Once again playing the part of the sole wordsmith, singer Dustin Kensrue delivers exactly what you've come to expect from him: dark and brooding lyrics that suit the music they accompany perfectly. It's not a terribly drastic change mind you, but worthy of note nonetheless. They certainly haven't ditched their hardcore fan base, as there are still plenty of kick-ass metal riffs to be found, but in this case, they've been implemented to serve the song rather than vice-versa. This makes for much more focused songs and a symbiotic feeling throughout the album as a whole. This time, however, they've opted to lean more towards the melodic and rely a little less on the hardcore. With The Artist in the Ambulance, their third full-length and first released on Island Records, Thrice continues to shell out the melodic hardcore with style and grace. To wit they've created a style of music that is not easily pigeonholed. With odd time signatures and furious guitar assaults trademarked and sinister vocals with pop melodies intact, Thrice is poised to create their own sub-genre in punk music (as if we needed more), and rightly so. Although those comparisons are accurate to a certain extent, they don't even come close to fully encapsulating what Thrice is about.
Or perhaps Megadeth bundled with Strung Out. Think Master of Puppets-era Metallica mixed with No Use For a Name. From the moment I put the cd into my player, I was amazed at the seamless blending of heavy metal and pop punk. My introduction to Thrice was by way of their critically acclaimed sophomore effort, The Illusion of Safety.