::THRICE::

I first heard of Thrice, a post-hardcore band from the heart of Orange County, from a small little snippet in Spin magazine. The way they were described intrigued me. The author described the group's sound as "Metallica, with a coat of emo Armor All". I must have been really inspired by that one sentence, because I did something I almost never did: purchased a CD of a band I hadn't even heard. I wound up buying their then-current release, The Artist in the Ambulance. I fell in love with it almost instantly. My music collection was so full of pop-punk and ska bands, that I needed a bit of a change...and Thrice was it. There was just something about the heavy guitars, perfectly executed dissonances and mix between singing and screaming that hooked me.

Since hearing 2003's Artist in the Ambulance, I have been eager to hear everything released by Thrice. Their next release, Vheissu (the name of which is taken from the Thomas Pynchon novel V.), was unexpected, yet gladly welcomed. The band still maintained their "hardcore" moments, yet began to incorporate a more complex musical sound into their productions. The band nods to earlier releases and original fans with their intensity-packed single, "Image of the Invisible", and provides new material for the newest or oldest of fans with (amazing) tracks such as "For Miles", "Music Box", and "Red Sky". This album also seems to feature more personable lyrics than previous releases, with lines such as "We must see that every scar is a bridge/And as long as we live/We must open up these wounds/When someone stands in your shoes/And will shed his own blood/There's no greater love/We must open up our wounds" and "Wake/Stand and feel your worth/Oh, my soul/Kneel and know the word/That can save us all" being common themes for the album. The album's positivity and musical genius (see: "Red Sky", "Of Dust and Nations", "The Earth Will Shake") makes this album one to remember.

Thrice has recently recorded 4 EP's entitled The Alchemy Index. All 4 EP's are themed around the elements: fire, water, earth, and wind. The first two volumes (Fire and Water) were released together on October 16th, 2007, and the final two (Earth and Wind) are to be released in the same fashion in April of 2008. Having recently seen Thrice's live set (which was completely and utterly flawless, mind you), the band's energy and musical direction is one to keep an eye out for.