IMAGE
OF THE INVISIBLE
THE HISTORY OF THRICE
First Impressions
15 years ago (1998), two high
school students, Dustin Kensrue and Teppei Teranishi, got together and started
writing music. At some point they picked up a bass player and a drummer, jokingly
naming the group “Thrice” to only be used for their first show. However, the
name caught on quickly and they were forced to keep it. Right away they began
recording, and it wasn’t long until the group released a 2-day EP project at
A-Room Studios during 1999, titled First
Impressions. The lyrics of this EP encompassed a great deal of cultural
teen angst, with lines such as “What’s the use in hoping when you always get
let down,” and “I’m drowning in a sea of hate-filled eyes, and she’s screaming
but no one hears her cries.” Only 1000 copies of the album were made and the
members sold the album out of their cars. The sound was heavy and immature, as
could be expected from any high school band, but it wasn’t long until they made
their break, for in 2001 the group released their first album titled Identity Crisis.
Identity Crisis
Identity
Crisis could be argued as the album in which Thrice established a pattern
of sound to be expected in future albums, but not the point in which the group made
a career break. Right from the start Thrice’s music was characterized by a
heavy, fast sound featuring heavily distorted guitars and distinct lead guitar
lines. Identity Crisis was recorded
with Paul Miller of Death by Stereo and was released on Greenflag Records. As
the album began to sell, some of the proceeds were donated to a local charity.
This allowed the group to play more support gigs, which generated more local
buzz. As if the title of the album isn’t enough of a clue, the album also
featured lyrics leading to the idea the group was struggling with the concept of
who they were. Such lyrics as “No fire in our eyes, no steel in our hearts, no
magic in our songs, are we just empty vessels…What of all the art and books,
music and poetry, what of all our memories, what of our hopes and dreams? They
hold no value, we hold not faith but greed, so I must ask you, to what end do
we proceed?” lead one to believe that the group was starting to look for
something greater.
The Illusion of Safety
This
sound and lyrical theme continued on into their second and third albums, The Illusion of Safety and The Artist in the Albulance. However, The Illusion of Safety, recorded with
Brian McTernan and released on Sub-City records in February of 2002, seemed to
stay truer to the earlier lyrical theme, with lines such as “Sick of this
circle of death that we dance through, again and again, just lay me in the
ground. Let’s fall asleep together. Hold me darling, ‘cause I’m scared and I
can’t do this alone. But I need your heartbeat to own me, your cold lips to
breathe one promise that, tomorrow, we’ll wake up somewhere new.” The sound of The Illusion of Safety seemed to carry
more emotional angst, as characterized in the complex time signatures, vocal
layering, and hard-driving beats. It was apparent that the band was learning
and discovering more of music, but it wasn’t going to mean much if they couldn’t
break into something distinct. The group toured to support the album, and again
donated some of their proceeds to charity; this time, it was a non-profit youth
shelter in South Central Los Angelas called “A Place Called Home.”
The Artist in the Ambulance
It
could be argued that Thrice’s third full-length album was their actual career
break. This is due to two singles on the album: “All that’s Left” and “Stare at
the Sun.” Both songs received greater airplay and, as the year progressed, the group found themselves
playing at larger venues to larger crowds. The album itself released in 2003
through Island Records, and the title reflected their desire to do more than
simply make music and continue to contribute to society through charitable
donations. A portion of this album’s proceeds were donated to the Syrentha
Savio Endowment, a financial aid organization for breast cancer patients.
A
personal favorite from the album, “Stare at the Sun”, was featured in an Electronic
Arts video game titled “SSX 3” and featured a distinct sound characterized by a
complex bass lead on the verses and an accompanying complex guitar lead on the
chorus. The lyrics of the song could be the turning point in their wording
pattern. Here is an excerpt: “I see the parts but not the whole, I study saints
and scholars both. No perfect plan unfurls. Do I trust my heart or just my
mind? Why is truth so hard to find in this world?” Yet the song still carried
along the band’s previous angst combined with a new determination to seek truth
with the bridge and chorus: “I know that there’s a point I’ve missed, a shrine
or stone I haven’t kissed, a scar that never graced my wrist, a mirror that
hasn’t met my fist; but I can’t help feeling like I’m due for a miracle, I’m
waiting for a sign. I’ll stare straight into the sun, and I won’t close my eyes
‘till I understand or go blind.”
