Listening to this album right now, I’m not sure if the opportunity to review it is a curse or a blessing. ‘The Illusion Of Safety’ is an absolute sucker punch of a record. A living, breathing entity full of intelligence, originality, creativity and immense talent. It is very rare to find an album by a band that have carefully constructed their own sound and also manage to assault the senses throughout thirteen tracks of mind blowing aural delirium. If their debut LP ‘Identity Crisis’ established them as a force to be reckoned with within the punk/hardcore/speed metal/that-sub-genre-without-a-name-created-for-bands-who-amalgamate-numerous-styles-in-one community, ‘The Illusion Of Safety’, by rights, should be the musical eruption that propels them into the stratosphere of both main stream adulation and cult worship.
So where do I start? From the insect like drone, crunching chord repetition and schizophrenic roar of Dustin Kensrue that signals opener ‘Kill Me Quickly’ to the sprawling breakdown of ‘The Beltsville Crucible’, the listener is hooked like a fish fighting against the riptides of melody. ‘A Subtle Dagger’ is just under two minutes of passionate hardcore with more switches in time signatures than most bands in this vein manage to squeeze into 45 minutes of music. Dustin switches from coarse, emotional screaming to beautiful falsetto vocals in one fluid motion and the guitar work is phenomenal.
Usually when I’m reviewing a CD, I attempt to compare the said band to similar artists, but with Thrice, this is extremely difficult! While at times they bring to mind Thursday, The Beautiful Mistake and From Autumn To Ashes, the finished product is so much more accomplished than any of these bands. ‘Deadbolt’ in particular is possibly one of the greatest songs I’ve heard in many years, never mind a contender for album track of 2002. Yet again, the lead guitar sounds like it was made purely for the hands of Teppei Teranishi. Thrice literally ooze musical talent and invention, and the gliding piano at the end of the track is both beautiful and ominous, as well as sealing the song perfectly.
Every member of the band seem in utter harmony with each other, and is evident in the fantastically unnerving time changes in the songs. Sometimes bordering on math rock, but without sounding like they are experimenting with time signatures simply for the sake of it, songs like ‘To Awake and Avenge The Dead’ are enriched by the switches from furious punk drumming and breakneck riffing to chugging, metallic sections.
As well as the magnificent ‘Deadbolt’, there are two other stand out tracks on this record. ‘See You In The Shallows’ is an outstanding slab of emotion charged punk rock interspersed with Dustin’s almost pop star style vocals. The contrast is as effective as it is intentional. Yet again, the drum work is perfect, and this is also apparent on the anger fuelled ‘Betrayal Is A Symptom’. Jagged melodies collide with an abrasive hardcore sound which brings to mind the spectacular Killswitch Engage.
Finally, and by no means lacking in effect or importance on the record, are the sometimes bafflingly intricate lyrics contained within. Whether snarled or whispered, Dustin’s beautifully crafted words of wisdom are a joy to behold. I can’t think of any band that can carry such intelligent subject matter, spoken so eloquently without appearing pretentious and ridiculous. Like a true wordsmith, his words are inspiring and interesting, and certainly don’t sound like they are simply thrown in to make the band appear high brow above their often puerile and one dimensional peers.
This review can’t possibly do this record justice. The only way to experience the magnificent anomaly of Thrice is to listen to the music. I haven’t even begun to mention the dazzling guitar solo’s and layering of instruments on ‘The Red Death’ or the Glassjaw-esque wonders of ‘Trust’, never mind the technical punk energy contained within ‘So Strange I Remember You’.
In complete contrast to the lyrics of Thrice‘s songs, words are simply not enough. Go out and buy this record now, and while you are there, do your friends a favour and order them a copy as well. Then get them to buy their friends a copy. And then get their friends to buy their friends a copy for their friends. In today’s musical climate, an album like this is comparable to a canteen full of water in a crowd of thirsty desert travellers. An absolute godsend.
Ross