365 project;"we dream of ways to break these iron bars. we dream of black nights without moon or stars"

36.

artist:thrice
album:vheissu

oh, look. another album from 2005. i guess i wasn't hiding under a rock, eh?

when i picked up this CD, i was still just a casual Thrice fan. id seen them a few times, had a few of their albums, but they were still just kind of on my musical peripheral. picking up vheissu was the beginning of a new appreciation for this band.

when i got the CD, i was driving the taurus. it didn't have a proper CD player, so i had a portable CD player hooked up to the stereo through the tape deck. that really has no bearing on the rest of the story at all, but i felt the need to share that with you anyway. anyway, i don't remember where i got this CD, though I'm thinking it was best buy, but i do remember coming out to the parking lot and having the shrinkwrap off before i even got into the car. i drove home listening and wasn't sure really what to make of this album.

i remember thinking that the screaming was a real turn-off, though it also knew to expect it. i mean heck, this is thrice here. there's bound to be some screaming. but i also knew that i LOVED the lyrics that i could make out and the songs that were not quite so abrasive. i specifically remember thinking how fantastic the songs music box and red sky were.

i can also remember pulling up into the driveway of my house, parking under the big tree that no longer exists, and pulling out the CD book to look through it. i was absolutely enamoured with the things that i found inside the liner notes. if you ever want to get into an artist's head, pick up a thrice album and read through the booklet. i knew that by reading those little blurbs for each song i was falling head over heels in love with this band.

even after realizing how much potential there was for me to love these guys, i didn't really listen to this album much after that initial meeting. i didn't really know how to classify it in my little system, so it literally just sat on the shelf and waited for a day when id appreciate the album.

it took a few years, but that day did come. i saw thrice play a gig with brand new a few years back. they were touring on the alchemy index stuff, but beggars wasn't too far out from being released. mixed in between all of these newer songs they played a few off of vheissu that i recognized and realized that i needed to go home and hear again. so i did. i came home after the show that night (for the record, thrice had AMAZING lights on this tour. hopefully ill remember to talk about that when i get around to the alchemy index stuff.) and pulled vheissu out. it was like i was hearing the album again for the first time. i finally "got it."

i don't normally name thrice when I'm listing off my favorite bands, but i probably should. lyrically, musically, spiritually and from an entertainment standpoint this band has everything that i could ever ask for.

(2/5)