Album Review — Thrice

Thrice — The Artist In The Ambulance Revisited

We are seeing a lot of re-releases of albums, especially on major anniversaries. Many times they are just cash grabs but there are some good reasons to re-release an album. Adding a bunch of unreleased or live tracks is a great reason. Major personnel changes is another. But re-recording a record can be tricky. There are some pretty bad “re-imagined” albums out there, usually released because the singer can no longer hit those notes that they could when they were younger.

For the 20th Anniversary of “The Artist In The Ambulance” the band decided to re-record the entire album. This isn’t a “remaster” or “update”, these songs were recorded again from scratch. The band stays true to the original recordings but you can hear how the band has matured. The most noticeable difference is in the vocals. Dustin Kensrue’s vocals have changed a lot over the years. His voice has deepened and I think they have added a depth and strength to the album that wasn’t there before.

There is no “re-imagining” here. These songs are as heavy as they were the day this record was released. To be honest, I was expecting the band would change things up as their last couple of albums have been a bit more experimental. But they have stayed true to the original recordings from top to bottom.

Since there aren’t really any significant changes from the original recording there really isn’t a need to go track by track or even break down the songs. And there’s no reason to give the album a rating other than to say I like it better than the original, mostly due to Dustin’s updated vocals.

I’ll simply say that if you like heavy, aggressive but melodic hard rock you definitely need to check this record out. Thrice was lumped in with a lot of “Screamo” bands of the era but I think there’s a lot more to this band than many of those bands and it’s worth a listen if you haven’t heard them before.

I hope this record sets a new precedent on how to revisit and honor a past classic. Well done, gentlemen.

Track Listing

1. Cold Cash And Colder Hands *
2. Under The Killing Moon *
3. All That’s Left *
4. Silhouette *
5. Stare At The Sun *
6. Paper Tigers
7. Hood On Peregrine
8. The Melting Point Of Wax
9. Blood Clots And Black Holes
10. The Artist In The Ambulance *
11. The Abolition Of Man
12. Don’t Tell And We Won’t Ask

*Best Songs