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.
Blood Clots And Black Holes
Thrice Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Shoot it in the left eye
Feel it on the right side
No it's not love
Though it sets up shop behind your cage
Building blood clots and black holes
Like using an ax to pull a sliver from your skin
An overdose of oxygen
A severed head
As sedative
To be at peace would be a sin
And surely un-american
I'm breaking
Here's your new blood
Transfusion took us all night
Tell us that you're all right
No it's not love
Though it feels like fire inside of your veins
Burning right beneath the wrist
Begging for a razor's kiss
To free it from your skin
And they say this is medicine
An overdose of oxygen
A severed head
As sedative
To be at peace would be a sin
And surely un-american
I'm breaking down
Down
Down
Down
I'm breaking down
Lift the veil, its not medicine
And my heart fails, time and time again
The lyrics to Thrice's song Blood Clots And Black Holes are evocative and poignant, exploring the theme of addiction and the effects of drugs on the human body and mind. The first verse sets the tone for the song, with the lyrics "Here's your new drug, shoot it in the left eye, feel it on the right side". These lyrics are an indictment of the way drugs can take hold of a person's life and consume them completely. The line "no it's not love, though it sets up shop behind your cage" is particularly powerful, as it speaks to the way addiction can become a kind of prison or cage for the person suffering from it.
The chorus of the song is equally intense, with lyrics that describe the way drugs can cause physical harm to the body, such as "building blood clots and black holes, like using an ax to pull a sliver from your skin". The imagery here is vivid and unsettling, driving home the idea that drugs can do serious harm to a person's health and well-being. The lines "to be at peace would be a sin, and surely un-American" are a social commentary on the way addiction is often seen as a moral failing, rather than a medical or psychological issue.
The second verse of the song is similarly powerful, describing the way drugs can feel like a kind of fire burning inside a person's veins. The line "begging for a razor's kiss to free it from your skin" is an allusion to self-harm, and speaks to the way addiction can push a person to the brink of self-destruction. The chorus is repeated again in the second half of the song, with the addition of the powerful lines "lift the veil, it's not medicine, and my heart fails, time and time again". These lines summarize the central idea of the song, which is that drugs are not a cure for the pain and struggles of life, but rather a dangerous and destructive temptation that can only lead to more suffering.
Line by Line Meaning
Here's your new drug
Introducing an addictive substance that will provide temporary relief
Shoot it in the left eye
Ingest the substance through an extreme and dangerous method
Feel it on the right side
Experience the immediate effects, but feel the long-term consequences later
No it's not love
Clarifying that the substance is not a genuine emotion or feeling
Though it sets up shop behind your cage
Acknowledging that the substance becomes a permanent fixture in your life
Building blood clots and black holes
Describing the negative impact on the body and mind
Like using an ax to pull a sliver from your skin
Comparing the extreme and damaging approach to solving a minor issue
And they say this is medicine
Questioning the legitimacy of the substance as a cure or treatment
An overdose of oxygen
Suggesting that the substance is not natural or beneficial
A severed head
Using hyperbole to describe the dangerous and extreme nature of the substance
As sedative
Implying that the substance will bring temporary relief and relaxation
To be at peace would be a sin
Suggesting that society sees comfort and relaxation as negative traits
And surely un-american
Highlighting the pressure to conform to societal norms and values
I'm breaking
Admitting that the substance is causing harm and taking control
Here's your new blood
Introducing a new substance that will replace the previous one
Transfusion took us all night
Describing the time and effort required to switch to a new substance
Tell us that you're all right
Encouraging the idea that the new substance is better and safer than the previous one
Though it feels like fire inside of your veins
Acknowledging that the new substance is still addictive and dangerous
Burning right beneath the wrist
Describing the physical sensation caused by the new substance
Begging for a razor's kiss
Highlighting the self-destructive and dangerous nature of addiction
To free it from your skin
Desiring release from the harmful substance
Lift the veil, its not medicine
Revelation that both substances are not actually beneficial or healing
And my heart fails, time and time again
Admitting that addiction and harmful substances will continue to cause damage and harm
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DUSTIN MICHAEL KENSRUE, EDWARD CARRINGTON BRECKENRIDGE, JAMES RILEY BRECKENRIDGE, TEPPEI TERANISHI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Ron Batdorf
This sh*t still holds up. Amazing sounding record and killer playing by all parties
PokeKushKilla
my thoughts exactly. it was ahead of its time
Gottfried Gehberger
absolutely! for me it's an absolute classic of a song! together with Stare At The Sun, but that's probably because I've heard it so often while playing SSX3 :D
Katrina Winchester
Every time I listen to this song, I like the guitar riff even more.
Dan Snot
Everything from the drums to bass to guitar to his voice makes this a great song.
182 Avenged Bullets For 41 Motionless Roaches
The bass, the guitars, the drums
Just perfect! Oh my god
Katrina Winchester
This is great! Your guitarist is ripping it up. I love it, and so somber at the end of the riff...
Polilla
Thrice is the best
Márcio Fernandes
drums go hard
Befindox7
brings me back