In 2000, Thrice signed with Sub City Records and released two LP's. The first, Identity Crisis (2000), only received 1.5 stars in the AMG review and little buzz. The second, The Illusion of Safety (2002), was widely acclaimed and received attention from major record labels. Even though Thrice's music has always included metal influences, The Illusion of Safety contained a heavier metalcore sound. The album was recorded in Beltsville, Maryland and the track The Beltsville Crucible reflects this.
In 2003 Thrice signed up with Island Records and released The Artist in the Ambulance, which featured more metal oriented songs while keeping true to their hardcore influences. In 2005 a DVD outlining their entire career to date was released under the title If We Could Only See Us Now. It included a CD with live tracks from the Apple Store and various b-sides.
Thrice released their fourth full-length album, Vheissu, on October 18, 2005. The album was characterized by many critics as being experimentally different, using non-traditional Thrice elements in the process. From keyboard melodies ("For Miles") to Japanese music-box undertones ("Music Box") to chain gang chant choruses ("The Earth Will Shake"), Vheissu introduced a new sound to the band's post-hardcore roots. UK producer Steve Osborne, whose past credits include many Brit-pop hits, was sought by Thrice to gain a new perspective on the songwriting process, enabling the band to expand their musical influences and produce a different album. The album garnered widespread critical acclaim and peaked at #15 on the Billboard 200.
The band releasedRed Sky, an EP comprised of various b-sides as well as live recordings, shortly after Vheissu.
Thrice released the first and second volume of The Alchemy Index, a highly experimental project based on the four traditional elements (fire, water, earth, and air), on October 16th 2007. Over the summer Thrice parted ways with Island records and signed with Vagrant. The Alchemy Index Vols. I & II - Fire & Water was released on October 16, 2007, and sold 28,000 copies in its first week. The album consists of the first two volumes, Fire and Water, and features 12 songs, 6 on each disk. The third and fourth volumes, Air & Earth were released on April 15, 2008.
The "Fire" disc features the heavier post-hardcore sound traditional Thrice fans will quickly embrace, harking back to their pre-Vheissu albums. The "Water" disc, however, is comprised of ambient songs similar to those found in Vheissu, Thrice's previous album release. The "Air" disc brings a whole new element of electronic elements and delayed guitar riffs to Thrice's sound. In "Earth", much like Dustin Kensrue's solo album, "Please Come Home", Thrice introduces an indie-folk sound combining intricate piano and acoustic guitar.
Thrice's sixth studio album Beggars was released digitally through Vagrant Records in the UK on August 9, 2009 and in the US on August 11 with a physical release containing bonus material pencilled in for September 15. These dates deviate from the original proposed release date of October 13 because of a leak via Vagrant Records web player, which has meant the artwork for the album has also changed. The first single to be taken from the album is All the World Is Mad and was first made available through Guitar Hero: World Tour on July 23.
Dustin Kensrue has described the album as being "more visceral and more raw - both in the songwriting and in the overall sound. It moves with a different energy than any of our past records. It was born out of us playing together in a room, almost as a backlash to the giant headgame that was The Alchemy Index" and has been well received critically.
The seventh studio album Major/Minor came out on September 20, 2011 through Vagrant Records. Yellow Belly, Promises and a few other songs were made available for the listeners to stream online before the release date. The album received extremely positive reviews from many online websites. Alex Djaferis of Absolutepunk.net gave Major/Minor a rating of 95%. Tracks like Promises and Listen Through Me reflected a natural progression from the sound Thrice created in Beggars, which was widely appreciated by the early listeners.
Thrice decided to take a break from being a full time band on November 21, 2011. In late spring/early summer Thrice announced the 'Farewell' tour for the spring/summer of 2012 , which would be the bands final tour before going into an indefinite hiatus.
In early 2015 it was announced that the band intends to release new music and tour again. Announcements were done via the bands website http://www.thrice.net/ and social media outlets with an accompanying picture with "Thrice 2015" text.
The Artist In The Ambulance
Thrice Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Red light, can't stop, so I spin the wheel
My world goes black before I
Feel an angel lift me up
And I open bloodshot eyes
Into fluorescent white
They flip the siren, hit the lights
Close the doors, and I am gone
Now I lay here owing my life
To a stranger, and I realize
That empty words are not enough
I'm left here with the question of just
What have I to show except
The promises I never kept?
