Thrice
The Artist In The Ambulance

THE REVIEW

Here is one of the greatest albums by Thrice: The Artist In The Ambulance. Yet another work for the Californian band, it showcases to the general public the artistic capacity of the "thrice" (this being the meaning of the band's name). The definition of their musical style can be among the broadest. The uninitiated would simply call it punk or hardcore, others still nu-metal. Well, admitting that in any case, I'm not great at distinguishing between musical genres, I will now move on to present my opinion on the matter.

Thrice, in my opinion, make emo metalcore. "What kind of word did this guy just invent?!" many of you will say. Emo metalcore, again according to my opinion (I hope to avoid some insults by saying it's just my thought), is the union between metalcore and emo. To put it briefly, metalcore is a fusion between the god of metal, which I hope everyone knows, and hardcore: the harder, faster, and meaner version of punk. But Thrice have a soft heart, an emo heart, which softens the classic harshness of metalcore and evokes emotions contrasting with it. This combination of harshness and kindness indeed creates an emotional vortex without limits. Listening to Thrice means losing oneself in a cruel world but one still full of immeasurable beauty. A pure beauty that is good and sweet only when it wants but that can also be deadly, like the moon in "Under a Killing Moon." This world is cruel, full of rage, and sometimes we have a good supply of it because it gives us the strength to survive in this crazy world. Rage that makes us burn and generates more rage, but it's enough to stop for a moment to look at the moon; yes, it is a deadly moon in a burning sky, but it's still beautiful, because despite everything we love this crazy world with its crazy rules, because it gives us strong emotions that make us feel alive.

Some would define all this very emo-core, I simply respond that you just need to listen to the rhythm that the drums give to most of the songs, the single pedal rhythm typical of hard-core, something an emo drummer would never do. Moreover, the album also has a moment of pure harshness, the very angry "Paper Tigers". After that, it returns to normal tracks alternating hard moments with more melodic ones, which in my opinion makes the music in general complete, because it's too easy to transfer only your sadness or joy into your songs, showing your anger or frustration too makes everything more real. The album, however, is a crescendo of emotions culminating in "The Artist In The Ambulance", the song that gives the album its name, capable of waking anyone from apathy, which personally (I still haven't figured out why) brings to mind the past and all the promises made and then broken, which makes you burn in your fire until you become ashes and then rise with new strength preparing for the grand finale of "The Abolition Of Man" and the indescribable "Don't Tell And We Don't Ask" a song that instead looks to the future.

What else to say about Thrice, (perhaps I've already said too much) I just wanted to remember that a percentage of the revenue from sales goes to charity like all their previous works, one more reason to get it.