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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thrice Are In A League Of Their Own., February 27, 2005
Like many other albums with staying power, Thrice's third full-length release, "The Artist In The Ambulance," takes some time to fully understand and appreciate it as the amazing body of work it is. Thrice are easily one of the most original bands making music out there today. Although they seem to be, unfortunately, lumped in with the emo explosion, they are more about fusing melody with classic hardcore and heavy metal influences. Frontman Dustin Kensrue's empowering words are emphasized by his confident and obviously well-trained vocals. This album is all about the lyrics, and most of what is presented here is of a positive and uplifting nature. Teppei Teranishi is fastly becoming one of my favorite guitarists. He can definitely hang with the best of them and really gives Thrice their signature sound. Everyone who knows of Thrice are more than likely familiar with the two singles, "All That's Left" and "Stare At The Sun." The former is a fast-paced anthem, while the latter is a more somber, emotionally charged piece, being one of the many bright spots of the album (and is, incidentally, my favorite of the bunch). The rest of the songs all pretty much fit somewhere in the middle, with the highlights being "Paper Tigers," "Under A Killing Moon," "Don't Tell and We Won't Ask" and the title track. With this album, Thrice have created their best music yet, and have evolved a bit since "The Illusion Of Safety" and "Identity Crisis." It is also their first major label release, and surprisingly, they come out of everything with integrity intact. Everything you love about heavy music is here. If you like intelligence with your metal, Thrice will be right up your alley. Expect big things for them with their next album, they are too good to be overlooked.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thrice triumphs once again, September 19, 2003
Thrice have proven themselves to be one of the most promising new bands out there today. Their unique blend of emo/hardcore and Maidenesque metal is always compelling, and never disappoints. After being completely bowled over by their last release, "The Illusion of Safety", I wondered if they could ever top such an immaculate collection of music. Well, with "The Artist in the Ambulance", Thrice may very well have done that very thing.I have noticed that many have accused Thrice of "selling out". They have joined Island records, and as such are no longer "indie", and that combined with their recent break into the mainstream has led many to shun them, and dismiss this album as a sellout. However, this is nothing but a short-sighted, narrow-minded jump to conclusions, and couldn't be further from the truth. First of all, who cares how "indie" something is? Since when does a band have to be "indie" to be good? One listen to this CD will surely confirm that Thrice have stuck to their guns, and haven't compromised their creativity a bit. Rather than dumbing their music down to the mainstream (as many may have expected), they have developed and refined it, and it's only made them better. The guitar work is even tighter than before, Riley's drumming is even more interesting and complex, and Eddie is coming along nicely as a bassist. But if anybody really stands out, it's Dustin. As good as his vocals were before, they're even more amazing now. His clean vocals are smoother, and his screams more aggressive. The power and raw emotion that has always heavily manifested itself in their music has been increased tenfold here. From the slow crunching riffs of "Silouette" to the rapid-fire attack of "Under a Killing Moon", to the lighter catchiness of the title track, every song hits like a ton of bricks. And, those complex rhythms in "Paper Tigers" will assure you that these guys are far more than some "whiny emo band". It's a bit difficult to describe the songs here, or on any Thrice album, because one of the most interesting characteristics of their music is that they can pack such a large amount of diversity into a 2-3 minute song. There's so much going on that you can barely even comprehend it, leaving you to merely sit in inferior awe. I really can't even begin to describe how fantastic this album is. You've just gotta hear it yourself. With the possible exception of Maiden's "Dance of Death", I have not heard a better album this year. Thrice are true artists, whose genius should set the standard for popular music as we know it. They deserve every ounce of recognition they get.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best music that Thrice has written so far, August 26, 2003
Anyone who enjoyed the earlier Thrice releases will also enjoy this one as well. It seems to have a much harder edge to it than the previous releases. With songs such as "Paper Tigers" and "Silhouette", you not only get to hear the amazing guitar timing, but you also get to experience Thrice's power. The vocals in these two tracks are structured very differently than other tracks on the disc. "Paper Tigers" is brutal as far as Thrice goes, and it's easily one of my favorite songs on the disc. "Stare at the Sun", another well writen song, has a winding bassline that keeps the listener tuned in while the guitars bounce off each other perfectly to create a very catchy song with great lyrics. "All That's Left" and the opening track, "Cold Cash And Colder Hearts" are also very catchy. "The Artist In The Ambulance" is probably my favorite track, just because of the lyrics, and the delivery. It's an extremely well written song, and it's not the kind of song that you stop listening to as the CD gets older... Then again, I really can't see this CD getting old, highly recommended to anyone who likes Thrice, or other similar bands. I could go on and on about the rest of the CD, and the percussion, vocals, riffs etc. but I believe there are enough other reviews out there for this CD that do a better job than mine.
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