I lie here shaking on this bed
Under the weight of my regrets
I hope, that I will never let you down
I know, that this can be more than just
Flashing lights and sounds
Look around and you'll see that at times
It feels like no one really cares
It gets me down, but I'm still gonna try to
Do what's right, I know that there's a
Difference between sleight of hand
And giving everything you have
There's a line drawn in the sand
I'm working up the will to cross it
And I hope, that I will never let you down
I know, that this can be more than just
Flashing lights and sounds
Rhetoric can't raise the dead, I'm sick of always talking
When there's no change
Rhetoric can't raise the dead, I'm sick of empty words
Let's lead, and not follow
Late night, brakes lock, hear the tires squeal
Red light, can't stop, so I spin the wheel
My world goes black before I
Feel an angel steal me from the
Greedy jaws of death and chance
And pull me in with steady hands
They've given me a second chance
The artist in the ambulance
I hope, that I will never let you down
I know, that this can be more than just
Flashing lights and sounds
Can we pick you off the ground?
More than flashing lights and sounds
The song "The Artist In The Ambulance" by Thrice tells the story of a person who has an accident while driving late at night. The singer's car spins out of control and crashes, leading to the moment when the singer realizes that there is an afterlife waiting for him. He awakens in the ambulance, surrounded by bright white light, and he quickly understands that he has been given a second chance. He is lying in bed, reflecting on his regrets, and decides that he needs to live his life with more purpose.
The lyrics show a person's struggle to reconcile his past mistakes and his desire to make amends. The line "What have I to show except the promises I never kept?" suggests that the singer has not been living up to his potential. He realizes that he needs to take responsibility for his actions and start working towards a better future.
The chorus of the song reflects the singer's desire to live up to his potential and not disappoint those around him. The lines "I hope, that I will never let you down/I know, that this can be more than just/Flashing lights and sounds" suggest that the singer wants more from life than just material possessions and fleeting experiences. He wants to live an authentic life, one that reflects his core values and beliefs.
Line by Line Meaning
Late night, brakes lock, hear the tires squeal
In a moment of fear, I lose control of the vehicle and the brakes lock, causing a terrible sound.
Red light, can't stop, so I spin the wheel
I'm so afraid of stopping at the red light and being caught in a dangerous situation that I keep driving and turn the wheel too fast.
My world goes black before I feel an angel lift me up
I lose consciousness and have no idea what's happening until I feel a guardian angel picking me up from the accident site.
And I open bloodshot eyes into fluorescent white
I wake up in a hospital bed with blurry, bloodshot eyes in a bright white hospital room.
They flip the siren, hit the lights. Close the doors, and I am gone
The paramedics use the ambulance sirens, lights, and a stretcher to rush me out of the hospital quickly.
Now I lay here owing my life to a stranger, and I realize that empty words are not enough
I'm indebted to a stranger (the paramedics) for saving my life, which makes me realize that cliches and empty words are not enough to express my gratitude.
I'm left here with the question of just what have I to show except the promises I never kept?
I'm reflecting on my life and wondering what I've accomplished, given that I've made a lot of empty promises and failed to follow through on them.
I lie here shaking on this bed under the weight of my regrets
I'm deeply remorseful and upset about my past mistakes, and it's affecting me physically as I shake in my hospital bed.
I hope that I will never let you down
I vow to live my life in such a way that I won't disappoint others who have invested in me or believed in me.
I know, that this can be more than just flashing lights and sounds
I'm aware that life is about more than just flashy material possessions or superficial pleasures.
Look around and you'll see that at times it feels like no one really cares
Sometimes it seems like no one cares about you or your problems when you look around.
It gets me down, but I'm still gonna try to do what's right
Even though it's disheartening, I'm going to keep trying to do what's morally right and good.
I know that there's a difference between sleight of hand and giving everything you have
I understand that there's a distinction between doing something with deceit or trickery (sleight of hand) versus giving it your all and being honest.
There's a line drawn in the sand. I'm working up the will to cross it
There's a definitive boundary or limit that I need to go beyond, so I'm mustering the courage to step over it.
Rhetoric can't raise the dead. I'm sick of always talking when there's no change
Merely speaking persuasively or using fancy words won't bring back the dead, and I'm fed up with people who do nothing but talk without taking concrete action.
Rhetoric can't raise the dead. I'm sick of empty words. Let's lead, and not follow
I'm tired of meaningless words, and instead, I want to lead by example and make a positive impact on the world.
My world goes black before I feel an angel steal me from the greedy jaws of death and chance
Again, I lose consciousness, but this time it's an angelic savior who rescues me from an unpredictable fate.
And pull me in with steady hands. They've given me a second chance. The artist in the ambulance
The paramedics carefully pull me into the ambulance and give me another shot at life. They're like artists, delicately crafting a new tableau of my being.
Can we pick you off the ground? More than flashing lights and sounds
Can we help you up? There's more to life than superficial things like flashy lights and sounds.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Dustin Michael Kensrue, Edward Carrington Breckenridge, James Riley Breckenridge, Teppei Teranishi
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind