So, I have been listening to Thrice since "The Illusion of Safety" (2003) and I have had the privilege of watching this band progress to where they are today. I am not sure what the overall view of "Vhiessu" was, but I enjoyed it immensely and I found it quite refreshing that Thrice was willing to change their sound and become a TRUE progressive rock band.

When I heard about this project, The Alchemy Index, I was not sure how Dustin and the gang would manage to incorporate the elements, but I must say, these first two volumes are fantastic.

I will start off with "Volume 1: Fire"

Each track is fast-paced and it is a sort of "time-travel" experience. In that, I mean, the blaring guitars, the quickness of percussion and Dustin's voice; you would think you were listening to early Thrice. Each song on the first volume paints the picture of fire really well and I must say it is my favorite of the two volumes. My favorite track is "Burn the Fleet" but all six tracks are amazing.

Next we have "Volume 2: Water"

Again, Dustin and company does a great job at creating the mood of being out to sea. Each song is free-flowing, much like the element of water. The songs are calm and soothing like the open ocean and you feel like you are out in the Atlantic stranded and waiting for help. It is just an amazing piece of art, it really is. For those who like comparisons, this volume is closer to what "Vheissu" was.

This was a fantastic effort put forth by Thrice and they have outdone themselves. They have set the standard for beautiful music yet again. I'm excited for the following two volumes that come out in the spring. I am confident that Thrice will once again, set the bar EVEN higher.

Now, I don't know what the normal Thrice fan is like. I'm into Isis, Red Sparrowes, Mastodon, and I'm also someone who thought that Artist In The Ambulance was waaaay heavier (and better) than Illusion of Safety...so that might make this review less useful for some fans.

These disks get better and better each time I listen. I feel this might be on its way to becoming my favorite. It took a few listens to get what Vhiessu was about, but before long, I realized how perfect that record was, and that it was my favorite of all their albums. I feel the same thing happening again. Fire is the blistering assault that should be pretty easier to digest for most Thrice fans. Water is more challenging for me, but it's really getting to me now. The Whaler and Kings On The Main, are blowing my mind. We'll see how it goes in a few weeks!

So, if you are ready to try something that is very different from their previous work, but still bears their stamp, I think you'll be rewarded. If that's not what you are after.....there is no doubt something else on the market for you to enjoy....

But seriously, buy this record. This is a band who is really forging ahead and doing amazing things. Buy it. Buy it. Buy it. It's very very good.

Cheers.

The boys of Thrice have allowed their fans to follow their progress from pop-punk high schoolers all the way to post-hardcore melodic artists. The fact that this album was recorded and produced by themselves shows that not only are they amazing musicians, but they are growing in their creative processes. Songs like "Firebreather" will recall of The Artist in The Ambulance whereas offerings such as "Digital Sea" are more along the lines of Vheissu and even beyond. It's not the same Thrice you may have listened to on Illusion of Safety, but if it was there would be no progression. And that seems to be what this first half of their four part concept-album is all about; progress in new directions. This is a solid album, worth listening to, even if just to pick up on the subtle wisdoms in Kensrue's ever-growing lyrical ability. Do yourself a favor: go get this Album!

First and foremost, I almost never give 5-star reviews, so 4-stars should make a statement in itself. The direction Thrice decided to go with this album should come as no surprise after seeing what they did with Vheissu and the critical acclaim the album received.

The first volume, "Fire" is more or less what you would expect it to sound like, yet it is not old school Thrice. The speedy rifs and breakdowns of earlier albums have been replaced by a heavier, muddy storm of sound. The vocals range from melodic and eerie to unsettling and haunting screams. Overall, fire offers a tasty spread of music.

Prior to hearing the album, I wasn't sure how "Water" might sound, but after listening to it, I can recognize the appeal. In truth, I was reminded a lot of Team Sleep (Chino from the Deftones side project). It's much a lighter and somber feel for Thrice, almost completely absent of the guitar sound that so many of their fan base hunger for; but nonetheless it is very, very good.

Thrice are dangerously close to establishing themselves as one of the most talented artists around today. The album provides options; so whether you feel like kicking someone in the face or simply staying inside on a rainy night, both are available. Definitely worth picking up.

There are generally two kinds of concept albums, ones in which there is an overlying lyrical concept where the songs are unrelated musically, and ones in which the music is an integral part of the lyrical concept/story and help drive it and unite the album as a cohesive whole. This album...is kind of neither. The theme of elements as a whole is obvious in the music and structuring of the album (separating them out into individual CDs), but in the end it comes off to me as a pretentious experiment that is focused on doing something different for the sake of it, instead of trying something different because of the way the music developed during the songwriting process. I can see Dustin Kensrue sitting the rest of the guys in Thrice down and telling them they are going to make an album around the four elements and purposefully force songs into those structures, instead of letting songs grow out of the concept. To me it sounds like they forced everything into boxes and limited themselves on this recording, instead of truly experimenting.

That said, this album is okay, but is hardly a masterpiece of a concept album, and hardly genius. Some people are already judging it a masterpiece even though only one half of the actual album is out. Some people also need to listen to more concept albums if they think this is a great one. I will reserve full judgment until the entire thing is out, but it's not looking good to me so far.

The theme of elements has already been done before (

by Atheist, for example, which is a fantastic album), so it's not entirely original, although the structuring of the album is a bit unique. I was very disappointed to find that each "volume" is really only an EP, so we're actually just getting one 50 minute album split into two CDs. In my opinion each element is too short. I think a full-length album for each element would have given them more room to explore all the possibilities within each theme, instead of just doing a couple snippets of each.

As for the music, I don't find it to be the same quality as their previous work. There are only two songs on each volume here that I really like, "The Messenger" and "The Arsonist" on Fire, and "Digital Sea" and "The Whaler" on Water. The rest are sub-par songs that have little depth due to the constraints the band put on themselves in segregating everything. Nice to experiment with, but a formula for great music? Well, I guess it depends on what you like. For me, it just equals filler and forgettable songs. When I don't like the music, it doesn't matter how good the lyrics are, the album as a whole doesn't grab my interest. I get what they are trying to do with the concept, I just don't think they executed it the best way they could. If they could have mixed the songs together somehow, with an overarcing story of some sort...man, they could probably do an excellent album with that.

If you didn't like "Vheissu," you will definitely not like this album. It sucks that in drastically changing their sound very quickly, that Thrice has turned their backs on a lot of the fans that made them big in the first place (and which allowed them the wherewithal to even experiment like this). But they can do what they want. I've enjoyed their material so far until this album. It has its moments, but it's too alienating at times. If you're going to change, bring more quality and meaning to your music and I'll stick with it.