Vheissu
While The Artist in the Ambulance was arguably the turning point in
Thrice’s career, their fourth album, titled Vheissu,
could be argued as the turning point in their spirituality. The album featured
a calmer and more introspective sound accompanied by lyrics such as “So put
your faith in more than steel. Don’t store your treasures up with moth and
rust, where thieves break in and steal. Pull the fangs from out your heel.
Well, we live in but a shadow of the real.” It became apparent that the group
was not going to settle for average in any aspect of life, whether musical or
spiritual. The album was released on October 17, 2005 by Island Records and
peaked at #15 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Vheissu was characterized by calmer and
more experimental sounds such as piano melodies, electronica, folk Japanese
music-box undertones, and chain-gang chant choruses, thus showing it to be a
deviation from the band’s post-hardcore roots. A personal favorite from this
album (and the title of this paper) is the song “Image of the Invisible.”
Featuring an energetic and driving sounds coupled with the lyrics, “We’re more
than carbon and chemicals; free will is ours and we can’t let go; we can’t
allow this, the quiet cull; so we sing out this, our canticle; we are the image
of the invisible. We all were lost now we are found; no one can stop us or slow
us down; we are the named and we are known; we know that we’ll never walk
alone,” this song carries clear the message that they had accepted Christ.
The Alchemy Index
Thrice’s fifth effort was a double
album titled The Alchemy Index, with
each album featuring two EPs of 6 songs each. Each EP features a significantly
different style, based on different aspects of musical and lyrical
aestheticism. The purpose of the four EPs was that each would represent an
element of nature: fire, water, air, and earth. It could be argued as the bands
greatest work of creativity. The first album, The Alchemy Index Vols. I & II: Fire & Water, was released
October 16, 2007 under Vagrant Records. The band reportedly left Island Records
during the recording of the album due to a difference in vision for the
direction of the band. The second album, The
Alchemy Index Vols. III & IV: Air & Earth, was released April 15, 2008
on Vagrant Records. Both albums were self-produced.
A
personal favorite from this double album, four-EP work comes from the Fire
& Water Index, and is titled “Digital Sea”, featuring lyrics such as “I
woke, cold and alone, adrift in an open sea. Caught up in regrets and tangled
in nets instead of your arms wrapped around me. And I wept, but my tears are
anathema here, just more water to fill my lungs. I hear someone scream ‘God
what it is we have done?’ I am drowning in a digital sea, I am slipping beneath
the sound. Here my voice goes to the ones and zeroes, I’m slipping beneath the
sound.”
Beggars
Initially slated to release
October13, 2009 on Vagrant Records but later changed to an iTunes release of
August 11, 2009 and a physical release of September 15, 2009 due to the album
being leaked, Thrice chose to move away from the “sleepy feeling” of The Alchemy Index and Vheissu toward “a little more upbeat and
energetic” for their self-produced sixth project, titled Beggars. Though the group initially wanted to record the album live
(recording the full band in one take instead of mixing tracks individually),
they chose instead to record songs with “similar vibes musically and tonally”
in one session at self-built home studio. During this time, the band went on
tour and played their new sound at numerous sold-out venues, but their spring
2010 tour with the Manchester Orchestra was cut short when Kensrue had to leave
due to an illness in his family. However, this would not stop the band from
continuing later.
Major/Minor
After taking a short break, Kensrue
revealed that each band member had been individually writing music to be used
for a new album. The album was recorded at Red Bull Studios (produced by Dave
Schiffman) but later tweaked and edited at Teppei’s home studio (New Grass
Studios). before being released on September 20, 2011. The sound was different than previous albums and
reflected the significant amount of maturing the members of the group have done
over the years. The album received critical acclaim, earning an average score
of 82 (based on 10 reviews). BBC reported Raziq Rauf stated “there’s a
simplicity to the music and songs that allows the listener to enjoy them at a
very elemental level”. IGN spoke of the album as “one of the strongest rock
efforts of the year.” Kensrue’s lyrics were hailed as “sheer poetry and in this
day and age, such a brave and welcome change.”
Haitus
After touring through the spring of
2012, Dustin Kensrue stated “Thrice is not breaking up…” but was rather “taking
a break from being a full-time band.” Accompanied by Animals as Leaders
(featuring the acclaimed guitarist Tosin Abasi) and O’Brother, the band played
a farewell tour and ended with a 33-song solo performance on June 19, 2012.
Twenty-four select songs recorded live during the tour were compiled into a
live album titled Anthology. During
the time since, members of the band have been involved in various side
projects. Kensrue’s solo project has gathered a wide following and continues to
encompass his creativity in lyrics and sound, while conveying his faith in
Christ.
