ATP! Album Review: Thrice - Anthology

Orange County rockers Thrice may be going on hiatus, but Dustin Kensrue and his gang of musically malleable misanthropes aren’t going to go out without a fight; and their second live album, taken from their farewell tour is the perfect send off for a band that promises that they’ll be back...just not yet.

To say that Thrice have come a long way from their debut album "Identity Crisis" is a severe understatement; the way that the band both writes and performs has been something they have challenged themselves through experimentation, and although it’s hard to picture ‘Image Of The Invisible’ on that album, the fact that it came from the same band is a testament to the legacy Thrice have created for themselves on modern rock. The evolution of their performance is clear as day in this live album too - it’s rare that such power and passion for music is caught so succinctly on a live album, and yet, from start to finish, it’s obvious that every member of Thrice is giving it their all, putting their heart and soul into every song, every riff, every note. Riley Breckenridge, the band’s drummer, stated about this album that it is "a live record that is truly live", and it’s hard to put it more succinctly than that. The band left the recordings alone and they stand proudly on the back-end of Thrice’s career to this point.

Even the aspects of live albums which usually cause a cringe only serve to add more emotion to the mix. When the audience sing along in ‘The Artist In The Ambulance’, it’s like the world is singing along, the participation fits perfectly where on other live albums it often feels like it’s been forced in to show how great a time the audience are having. On "Anthology", it’s clear that the crowd are eating up every word, and with a powerhouse of show like this, why the hell wouldn’t they be?

5/5

Edward Strickson

"Anthology" will be released on October 30th through Staple Records.