Editor Reviews:

Product Description:
Thrice s boundary pushing continues with the second installment of the Alchemy Index series. Volumes 1&2 (Fire & Water), released in October of last year, were met with tremendous critical acclaim and fanfare. Fans and critics were especially impressed with the Water side and just how far the band had pushed the parameters of what they can do as professional musicians.
The Earth and Air series show two more sides of the band that anyone has yet to see. The Earth side will showcase a more stripped down, raw element of the band, while Air will expose a more soft rock side. One thing is for certain...no one really knows where Thrice s music is going, and their fans seem to like it just fine that way.

Rating : - How can you go wrong?
When anticipating the first Alchemy Index release I didn't know what to expect. I thought a bit of Vheissu mixed with some of Dustin's solo work and was slightly off the mark. Then came Volumes III and IV. Succinctly put: Wow.

This album goes beyond expectations and, in my opinion, is far superior that the Fire/Water discs. As much I love The Illusion of Safety I still believe Thrice does mellow a lot more creatively. This album blew me away at first listen, using any angle they could to create the feel of each theme. The attention paid to every detail is staggering, creating (what I would normally reserve for some sweet metal albums) an EPIC collection of rolling tracks. No more does Teppei shred, but who cares? It's easy to forget as they *mellowly* rock through songs like "Broken Lungs", "The Sky is Falling", "Daedalus", and "The Earth Isn't Humming".

An amazing effort by a band that continues to amaze me on every record.

Here's some key tracks:

"A Song for Milly Michaelson" - Haunting, vocally-driven, and beautiful. I would recommend giving it a first listen in pitch black lying down.

"Silver Wings" - Could have easily gone on the water disc, very electronic with layered vocal tracks creating a choral effect. Pretty freaking sick. Especially at the 1:28 mark.

"Digging My Own Grave" - Lounge tune? I always picture a piano bar filled with thick smoke and boatloads of tuxedos and scotch. But that could just be me.

Overall, it's gonna be hard to follow this one up, but I have a feeling Thrice can pull it off.


I love that they still get classified on Amazon under "punk"...just a thought.