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.
Red Telephone
Thrice Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Across the room: a red telephone.
Mouth was dry, I felt I’d been asleep for years.
I turned and I discovered then the sum of all my fears.
What have I become?
(Someone tell me that I’m dreaming!)
What have I become?
Through the glass, the clouds were dark and harbored rain;
The land below grey and vast.
And through the mist, I saw the fields were flush with graves,
And each headstone was etched with lies discrediting the brave.
Son, imitate death’s true face;
For who and what and why’d they have to die?
The lyrics of Thrice's song Red Telephone depict a person waking up alone in a mansion on a hill with a feeling as if they had been sleeping for years. The person discovers a red telephone across the room, and the room is dark and somber. The clouds outside are dark, and the land below is vast and grey. The person looks through the mist and discovers fields filled with graves, and every headstone is inscribed with lies discrediting the brave. The song goes on to suggest that the person must imitate the face of death because they are questioning who, what, and why did people die.
The song's lyrics can be interpreted to be about the consequences of war or the futility of human existence. The mansion on a hill can represent prosperity, but the emptiness inside can represent the lack of fulfillment. The red telephone can be interpreted as a call for help, representing the need for someone to explain the purpose of life or war. The graves, which have lies discrediting the brave inscribed on them, serve as a metaphor for the misguided reasons behind war.
Line by Line Meaning
I woke alone, in a mansion on a hill;
I found myself in a luxurious mansion, situated on the top of a hill, all by myself.
Across the room: a red telephone.
I noticed a red telephone which was situated at a distance from me.
Mouth was dry, I felt I’d been asleep for years.
I felt very thirsty and realized that I had been sleeping for a very long time.
I turned and I discovered then the sum of all my fears.
When I turned, I encountered the biggest fear of my life.
What have I become?
I wondered about my identity in that situation.
(Someone tell me that I’m dreaming!)
I asked someone to confirm whether I was living in reality or dreaming.
What have I become?
I repeated my question as I didn't find any answer.
(Someone wake me up!)
I requested someone to wake me up from that scary dream.
Through the glass, the clouds were dark and harbored rain;
When I looked through the glass window, I saw dark clouds signaling an upcoming storm.
The land below grey and vast.
The view of the ground outside was gloomy and immense.
And through the mist, I saw the fields were flush with graves,
I observed the graves in the fields, which were covered in mist.
And each headstone was etched with lies discrediting the brave.
To my surprise, the epitaph on each headstone was false and insufficient to glorify the deceased.
Son, imitate death’s true face;
It's a piece of advice to reflect the reality of death.
For who and what and why’d they have to die?
It's a question concerning the purpose and reason for the unfortunate deaths of those buried in the graves.
Contributed by Katherine F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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LYRICS:
I woke alone, in a mansion on a hill;
Across the room: a red telephone.
Mouth was dry, I felt I’d been asleep for years.
I turned and I discovered then the sum of all my fears.
What have I become?
(Someone tell me that I’m dreaming!)
What have I become?
(Someone wake me up!)
Through the glass, the clouds were dark and harbored rain;
The land below grey and vast.
And through the mist, I saw the fields were flush with graves,
And each headstone was etched with lies discrediting the brave.
Son, imitate death’s true face;
For who and what and why’d they have to die?
Someone wake me up!
Snvw
This album is still an absolute banger.
Jeff Ruffatto
Beggar*
Asher
Damn right
adformant
LYRICS:
I woke alone, in a mansion on a hill;
Across the room: a red telephone.
Mouth was dry, I felt I’d been asleep for years.
I turned and I discovered then the sum of all my fears.
What have I become?
(Someone tell me that I’m dreaming!)
What have I become?
(Someone wake me up!)
Through the glass, the clouds were dark and harbored rain;
The land below grey and vast.
And through the mist, I saw the fields were flush with graves,
And each headstone was etched with lies discrediting the brave.
Son, imitate death’s true face;
For who and what and why’d they have to die?
Someone wake me up!
Dabomb1237
Thoughts on the meaning, anyone?
pageperpage
Damn if they make an album from all B-sides i bet it would still be amazing
Dabomb1237
What a haunting and beautiful song.
Beezy Beez
Thrice is the best band ever! But you need to go listen to Whispering Wolf by SLT right now ! You’re missing out 🤘🐺🥁.-/.
86blueberrymuffins
this album changed my life in a positive way
Chase Skalon
These cats never get old. Been listening since it was cool to listen to music and go to warped tour haha