The Artist in the Ambulance

by

Thrice

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Like many other albums with staying power, Thrice's third full-length release, "The Artist In The Ambulance," takes some time to fully understand and appreciate it as the amazing body of work it is. Thrice are easily one of the most original bands making music out there today. Although they seem to be, unfortunately, lumped in with the emo explosion, they are more about fusing melody with classic hardcore and heavy metal influences. Frontman Dustin Kensrue's empowering words are emphasized by his confident and obviously well-trained vocals. This album is all about the lyrics, and most of what is presented here is of a positive and uplifting nature. Teppei Teranishi is fastly becoming one of my favorite guitarists. He can definitely hang with the best of them and really gives Thrice their signature sound. Everyone who knows of Thrice are more than likely familiar with the two singles, "All That's Left" and "Stare At The Sun." The former is a fast-paced anthem, while the latter is a more somber, emotionally charged piece, being one of the many bright spots of the album (and is, incidentally, my favorite of the bunch). The rest of the songs all pretty much fit somewhere in the middle, with the highlights being "Paper Tigers," "Under A Killing Moon," "Don't Tell and We Won't Ask" and the title track. With this album, Thrice have created their best music yet, and have evolved a bit since "The Illusion Of Safety" and "Identity Crisis." It is also their first major label release, and surprisingly, they come out of everything with integrity intact. Everything you love about heavy music is here. If you like intelligence with your metal, Thrice will be right up your alley. Expect big things for them with their next album, they are too good to be overlooked.

Don't get me wrong; I love Thrice. After what I consider an amazing album in The Illusion Of Safety, The Artist In The Ambulance pales in comparison. Unlike their dynamic previous release, after the first few tracks, which are very good, they all start sounding the same. If you're looking for songs like "Ultra Blue", "Trust", or "So Strange I Remember You" on this release, sorry you lose! Without any real changes of pace, the record becomes monotonous. Also, Thrice took its metalcore influences a bit too far. The songs end up sounding too forced and choppy, with random breakdowns and screamfests inserted throughout. They didn't pull it off with the same kind of flow as in songs like "To Awake And Avenge The Dead" and "Betrayal Is A Symptom". The melodies aren't as memorable as in The Illusion Of Safety as well. Still, although this is a sub-par record for Thrice, it's still a solid record when compared to other music out there. It's a must-have for Thrice fans, with some fantastic tracks on it. "Cold Cash And Colder Hearts" is an outstanding opener. "Under A Killing Moon" and "Silhouette" are also standout tracks. But, if you're just getting into Thrice, I reccomend you check out The Illusion Of Safety first. If you enjoy energetic unpredictable rock such as this, I'd also reccomend you buy The Mars Volta's latest release, (De-Loused In The Comatorium).