Vheissu


Vheissu is the fourth studio album by American rock band Thrice. Released on October 18, 2005 through Island Records, the album spawned one charting single, "Image of the Invisible", which peaked at No. 24 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart.

Background

Following the release of The Illusion of Safety in 2002, the group were the subject of a major-label bidding war. They eventually signed to Island Records, who released The Artist in the Ambulance in 2003. Two of its singles, "All That's Left" and "Stare at the Sun", appeared on the Alternative Songs radio chart. The group toured for a year and a half to promote the album, however, they became exhausted from the touring, and took a month-long break in July 2004. During this break, the members used this time to write material and experiment with music separately. Drummer Riley Breckenridge said Brian McTernan, who had produced Artist, told the band to start writing as soon as they had finished recording Artist.
Following the break, the group spent eight-to-nine months in a home studio that they had built at guitarist Teppei Teranishi's house. A lot of the demos they had recorded were melodic, piano-focused songs, a change from their earlier hardcore punk/metal-influenced material. By February 2005, the group had stockpiled around 20 songs and were looking for a producer. Vocalist/guitarist Dustin Kensrue said they wanted someone who lacked a formula when producing heavier rock music. In addition, eight of the 20 songs had been incorporated into the group's live shows. Stop-gap release If We Could Only See Us Now, which featured outtakes and live recordings, appeared in March.

Recording

was done in mid-March with producer Steve Osborne. Breckenridge said they chose him because of his work with Doves and Placebo. The band wanted a new perspective on the song writing process from Osborne, whose past credits include many British rock and electronic hits. Osborne had not heard of the group or had any interest in the group's music scene prior to the sessions. According to Kensrue, they group hoped Osborne's "strength with mellower stuff" would aid them "explore that side of our music a little more." Recording took place at Bearsville Studios in Bearsville, New York between April and June 2005.
Breckenridge said that the studio was "so secluded and so cut off from everything... and it was really cool" to have a break from the distractions of their home lives. Breckenridge said the recording process was about "getting a collective feel" of the group and retaining their "live energy". The group took a brief break from the studio in late April to play The Bamboozle and Coachella festivals. Dave Schiffman was the main engineer for the sessions with assistance from Chris Laidlow and Jeff Gehlert. The recordings were mixed by Sean Beavan at The Pass Studios in Los Angeles, California with assistant engineer Zephyrus Sowers. They were then mastered by Brian Gardner at Bernie Grundman Mastering in Los Angeles.

Composition

Overview

Kensrue found the phrase Vheissu in the book V. by Thomas Pynchon. Breckenridge explained that Kensrue "thought it was a really pretty sounding word... It's just kind of thrown out there". Breckenridge said the title was also the name of a "gateway at the bottom of Mount Vesuvius to a bunch of tunnels into the underworld." The album is a song cycle revolving around the themes of optimism and hope, despite continuous darkness. Almost half of the record features direct quotations from the Bible; heavy usage is heard in "For Miles". The record is characterized by many critics as being a rather experimental deviation from Thrice's post-hardcore roots, with the implementation of elements such as piano melodies and electronica. Parts of it recalled the post-hardcore stylings of At the Drive-In, with Radiohead-esque atmospheric transitions and guitarwork in the vein of Denali. Some of the tracks have mid-tempo arrangements with the loud/quiet dynamic of Thursday and Deftones, and brooding mood of the Cure.
Kensrue made a conscious effort to scream less during the tracks, doing so only when he felt singing wouldn't convey the feeling as intended. Breckenridge said they incorporated the use of various keyboard and synthesizer instrumentation. He added that they were "work on the dynamic between a really mellow part and a really heavy part." Despite the album's heavy sound, the members no longer listened to music in that vein. They dove deeply into the final two albums from Talk Talk, and a substantial amount of Radiohead. Over the previous years, the members had been expanding their musical tastes: Riley Breckenridge with electronic artists such as Squarepusher and Aphex Twin, Teranishi and bassist Eddie Breckenridge getting into jazz, and Kensrue listening to Tom Waits. As all of the members contribute music, the parts are influenced by different forms of music. Riley Breckenridge said it was a "really cool challenge" trying to make these separate parts into cohesive pieces of music.

