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.
Blur
Thrice Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I am lost, waylaid, in light trails
Endless moments, overlaid and burned across
A melee of scattered braille
This image is, a night-terror transforming
Without the hope of morning
My nemesis, I feel it coming for me
And it means to destroy me
Why does this keep happening?
I try to close my eyes but I can't blink
And the world keeps moving on
Black and white blur into one
Hieroglyphic, indecipherable, opaque
The meaning escapes me
Dry and lidless are my eyes
Asleep, awake, reading the slurred debris
This image is, a night-terror transforming
Without the hope of morning
My nemesis, I feel it coming for me
And it means to destroy me
Why does this keep happening?
I try to close my eyes but I can't blink
And the world keeps moving on
Black and white blur into
Why does this keep happening?
I try to close my eyes but I can't blink
And the world keeps moving on
Black and white blur into one
In "Blur," Thrice paints a vivid picture of a recurring nightmare that haunts the singer, leaving them waylaid in a world of light trails and endless moments. The shutter opens, but never closes, and the resulting images are a melee of scattered braille that feels indecipherable and opaque. The lyrics suggest that the nightmare represents a threat, a nemesis that is coming for the singer, and it means to destroy them. They try to close their eyes and escape, but the world keeps moving on, and black and white blur into one. Ultimately, the singer is left feeling lost and helpless, their eyes "dry and lidless," unable to find any hope of relief or escape.
Thrice has always been known for their deep, introspective lyricism, and "Blur" is no exception. The song explores themes of anxiety, the passage of time, and the feeling of being trapped in a perpetual, never-ending cycle. The recurring nightmare that the singer experiences is a metaphor for these anxieties, and the lyrics suggest that it is a constant threat that haunts them day in and day out. Despite their efforts to escape, they are unable to do so, and are left feeling trapped and lost in a world that seems to be moving on without them.
One of the most interesting aspects of "Blur" is the way that Thrice uses imagery and wordplay to create a sense of disorientation and confusion. The light trails, scattered braille, and slurred debris all contribute to a feeling of opacity and indecipherability. The imagery suggests that the singer is unable to make sense of the world around them, even as they try desperately to do so. The use of black and white, too, is an important element, as it suggests a lack of clarity and a merging of extremes.
Overall, "Blur" is a haunting and powerful song that explores themes of anxiety, disorientation, and the feeling of being trapped in a never-ending cycle. Its vivid imagery and poetic lyricism make it one of Thrice's most powerful tracks, and it continues to resonate with listeners to this day.
Line by Line Meaning
The shutter opens but never closes
I am constantly exposed to the world without any respite, leading me to feel vulnerable and overwhelmed
I am lost, waylaid, in light trails
I am lost and directionless, caught in a labyrinth of light trails that obscure my path
Endless moments, overlaid and burned across
My experiences feel never-ending, seared into my memory with no escape
A melee of scattered braille
My experiences are chaotic and disordered, making it difficult for me to make sense of them
This image is, a night-terror transforming
The image in my mind is a terrifying nightmare that continues to haunt me
Without the hope of morning
There seems to be no relief from my suffering, leaving me without hope
My nemesis, I feel it coming for me
I feel a looming threat that seeks to harm and destroy me
And it means to destroy me
The threat is intent on my destruction and there is nothing I can do to stop it
Why does this keep happening?
I am haunted by the repetition of this experience and feel powerless to change it
I try to close my eyes but I can't blink
I am unable to escape or shut out the world, no matter how hard I try
And the world keeps moving on
Despite my struggles, the world continues to move forward and leave me behind
Black and white blur into one
The boundaries between good and bad, hope and despair, become indistinguishable and meaningless
Hieroglyphic, indecipherable, opaque
My experiences are like mysterious symbols that I cannot understand or interpret
The meaning escapes me
No matter how hard I try, the true meaning of my experiences remains elusive
Dry and lidless are my eyes
I am emotionally drained and feel like I have no more tears to cry
Asleep, awake, reading the slurred debris
I am constantly aware of my struggles, whether I am asleep or awake, and am forced to confront the wreckage of my experiences
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing
Written by: DUSTIN MICHAEL KENSRUE, EDWARD CARRINGTON BRECKENRIDGE, JAMES RILEY BRECKENRIDGE, TERANISHI TEPPEI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
innerspace
this album is seriously underrated
UnHolySubaru
Agreed.
Colgang13
Great song