Full Review: Thrice - The Alchemy Index Vols. 3 & 4

Posted on April 10th, 2008 by Tyler, under Full Reviews.

The Alchemy Index is Thrice’s attempt to capture the 4 elements and recreate them musically. The feat is one that sounds almost ridiculous, but amazingly it works. There will be 4 EP’s in total [Fire, Water, Earth, Air] which will be split and combined into two albums, the 2nd of which is Vols. 3 & 4 [Air and Earth].

‘Air’ starts with “Broken Lungs” which is one of the best songs on all four Vols. and arguably one of Thrice’s most powerful they’ve ever written. The track contains brilliant lyrics about the Sept. 11th attacks and the misguided and complacent action we’ve taken since then. “Broken Lungs” is one of the furthest songs from resembling any element but it needed to fit on one of the records and by process of elimination, ‘Air’ was the best fit.

“A Song For Milly Michaelson” begins with a monotone and monotonous guitar that lasts the entire song. The story being told takes over though and by the half way point you’ve forgotten about the guitar as Dustin kensrue’s soft vocals have taken your focus. Your interest now lies on the melody which revolves around “…I love the night, flying over these city lights, but I love you most of all”.

The theme of air as an element is found in the music (vaguely) as well as the the lyrics which all mention something that has to do with the spacial element such as flying, sky, height, breathing, etc.

The first disc concludes with “Silver Wings” and is sure to be a fan favorite. A drum loop and deep bass lay the foundation for airy, layered vocals that float on top of the music giving the feeling of flight.

‘Earth’ is raw and doesn’t hide it. If you listen carefully you can hear feet tapping, and chairs squeaking throughout the 6 songs. “Digging My Own Grave” talks about the ways in which we’re killing ourselves slowly both physically and spiritually with things we know will hurt us such as over drinking and affairs. The song, while interesting lyrically, does drag a bit during the chorus and is one of my least favorites.

There is a lot of piano on ‘Earth’ as well as other (rare to Thrice) instruments that make the disc almost wholly acoustic. “Come All You Weary” is the only track to contain a non acoustic instrument on ‘Earth’ which is an amazing electric guitar riff. Even though the song is very simple with much focus laying on the line “Come all you weary…”, its still able to hold your attention and makes good use of the full drum kit.

Like “Silver Wings”,  “Child of Dust” contains group vocals but with a much hollower effect. A lonely piano and organ make up the music until the bottom drops out in which it feels like you’ve been placed in a coffin. You then begin to feel as if you’ve just been buried as the vocals keep singing and fade away. The end is effective but nevertheless very eerie.

Overall Vols. 3 & 4 out does Vols. 1 & 2 but together they make up an amazing collection of songs. Thrice is one of the few bands could have pulled this off with as much success as they did. These truly are must own CD’s.

Track Listing
Vol III: Air
1. “Broken Lungs”
2. “The Sky Is Falling”
3. “A Song for Milly Michaelson”
4. “Daedalus”
5. “As the Crow Flies”
6. “Silver Wings”

Vol IV: Earth
1. “Moving Mountains”
2. “Digging My Own Grave”
3. “The Earth Isn’t Humming”
4. “The Lion and the Wolf”
5. “Come All You Weary”
6. “Child of Dust”

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Buy ‘The Alchemy Index: Vol. 3 & 4′ for $10.68 on Amazon.com