Solid bands are rare to come-by in today's music scene. Many bands leave the scene faster then the hit the Top 40's list. The usual bands will release one album, and then have their music video, then jump the shark into the books of crappy and just plain bad pop music. The word punk has had many definitions over the past 30 years.
Ask any teenage girl what punk is and she will simply reply "OMG! Punk is like Panic! At the Disco and Green Day"! Or you will ask your dad, who owned a copy of "London Calling". He would respond "You have no clue what punk is or was, all you can taste of it now is from the music from when I was a teenager. The culture would blow your mind, and those who think they are apart of it nowadays are sadly mistaken". Then you have all the sub-genres to punk, Hardcore, Post-hardcore, Street, and Pop and all that other stuff. Then you have Thrice, who can be called Post-Hardcore or Melodic Punk. Personally, I hate genres, because they tend to start huge arguments, so let’s set them aside and let me continue this review without them.
Thrice are beautiful. Take that sentence and let is sink in because it's the truth. As I write this on my laptop in Jersey, I begin to realize that I've never listened to as much Thrice as I did in the last week. I had heard the singles from the band, "All That's Left", "Stare At the Sun", "Image of the Invisible", but I never bought any of the albums. I figured that they would just be one of those bands that I just heard about from people and I would never take the dive. But when I raked in the cash for Christmas (Oh yes) I knew I needed to buy cds. So one late night on AIM, I saw DFelon was online. I remembered his Vheissu review and remembered him saying that Thrice is his favorite band. DFelon has a great music taste and puts his music through extensive tests in order to like it. Only the strong survive. That's when I said, "hey, I'm gonna jump into Thrice, maybe I'll like it". So I get it, and don't listen to it just yet. Then came the time to fly to Jersey, and I had my iPod with the album on it. So I get to my seat, near the engine so I'll have to turn the volume up loud. Oh yes, it's best listened to loud.
"Cold Cash, Colder Hearts" is the first taste I had from the album and it was a sweet one. No long intros, just non-stop chaos. At halfway into the track, I was excited to hear the rest. My heart was racing and it was up so loud that the person sitting next to me (An extremely ghetto black lady) was staring at me. She saw my shirt (Mars Volta shirt with skulls on it) and backed way off. Thought I was a satanist, haha. But anyway, back too the album. At the end of the first song, my blood is pumping, I want more. "Under a Killing Moon" begins and at this point I'm creaming myself. The musicianship is so solid, almost perfect. The guitar and the drums are just... so on the money.
Then there’s a song that deserves it’s own paragraph. “Paper Tigers” is a mixture of the heaviest, and most powerful music I have ever heard. It begins with electronic ambience, but quickly transforms into chaotic madness which is every bit as glorious as your first trip to Disney World. The chorus is a huge smack in the face combined with a taurine induced adrenaline rush. I don’t think I will ever stop loving this song, and if I am forced to do so, my blood will itch from the withdrawal.
The only problem I could say that I have with the band would be the vocals in a few tracks, like in Silhouette. After hearing Vheissu though, you will begin to realize that Dustin is an amazing singer. The only singing problems would be for one song or two, and it's just a tiny complaint. When he tries to sing, like in Silhouette, I just think it fails miserably. But when he screams, you get your moneys worth. I feel it is his best ability as a vocalist. But don't take my little rant to heart. This albums is worth owning in every way possible. “The Artist in the Ambulance” is definitely a cd to get into if you like rock music.
“The Artist in the Ambulance” is the perfect album. It has it’s incredibly heavy and screaming moments, which are amazing. Also having it’s slower moments, filled with emotion and a fistful of meaningful lyrics. While listening to Thrice, you’re muscles will tense, you’re thirst will increase, and you will sweat profusely. Take the dive, it was truly worth it.
5 out of 5 dentists recommend Thrice.
-btbp