Tracks

"Image of the Invisible" features Morse code, which spells out the album's title, done by Kensrue. Breckenridge said the song was written before they had the idea of adding Morse code. After looking into incorporating it with programming, they found out it had "a really cool syncopation with the beat" in the song. The track is led by gang vocal, in the style of Comeback Kid, which are heard throughout it. Though the track continued to the sound of Artist, it was compared to an Ian MacKaye-fronted Linkin Park. "Between the End and Where We Lie" sees Kensrue toy with programming, Teranishi with a Rhodes piano and Breckenridge with a synthesizer. "The Earth Will Shake" starts off as an acoustic blues track, complete with a Hammond organ played by Teranishi, before shifting into loud guitars, with Kensrue's vocals breaking into screams. The song's breakdown features an a cappella chain gang chant. The group used the upstairs living area of the recording studio, by stomping on the floor and yelling, to recreate the chants. The track sees the group playing with different time signatures, reminiscent to a darker iteration of Oceansize and tonality of "Big Riff" by Cave In. It tackles the theme of prison inmates yearning for a jailbreak; it drew influence from poetry by C.S. Lewis and the field recordings of musicologist Alan Lomax.
"Atlantic" begins with the sound of a Rhodes piano, played by Kensrue and Teranishi, with Kensrue crooning over a soft electronic beat, which is done by Teranishi and Breckenridge. The chorus incorporates acoustic guitar, synthesizers and a glockenspiel. The track is the only one on the release not to feature Teranishi playing any guitar. "For Miles" starts with a piano part played by Teranishi and Kensrue singing, which drew influence from Miles Davis. Programming by Teranishi is heard as it transitions into a post-hardcore number with progressive elements. A portion of "Hold Fast Hope" makes reference to the Bible story of Jonah; it includes a Moog synthesizer part played by Osbourne. While on tour in Japan, Teranishi bought a music box. He subsequently wrote the song "Music Box" based on musical notes made by the box, which can be heard throughout it. He added a Rhodes piano, Hammond organ and synthesizer alongside it.
"Like Moths to Flame" opens with a piano intro played by Teranish, before shifting into a heavy track in the vein of Isis. It featured synthesizer parts from both Eddie and Riley Breckenridge. Teranishi also incorporated the music box in "Of Dust and Nations", which also saw him add synthesizer, alongside Eddie Breckenridge's bass synthesizer. On "Stand and Feel Your Worth", Kensrue's vocal was compared to Further Seems Forever frontman Jason Gleason. It saw Teranishi incorporate Rhodes organ, a synthesizer, and programming, which was also done by Riley Breckenridge. Kensrue said "Red Sky" was about how people deal with issues, "but in the end things are redeemed and there's a resolution". It is driven by piano, which is played by Teranishi, and drums during the verses, with delayed guitar parts and programming by Osborne.

Release

Between mid-June and mid-August 2005, the group headlined the Warped Tour. On August 8, Vheissu was announced for release in October. "Image of the Invisible" was posted online on September 7. "The Earth Will Shake" was posted on the group's website on September 15. "Image of the Invisible" was released as a single on September 20, and released to radio on September 27. A music video was released for the track on October 14. It was directed by Jay Martin and filmed in early September. The video's treatment was the result of collaboration between Kensrue and My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way. Kensrue said he wanted the video to match the song's energy and dynamic. It takes influence from The City of Lost Children.
In October and November, the group went on headlining US with support from Underoath, the Bled and Veda. Originally planned for release on September 27, Vheissu was eventually released on October 18 through Island Records. The artwork was created by author Dave Eggers and artist Brian McMullen. Although Eggers had not done any freelance work in years by that point, he was interested. After meeting with the group and reading the album's lyrics, he was keen to help them. McMullen created the final cover after Eggers and the band had chosen a basic concept. A limited edition version was also released containing a booklet detailing the creation process of each track.
To promote the release, the group held a competition where fans posted remixes or covers of "Image of the Invisible". The fan that won received home recording equipment worth $4,000. The group then went on tours of Japan and Australia. In January and February 2006, the group toured Europe with Coheed and Cambria. On February 9, "Red Sky" was made available for streaming. From February to April, the band went on the 2006 edition of the Taste of Chaos tour, which they co-headlined. On March 16, a music video for "Red Sky" premiered through AOL. On April 11, a Red Sky EP was released. It features two outtakes from the sessions and live versions of other tracks. Following this, the band went on a tour of Europe, before returning to the US to play the Bamboozle Left festival.

Reception

Commercial performances and legacy

The album peaked at number 15 on the Billboard 200 chart. It also charted at number 17 on the Digital Albums chart. Outside of the US, it charted at number 119 in the UK. By late 2005, it had sold over 90,000 in the US By February 2006, the album had sold over 160,000 copies in the US, and over 184,000 copies since May. "Image of the Invisible" charted at number 24 on the Mainstream Rock chart.
Vheissu received highly positive critical reviews and is now commonly referred to as Thrice's best album due to its complexity and experimentation. Noisey referred to it as "the sound of a post-punk band, once preferred by SoCal mall rats, attempting to thwart expectations and break free by incorporating piano melodies, atmospherics, chain gang chants, Japanese folk, and high-concept Pynchon-inspired artwork from Dave Eggers."
Sputnikmusic listed it at number 28 on their list of the Top 100 Albums of the 2000s. It was listed at number 20 on Paste list of the 25 Best Punk Albums of the 2000s. Kerrang! placed it at number 10 on their Top 20 Albums of 2005.

Track listing

All music by Thrice. All lyrics by Dustin Kensrue.

Personnel

Personnel per booklet.
Thrice
Additional musicians
Production