Thrice - Vheissu (2005)

Vheissu is where Thrice really broke out of their shell. I'll admit, I haven't given any of their albums previous to this a chance, but from what I've heard, It's all pretty sophomoric and shallow in terms of concept and content. With their brand new direction, some of the first things you notice are more complex song structures, more experimental songwriting and deeply insightful lyrics inspired mostly by Thomas Pynchon's book V.. One of the reasons this album stands out to me is how they implemented unorthodox methods in the songwriting process. Just listen to "The Earth Will Shake" and how the intro creates a feeling of desperation with a jangly guitar and a more lo-fi sound before bursting into the first verse. Later in the song, all of the music is cut out and there's what appears to be a whole chain gang chanting the chorus and stomping out the beat. It's all very epic and creates a very atmospheric and immersive listening experience. I highly recommend this album along with Thrice's newest project, The Alchemy Index which I posted earlier this year in four parts, Fire, Water, Air and Earth.

1. "Image of the Invisible" – 4:14
2. "Between the End and Where We Lie" – 3:56
3. "The Earth Will Shake" – 4:29
4. "Atlantic" – 4:02
5. "For Miles" – 4:27
6. "Hold Fast Hope" – 4:01
7. "Music Box" – 4:46
8. "Like Moths to Flame" – 4:26
9. "Of Dust and Nations" – 4:50
10. "Stand and Feel Your Worth" – 5:52
11. "Red Sky" – 4:17

Vheissu

Thrice - The Alchemy Index Vols. III & IV (2008)

The second half of The Alchemy Index was released about a month ago and is equally amazing as the first half. Unlike all the other elements, the Air volume doesn't "sound" as much as its element as the other volumes do but besides that its probably the most solid volume. Earth is all done with acoustic guitar and percussion instruments in a very folky way that has a really great feel. Definitely check out this second half.

Vol III: Air

1. "Broken Lungs" - 4:14
   
2. "The Sky Is Falling" - 4:21
   
3. "A Song for Milly Michaelson" - 5:07
   
4. "Daedalus" - 6:00
   
5. "As the Crow Flies" - 2:22
   
6. "Silver Wings" - 2:10
   

Vol IV: Earth

1. "Moving Mountains" - 2:55
   
2. "Digging My Own Grave" - 3:04
   
3. "The Earth Isn't Humming" - 4:58
   
4. "The Lion and the Wolf" - 2:42
   
5. "Come All You Weary" - 4:08
   
6. "Child of Dust" - 3:09

Air
Earth

Thrice - The Alchemy Index Vols. I & II (2007)

The first 2 volumes in Thrice's Alchemy Index project. Over the past 2 weeks these have become 2 of my favorite albums of all time. The sheer epic proportions plus the amazing concept make this a really intense listen. In these first 2 volumes, you can hear how they adapted their music to each element really well. The songs on Fire are all very intense and hectic while all of the songs on Water are very mellow and feature a lot of effects to make the sound dampened and almost like its being played under water at some points. It's simply genius and everyone should give it a listen. Throw any conceptions of Thrice's poppy/hardcore background out the window and snag this and the next 2 volumes which ill upload later.

Vol I: Fire

1. "Firebreather" - 4:24
2. "The Messenger" - 2:09
3. "Backdraft" - 4:08
4. "The Arsonist" - 4:13
5. "Burn the Fleet" - 3:46
6. "The Flame Deluge" - 3:27

Vol II: Water

1. "Digital Sea" - 3:44
2. "Open Water" - 3:46
3. "Lost Continent" - 4:30
4. "Night Diving" - 6:02
5. "The Whaler" - 4:09
6. "Kings Upon the Main" - 4:56

Fire
Water