Thrice haven’t been around for a while, however when they came back they proclaimed to have a new, ‘more mature’ sound. When bands say this I often worry as more often than not it means that the band are now taking themselves too seriously and as a result their quality is compromised in favour of an ‘experimental’ album of utter rubbish. Thankfully this is not the case here, with Thrice once again bringing out a brilliant album.
Opening track ‘Image of the Invisible’ will right away unveil the bands new sound, and this song is definitely one of my favourites on the album. Here the band show that not only have they matured musically, but their song writing skills have also improved tenfold and they are lyrically now better than they ever have been before. The band head into unknown territory on this album, with the opening track alone containing far more lyrical depth than everything the band have ever written before put together. I genuinely think that the band have spent a lot of time writing and planning for this release as they are musically sound here and lyrically sublime.
Tracks such as ‘Hold Fast Hope,’ ‘Music Box,’ and ‘Of Dust and Nations’ will remind hardcore Thrice fans of the music of old and will probably put a smile on their face for nostalgic value. Sure, these songs don’t have as much bite as their counterparts in ‘The Illusion of Safety’ or ‘The Artist in the Ambulance,’ however they still contain a lot of bite and I feel that they are much better written tracks than anything that appeared on either of these albums.
I remember way back when receiving a ‘The Illusion of Safety’ album sampler and being mightily impressed with what I heard. Back in 2002, Thrice were a driving force in what was then perceived to be the ‘Emo’ scene of the time along with bands such as Thursday and Taking Back Sunday, with homegrown talent in the form of Funeral For a Friend storming out later that year with the almighty Mighty Atom EP ‘Between Order and Model.’ Sure, back then Funeral For a Friend were nothing more than an underground phenomenon, however since then have shown signs of ‘maturing’ and have shown how that can not always be a good thing. Whereas Funeral For a Friend released the awful ‘Hours’ back in June and show that already they have lost it, with the release of ‘Vheissu’ in October, Thrice really showed that they are still a band that desperately crave and definitely deserve your full attention.
Thrice may lose a few fans with this latest release as it definitely shows a more melodic, less Hardcore sound for them – however I still think that they are one of the best bands at what they do and hopefully this will not be the last we hear of Thrice. They have been around for a long old time now, and show with ‘Vheissu’ that not only are they still writing great music, but they are also showing signs of maturity unrivalled by any other bands in the scene. Thrice have done a brave thing changing their sound so drastically here, but for me it has really paid off. I can’t wait till they come over next month with Coheed & Cambria.
Label: Universal
Release Date: October 17th 2005
Rating:
UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.
