You know, you’d think I’d have learned to change the year in the post date to 2006 after a couple posts, but no, I’m a fucking moron. Well those are corrcted now. I also swtiched the link for my counter so it’ll count this page’s hits, and not those of the Angelfire page.
Thrice was actually supposed to be January’s BotM, but since I rather like them, and the month was almost over, it felt like a shame to bring them to attention for such a short time. Anyway, Thrice. I’ve only really been listening to them for a while, but the story starts a long time ago, in a mall far, far away. Actually, it’s the closest mall to here, but that’s an insignificant detail. It was a normal September afternoon in 2004, and I had recently come into a rather large wad of cash. So I did what was naural to most teenage beings: I went to blow it on CDs. I popped on into the local HMV, and I grabbed a couple discs. Turns oout they had a 3 for $50 deal going on (or something similar), so the clerk advised me to pick out another one. I was having a bit of a time trying to find a good CD to take home, since between what I already owned and what I was already buying, I had pretty much all the music I wanted. So the guy decides to suggest some bands I mihgt like (based on my other two choices). One of those bands was Thrice. While it was tempting, I decided not to, since I’d never heard of them, and I like to at least have an idea what I’m buying. So I went with a different disc and was on my way. The next day, I popped in on of the CD I’d bought, the Resident Evil: Apocalypse soundtrack. A little more than halfway through, this really awesome song came on, and I checked the case to see who it was. Turns out it was *drumroll* Thrice. Now that I’d gotten a taste of the band, I was a little disappointed I hadn’t picked up one of their albums. So to make up for it, I did a little downloading. Sadly, most of the songs weren’t as good as the one from the RE soundtrack, so I kind of forgot about them for a while.
Nearly a year and a half later, I’m going through some of the songs in my library that never get played. And then I see Thrice. I decide that since a good amount of time has gone by and my musical tastes have changed a bit, I’ll give them another shot. That was the right choice. Damned Past Ryan had no taste. Thrice friggn’ rocks. Let me tell you, I cannot believe I’ve ignored them for so long. Like many bands I listen to, they fall into the hardcore-punk-emo-metal mélange. This is good. While I don’t listen to a lot of straight-punk, I’ve very much come to enjoy the punk-metal sound. And it’s not even the pop-punk that you might’ve come to expect from me. Ha, the facade thickens!
Why do I like Thrice? Perhaps the kickass guitar work? The pertinent dumming? The deep and inspired lyrics? The screaming that doesn’t come off as annoying or juvenile? I’m thinking pretty much all that stuff. The album you see above is their fourth real album, entitled Vheissu. If you don’t understand the name, go look it up. Apparently, it has some sort of ties to a Thomas Pynchon book called “V.“. Anyway, the album, as it turns out, is radically different from their first three. Vheissu is notably slower than its predecessors, with a much more significant feel to it, and militaristic tones in most of the songs. I really like it. “Image of the Invisible” is the first song, and is probably the most like any older Thrice songs. “Atlantic” is really worth noting, and “Music Box” actually starts with a music box that continues playing in the background.
The other albums, Identity Crisis, The Illusion of Safety, and The Artist in the Ambulance (released in that order) are all far harder than the latest, featuring tons of hardcore riffing and less structured songs. Of course, this stuff rocks just as much as Vheissu, just a lot harder and faster. A couple songs I want to point out are “Under a Killing Moon” (from The Artist in the Ambulance), which is featured on the Resident Evil: Apocalypse soundtrack, and “See You in the Shallows” (from The Illusion of Safety). I give both songs the brunt of the credit for getting me into the band in the first place, and are definite keepers. There is actually another Thrice disc, released between The Artist in the Ambulance and Vheissu, called If We Could Only See Us Now, which is a couple live tracks and some B-sides thrown together. But it’s more of a second disc to a DVD “anthology” of sorts.
For the first time, I’m gonna tack on my own little bonus to a Band of the Month post. If you’re looking for an easy score, I’ve got it for ya. As a special bonus, I’ll give you the torrent for all four main Thrice albums. While this is a nice, cheap way out, if you like them, I highly recommend buying them like I di… like I will. I’ve got Vheissu, but I intend to acquire the rest sooner or later.
Anyway, that’s it for today. Come back soon for more crazy hijinx! Or maybe visit Comedy Napalm. There’s definitely higher quantities of crazy and hijinx there. Especially on the forums. (Hint hint)