Vheissu - Thrice

Vheissu is Thrice's fourth studio cd and shows how much the band has changed from the first to this one. This cd has a totally different sound for Thrice, and shows the band has matured since The Artist in the Ambulance. Before this cd they were often lumbered with the emo tag next to their name, but this cd just blows away any bands that could be classed as emo. Thrice fans that enjoyed the heavy side of Thrice may not like this cd, but I feel this ...
...were sceptical about Thrice's less progressive side before this cd. Musically the cd has a lot more instruments than there would have been on any previous cd, with keyboards, violins and many other instruments. Lyrically the band have stepped it up a notch as well

The opening song on the cd "Image of the Invisible" gets the cd off to a great start and is probably the song that sounds the most like previous Thrice cd's. This ... more

Vheissu is Thrice's fourth studio cd and shows how much the band has changed from the first to this one. This cd has a totally different sound for Thrice, and shows the band has matured since The Artist in the Ambulance. Before this cd they were often lumbered with the emo tag next to their name, but this cd just blows away any bands that could be classed as emo. Thrice fans that enjoyed the heavy side of Thrice may not like this cd, but I feel this cd will also gain a lot more fans that maybe were sceptical about Thrice's less progressive side before this cd. Musically the cd has a lot more instruments than there would have been on any previous cd, with keyboards, violins and many other instruments. Lyrically the band have stepped it up a notch as well

The opening song on the cd "Image of the Invisible" gets the cd off to a great start and is probably the song that sounds the most like previous Thrice cd's. This song was the first single from the cd and was clearly picked with it being the most accessible song on the cd. From this the track onwards the cd only gets better. The second song on the cd "Between The End And Where We Lie" shows the more melodic sound to the band, and starts to show that the band have have to decided to experiment with this cd. A common feature of this cd is delayed guitar in the background and this creates a lot more depth to the songs compared to previous cds.

Personal favourite and third song on the cd "The Earth Will Shake" is the perfect mix of softer parts building up to much heavier parts. Also perfect mix of clean vocals and screaming. Best lyrics of this song are:

"We dream of ways to break these,
Iron bars.
We dream of black nights without,
Moon or stars.
We dream of tunnels and of,
Sleeping guards.
We dream of blackouts in the,
Prison yard."

Fourth song on the cd "Atlantic" is one of the most mellow songs on the cd and following on the from the opening 3 tracks this is another brilliant song. This is a quite relaxing song and is made relaxing by the amount of layers of sounds in the background, ie the delayed guitars.

Next song "For Miles" starts off with a totally different sound for Thrice, with the opening of the song being played on Piano and just Dustin singing over the top of it before the delayed guitar kicks in again. This song just builds up brilliantly till the heavier guitar kicks in and some impressive singing by Dustin. The song goes back to sounding softer before kicking into the heaviest part of the song where the vocals change to more harsher, screaming vocals. After the softness of the rest of the song these vocals fit in perfectly.

Sixth song on the cd "Hold Fast Hope" starts out heavy like Thrice are on the previous cds. This song has a good mix of old Thrice and the new more progressive sound they have now, with them suddenly going to a slower pace midway through the song before going back to the heavy sound. This song is yet another brilliant song. Next song on the cd "Music Box", as the title would suggest, this song begins with the sound of a music box which is yet another sound new to thrice's material. In what seems to be feature of the cd the verses are of a slow place and feature clean vocals whilst the chorus is a bit heavier.

"Like Moths To The Flame" starts out with a piano playing before kicking into the guitars. Like a lot of the songs on this cd, the lyrics are really good on this song. An example of this is:

"I've never been this cold,
The fire's gravity compels,
Like planets cling to Sol,
I feel my orbit start to fail,
Like moth to flame I come,
Too close and all my oaths are burned
As stars begin to run,
All my accusers take their turn,
And calling curses down.
From my lips lies like poison spill,
And then that awful sound,
The sound of prophesy fulfilled,
And then I met your eyes,
As I remember everything,
And something in me dies,
The night that I betrayed my king..."

The lyrics are a lot deeper than any of Thrices previous works. Another favourite on this cd is "Of Dust And Nations" which has a post-rock sound to it. This is where the delayed guitars really have a brilliant effect on the song. Best moment of the song being at 3:25 where the delayed guitars really kick in, creating a relaxing moment to the song. Would go as far to say that its the best moment of the cd, it really has to be heard to know how good this part is.

Following the brilliant previous song, is "Stand Up And Feel Your Worth". This song is a much slower song to the previous song. The song continues at this pace till midway through the song, then back to slow again. Until hear the end where Dustin does harsher, screaming vocals which fit in perfectly. The final song on the cd "Red Sky" is probably the softest song on the cd and most melodic. This is the perfect finish to the cd and like all the other songs on the cd is brilliant.

I'd recommend this cd to anyone thats into Rock or Hardcore, or it may even appeal to anyone into progressive rock. I'd urge any fans of Thrice that are maybe put off with their new sound to give this cd a chance. It's a brilliant cd, and hopefully Thrice can keep it up and continue to experiment with their sound. 

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