Song Of The Week: 2/5/12

Song: "Red Sky"

Artist: Thrice

Album: "Vheissu"

Year: 2005



On the surface, "Red Sky" literally appears to be about being out at sea on a ship with an impending storm approaching. The storm is so bad that you sense the ship and all that are on it are going to be swallowed by the sea. On another level, the song appears to be about how powerful mother nature is and how fragile human life is. It's damn near impossible to harness mother nature. When she is at her most extreme and most intense, we are just mere pawns in her game. She can swallow us in her sea or her dirt and our bodies just become a part of her in death. Thrice formed as a band back in 1998, hailing from California. In 1999, they self released their first EP entitled "First Impressions". This would lead to them earning a record deal and making their debut album, 2001's "Identity Crisis". Thrice would establish themselves in the early 2000's as a punk/post hardcore band with songs that were fast and aggressive yet not sacrificing a good melody. With the release of 2002's "The Illusion Of Safety" and 2003's "The Artist In The Ambulance", Thrice established themselves as headliner material and a top notch band. In 2005, the band decided to change their style up a bit and became much more experimental. This style is shown most on their 2005 release "Vheissu" and their ambitious concept efforts, 2007's "The Alchemy Index Vol. 1 + 2" and 2008's "The Alchemy Index Vol. 3 + 4". When it came time to record their next album, the band decided they wanted to kind of get back to their roots a little bit and make a more upbeat album. That album would turn out to be "Beggars" which was released in 2009. In 2011, the band released their seventh studio album entitled "Major/Minor". Thrice is a very active band. In twelve years from 1999 to 2011, they have released seven full length studio albums, five EP's, two compilations, and one live cd/dvd all while touring extensively. Lead singer Dustin Kensrue even found time among all that to record a solo album and do some solo tours as well. Currently, their were some rumors as to Thrice possibly going on a hiatus in 2012, but Kensrue was quick to point out that the band was not breaking up, just taking a break, probably for the first time since the band's inception. The band, however has just signed on for a Spring/Summer tour which is slated to begin in May of 2012 so there will be no signs of a hiatus anytime soon I guess.