Thrice

The Illusion of Safety (2002)

Chris Moran

Its hard to describe Thrice. Metal tendencies with and emo-ish voice? Sorta. But there's much, much more.

The album jumps off to an incredible start with 'Kill Me Quickly', unquestionably one of the best tracks on the album. Dustin quickly changes his vocal styling from a hardcore scream (not screamo, kids), to a melodic voice. The up tempo riffs also are broken down into a slower tempo to create an incredible mixture of emotion and fury. From there comes blazing in my favorite track of the album, 'A Subtle Dagger'. Hard metallish chords with a harsh, melodic, hardcore-screamy voice. For some reason I can't stop thinking I'm hearing a Megadeth riff. God bless Dave Mustaine.

Other honorable mentions include 'See You in the Shallows', which again boasts the Thrice-tacular metal influence, but has more emotional vocals. 'Betrayal is a Symptom' is another track which shows the incredible range of this band's talent.
To be honest, every track is incredible. I'm too lazy to discuss every one, so I gave you the first 4. I don't know if emotional-influenced hardcore has sounded this good since Lifetime. Thrice seems to tread the line perfectly. Where bands like Kid Dynamite and Strike Anywhere (both of whom I love) tend to dip more on the hardcore side, Thrice is right split in the middle. Kinda like Grade, except they are more metal influenced, and that, is always cool.

Should you buy Thrice's "The Illusion of Safety"? Yes, why? Because I said so? Yes. Because all of your friends will think you have good taste? Yes. You don't need a reason, you punk-rocker. Get out there and rock-out.