Song: "The Arsonist"
Artist: Thrice
Album: "The Alchemy Index: Vols. I & II - Fire & Water"
Year: 2007
"The Arsonist" appears to be a song about how someone is so sick and disgusted at how his city has seemed to almost decay before his very eyes. He just wants to take a match and gasoline to his city to burn it to the ground and rebuild it in the image he remembers. He doesn't hate the city, in fact, he loves it. He loves the foundation of it. He just hates what it's become and wants it to be like it once was. Thrice formed as a band back in 1998. It was a creation of two high school classmates, Dustin Kensrue (guitars/vocals) and Teppei Teranishi (guitars). After rounding out the line-up, the band self released their first EP, "First Impressions", in 1999. In 2000, Thrice released their very first full length album, "Identity Crisis". 2002 saw the release "The Illusion Of Safety". This album saw Thrice go out on their very first headlining tour as well as several other tours supporting such acts as Further Seems Forever, Face To Face and Hot Water Music. The band also would sign with Island Records at this time. Thrice released their major label debut with Island in 2003. "The Artist In The Ambulance" saw Thrice gain an even bigger level of success, thanks in parts to the singles "All That's Left" and "Stare At The Sun". In 2004, Thrice released the cd/dvd "If We Could Only See Us Now" which featured various b-sides from "The Artist In The Ambulance". At this point in Thrice's musical career, they heavily leaned on almost a hardcore/punk style featuring heavy guitars and faster melodies. When it was time to release 2005's "Vheissu", the band decided it wanted to shift musically and lyrically, using more instrumentation as well as using biblical and spiritual lyrical themes. Their shift in style definitely shows through songs such as "Image Of The Invisible" and "Red Sky". Before embarking on their next project, Thrice decided to leave Island Records and sign with Vagrant Records. Their next two albums were a concept of sorts. All the songs were based around four elements, fire, water, earth and air. This project was called "The Alchemy Index". The first two volumes, "Fire & Water" was released in 2007 while the next two volumes, "Earth & Air" would be released in 2008. "The Alchemy Index: Vols. I & II - Fire & Water" peaked at number five on iTunes top selling albums at the time. The band also released a live cd/dvd called "Live At The House Of Blues" in 2008 as well. For the band's next album, 2009's "Beggars", they made it a point to feature more upbeat and energetic music as they felt "The Alchemy Index" had a somewhat sleepy feel to them. In 2011, Thrice released "Major/Minor". It was after this album that Thrice announced that they would be going on an indefinite hiatus. Lead vocalist Dustin Kensrue has stated that the band has not broken up, but that they needed a break from being a full time band. Before going on this hiatus however, the band embarked on a "farewell" tour in 2012. The would also release a live album entitled "Anthology" which documented the tour and was like a gift to their faithful fan base. Kensrue's life has become more and more dedicated to his spiritual side, as he and his wife would move up to Washington State, where Kensrue would become the worship leader of the Mars Hill Church. He also has a new band up there called The Modern Post, which plays spiritual based music. Even with Thrice, Kensrue's lyrics began focusing more on faith so it's no surprise he has gone in this direction. Currently, there is nothing new to report on Thrice. The only hope is that the band members have not officially said that the band is no more. Hopefully, somewhere down the line, Thrice decides to resurface and take the musical world by storm again as they were a really top notch band. Keep your fingers crossed!!
No comments:
Post a Comment