You won't regret it. Tracks like Silhouette, Paper Tigers, and Under A Killing Moon are unreal. It's a little bit jarring going back to their earlier albums IMO due to the rawer production and vocals, but the instrumentals are on fire. Just listened to Identity Crisis, Illusion of Safety and The Artist In The Ambulance this afternoon and completely forgot how many buried treasures are hidden in those early albums.
You guys just made me go back to that record now, and fuck, Paper Tigers final is one hell of a climax. But my favorite from that record remains "The abolition of man". I cannot stress enough how much I dig that track.
I still haven't checked out any other albums besides The Alchemy Index yet, but I've been listening to a lot of songs from each album on YouTube. What I've found is that I'm liking Post-Vheissu Thrice a lot better than Pre-Vheissu Thrice. I'm probably going to check out Beggars and Major/Minor soon enough.
I don't really like the new track or, anything, really, I've heard from these guys, except for "Digital Sea", which is fucking mindblowing. Has almost a Radiohead vibe. Do they have more electronic stuff like that? EDIT: I wanna say I haven't heard much from them, though. So, don't think I dislike them or anything. I wouldn't mind an album recommendation.
If you like Digital Sea, you might dig the whole "Water" EP. There were four of those EP (Water, Air, Earth, Fire), each of them having a very distinct sound. The "Water" one had that electronic, moody vibe. But actually, I'd recommend the four EP, as they really showcase the band's diversity Otherwise, their album "Vheissu" would be my definitive pick.
Pre-Vheissu Thrice is definitely more raw/garageband in a sense, but they knew how to fucking jam. What kills the early albums for me is Dustin's whinier vocals, whereas I find Post-Vheissu his voice finally matured and became that rugged, timbered sound. If Blood On The Sand is any indication, his vocals are only getting better with time.
That'll sound dumb, but I've sometimes had the idea that Dustin voice and... Chester voice have somewhat followed an opposite pattern. While Chester used to had that grit back then, his agressive singing has become more and more nasal and "flat". While as for Dustin, it's like the exact opposite.
This is actually the exact reason why I can't get into the early stuff. While musically, the stuff is great, the vocals are so clean and whiny, that it really turns me off from those albums. There's no grit in his voice.
I agree, though really only more on a live basis, as I still think Chester nails aggression in the studio, but that's neither here nor there. Listen to Dustin's live cover of Miley Cyrus' Wrecking Ball for example. The idea sounds absolutely ridiculous but the execution is incredible due to the power in his voice.
Dustin's talent is unreal. His voice gives me the chills. I agree that he sounded kinda whiney back then, but for me it doesn't really take away from the music. Instrumentally their old stuff is superb. His singing voice matured and improved A LOT though. I really like this "newer" acoustic performance of Artist In The Ambulance. It really shows how much more powerful he sounds nowadays. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlptttDEyBA
The entire album front to back is incredible. Not one bad song. I always viewed this album like an A Thousand Suns or Kid A for this band.
So I'm listening to Vheissu for the first time, and I'm getting the same vibes as when I listened to Underoath's Ø (Disambiguation). The tones are very similar and that's a good thing IMO.
Thrice just premiered another song from their upcoming album. This sounds massive http://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2016/04/27/475764110/vikings-choice-thrice-black-honey
Such a gloomy track! If these are the singles then I can't wait to hear the deep hits in the album! If Derek's interview on Altwire with Riley was anything to go by, Salt And Shadow should be absolutely incredible.
I must say, I'm really digging how politically charged, and socially conscious these two songs have been. Blood On The Sand is very obviously about the refuge crisis, and Black Honey seems to be a critque of America's foreign policy. I really dig them.