Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful, 16 Oct 2007
Having been a huge Thrice fan for many many years and everytime a new release pops up the usual people say, is it going to be the "illusion of safety" mk2 we've been begging for, well I can safely say this isn't that, but it does touch on the bands past whilst skillfully proppelling themselves forwards in the natural artistic direction they wish to be headed. The Fire Disc has moments of Vhiessu, IOS and TAITA all in one whilst still pushing out some of the heaviest material thrice have ever produced. Whilst it's heavy, it stays intellegent and soulful.
Whilst the Water disc is 6 tracks of experimental beauty in the use of pianos, rhodes, synths etc etc whilst working with sampled drum beats and effects laden vocal tracks that creates 20 minutes of head spinning awe and happiness. This band inspire positivity and pride in themselves and their listeners by creating atmospheres with their distinct sound, especially the haunting sound of Dustin Kensrues vocal.
A home made album by a band that are truly about the music and the art, leaving their label after hit factory disputes, they recorded the album in a self built studio, produced it themselves and did all of the artwork themselves. If you know the band I am sure you will hear and appreciate the amazing progression and growth of this band as they have gone through the ages. If you don't know them and this is your first dabbling in the world of Thrice then I would suggest that you buy and listen to the back catalogue in order and then you will truly grasp the way this band are about creating sounds that inspire themsleves and others. Another masterpiece from one of the world truly most inspirational bands
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5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What the dickens is "post hardcore"?, 16 April 2008
As these albums have been released as a putative 4 disc concept album, I have taken the liberty of posting this review on both of the released sets. Two reasons for this - one, the 4 elements/discs should be looked at as a coherent whole, and two, anyone who intends to buy one of these releases, will surely buy both so hopefully you will see the validity in reviewing the whole thing.
Now, the first thing that strikes me - and I can't consider myself a "fan" as such, as I've never listened to any Thrice before - is that these albums are found in the metal sections of record stores and come up as "rock" on the old I pod. Of the four discs, only "Fire" (as you would expect) is what I would term "Rock". Otherwise the prevalent sound is one of wistful alt-country/folk with occasional blasts of Radiohead-like noise to stir up the mix. For me they have missed a chance on the "earth" disc where they might have gone in with some heavy growling bass and booming drums, but that obviously didn't fit in with the concept - which goes to show why these guys are producing fine music and I'm left to write this...
So are they good albums? Does the concept work? In my opinion the Fire and Water set is the best, more closely attuned with the concept of elements and a fine album in its own right. The earth and air one is also a good album but lyrical content aside, doesn't fit in so well with the concept, at least as far as I can see. Taken on their own merits then we have two fine albums, well worth 5 and 4 stars as given above, but are they good Thrice albums? I'm afraid I don't know but they have certainly enticed me into getting a couple of their previous releases and that can't be a bad thing.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Californian post-hardcore crew veer even further from their roots, 13 Mar 2008
When Thrice first announced plans to release a 4-disc concept album based around the 4 natural elements (Wind, Fire, Earth and Air), the reception was decidedly divided. The bands message board was filled with fans arguing over the ambitious direction they were heading in, some even accusing Thrice of being overly pretentious. Whilst some were intrigued by the experimentation, others were voicing their concern about their heroes moving even further from their punk/metal fuelled days of `The Illusion Safety'.
But that record was a long time ago and Thrice have since evolved into something much more mature and prosperous. 2005s `Vheissu' started the experimental ball rolling with some truly wonderful vocal melodies that were complimented with some soaring guitar and keyboard work, the latter of which wasn't present on their earlier material. The first two instalments of `The Alchemy Index' (Fire and Water) have taken the heavy and the melodic parts of `Vheissu' and veered even further into them respective musical directions.
First track on the Fire disc, `Firebreather', kicks off with an off-kilter time signature reminiscent of prog masters Isis' early drone material, but Dustin Kensrue's vocals make it uniquely Thrice sounding. `The Messenger' is the one track that most sounds like something off of `Illusion Of Safety' with its thrashy drums and intense breakdown, however third track `Backdraft' puts this style to rest rather quickly with its spacey verses and atmospheric chorus. This first of 4 volumes ends quite dramatically with the ridiculously heavy `The Flame Deluge'; a car wreck of layered open chorded guitars and roaring vocals, which paves the way intriguingly for the Water disc.
This is where Thrice would really be put to the test as they tread previously unexplored waters (no pun intended). Riley's signature pounding drum sound is replaced by electronic beats and Dustin's vocals soothe quite beautifully over some epic guitar and piano parts. Instrumental track `Night Diving' erupts massively with its Cult Of Luna-esque guitar work, whilst `Open Water' sways across the speakers seemingly effortlessly with its endearing chorus and catchy vocal hooks.
The concept may reek of artistic pretentiousness, but when it is pulled off as beautifully as this, who are we to point fingers? The remaining two volumes, Earth and Air, will surface in early 2008 and if it's anything like what we have experienced here, it will complete a 4-disc set of truly mesmerising proportions.
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