one place. "Eclipse" and "Motion Without Meaning" were Ambulance bonus tracks, while the acoustic-and-strings version of "Stare at the Sun" was originally on the single for "All That's Left." Two tracks from a 2003 in-store are the highlight here. Largely acoustic, "Cold Cash, Colder Hearts" and "Artist in the Ambulance" nevertheless retain Thrice's wound-tight center. "Ambulance" is particularly revealing. Unplugged, it sounds remarkably like Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me-era Cure, updated to hit the hearts of 21st century kids with an even more urgent melody. (Those kids can be heard singing along with Thrice's Dustin Kensrue during the song's climax.) The EP fills out with covers and additional B-sides. Renditions of "Eleanor Rigby" and the Real Life's 1980s synth pop nugget "Send Me an Angel" are consumed at every turn by whining electric guitars, but a subdued live run through "So Strange I Remember You" (originally from 2002's Illusion of Safety) benefits from a vintage organ and Kensrue's pleading vocal. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
While Thrice's third effort bears the imprint of Sub City, the charitable arm of thriving L.A. indie Hopeless, the grandiose die-cut packaging of The Artist in the Ambulance also features the famous rainbow spine of Island, or, in the parlance of the 21st century business umbrella, Island Def Jam Music Group, a division of Universal. Following the same route as sonic compatriots the Used, A.F.I., and the 30 or so other bands thanked in the liner notes, Thrice makes the jump to major-label land with the aid of big-league production and mixing, sick cash flow, and the freedom to stretch both its sound and its vision (each song receives its own panel, upon which each bandmember ruminates). For Artist, helmsman Brian McTernan and mixing guru Andy Wallace have tightened the seams that hold together Thrice's patchwork print of post-hardcore bellow, emotional bluster, and unabashed metal wankery, ensuring an album that teems with the urgency of Thrice's peers' recent work. "The Abolition of Man," "Cold Cash and Colder Hearts," and especially "Paper Tigers" could have easily appeared on 2002's Illusion of Safety; however, none would have been as tightly wound as they appear here. Indeed, the latter cut sounds like a vintage hardcore rant bleeding through on a cassette dub of Accept's Restless & Wild. Wrapped in razor wire and glinting in the moonlight, "Paper Tiger" leads into the churning rhythms of "Hoods on Peregrine." Here, hardcore is switched out for emo, but the technical metal framework stays. Elsewhere, first single "All That's Left" drops a little too much homeroom poetry on listeners ("We tried to bleed the sickness/But we drained our hearts instead/We are the dead"), but still manages to move along at a brisk, teary-eyed clip. It's guaranteed to be the theme song to a tortured teen romance. The more traditional hook of "All That's Left" is welcome. Together with the album's relatively straightforward title track, it checks the unforgiving pace of The Artist in the Ambulance, which sometimes becomes so busy with complicated riffing, solar plexus percussion, and wordy lyricisms that it starts to implode. Certainly benefiting from the ears and editing of McTernan and Wallace, Artist is the strongest Thrice album yet, meaning that Island/Universal gets its money's worth in the best way possible: with good music. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The southern California band Thrice merges hardcore, punk, and metal influences into a not entirely convincing whole on Identity Crisis. It doesn't help that the ordeal is anchored by oddly verbose, emo lyrics. Try the title track, for example: "Image marred by self-infliction/Private wars on my soul waged/Heart is scarred by dual volitions/Juxtaposed and both engaged/Kindle flame, a test of faith/Pray help me see it through/I put all my trust in you.../End this crisis of identity." That same track also represents an awkward conflation of styles, opening with a riff that, while probably aiming for Metallica territory, ends up closer to the '80s metal of Judas Priest or Iron Maiden. The riff is then followed by typical California punk-pop vocals that give way to hardcore screaming just when the listener is settling in. Other times, the group likes to start with innocuous acoustic strumming that gives way to frenetic blasts, a shock tactic that has gained the proportions of a cliché over the years. While it seems that, on the whole, Thrice's reach exceeds its grasp on Identity Crisis, tracks like "In Your Hands" and "Ultra Blue" represent the group's best side: melodic California punk. If Thrice would drop all of the style roving and avoid an excessive reliance on dynamics and posturing, the band would have real promise. ~ Erik Hage, All Music Guide
'The Illusion of Safety'
Release Date 1/1/2001
Tracks 13
Label Hopeless
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What The Critics Say
The outbursts of '80s thrash, classic British metal, and post-punk melodies forge The Illusion of Safety into an emocore epic of rare proportions. Atypically dynamic for its genre, Thrice stabs at punk-pop with grandiose guitar harmonies, hardcore vocal wails, and a Metallic (note the big "M") chunk that transforms its emo turnarounds into progressive hardcore theater. These design accomplishments warrant recommendation by themselves, but when the hooks of "Deadbolt" and "A Living Dance Upon Dead Minds" are set, Thrice reveals a stunning pop instinct that invites comparison to late-'90s rock & roll greats like At the Drive-In. Less inspired moments ("The Red Death") resemble Incubus on crank -- superior for sure, but annoyingly familiar. The emocore filler that concludes The Illusion of Safety ("So Strange I Remember You," "The Beltsville Crucible") verifies the group's fallibility. Probably the class of any No Motiv record, these tracks come off like throwaways here. One great producer away from unanimous Top Ten status, Thrice demonstrates transcendent potential on this 2001 sophomore full-length. ~ Jason Anderson, All Music Guide
