Aristotle Would be Proud (Cory's Must have Album of Spring).

The best album of each season is an award everyone seems to want to give. Well, I am everyone, so I am prepared to join the multitudes that have already chosen their best album of (insert time period here).

My best album of the spring is hands down Thrice’s The Alchemy Index. This album is the first “concept album” I have ever listened to. Thrice took the four elements (Fire, Water, Air, and Earth) and wrote six songs for each element. Everything, from the effects put on the tracks to the words, is completely based around the element they are personifying.

Thrice made it so the average bystander could come along and tell exactly what element that song is for. Fire has asymmetric time signatures and scorching guitars (They actually used Baritone guitars for most of the recording, in order to get a different sound). Water has soothing keys and drifting vocals. Air has a certain lightness and breeze to it. Earth is near 100% acoustic. A full drum kit is only used one song and electric guitar has only one riff. Earth seems more like lead singer Dustin Kensrue’s solo project than anything else. To say the least, Aristotle would be proud.

But this group of discs seems just so complete. I have listened to it surely more than anything else on my iTunes. Finally, Thrice’s creativity is able to shine. Kensrue in my opinion has established himself as one of the best lyricists in modern music. His Christian influences shine through in almost each disk. Fire has a near exact quoting of Isaiah 6 and a modern story telling of Sodom and Gomorrah. Earth has Come All You Weary, which is completely based on a passage in the book of Matthew. But you can also see his interests in ancient storytelling. Daedalus on the air disc is a telling of the story of Icarus flying to close to the sun and his wings melting. Digital Sea mentions the sirens of Homer’s epic tale The Odyssey. Overall, it has incredible lyrics that give me goose bumps when I listen to them.

But my main reason for loving the Alchemy Index is just the fact that it does everything it attempts well. Firebreather, The Messenger, and The Arsonist of the Fire disc just rock. The rhythm of Firebreather is one of the coolest I have ever heard (thanks to the fact that it is in ) You just want to sing along with every word that comes out of Kensrue’s mouth (and the vocal harmonies are pretty impressive). Water has great, almost electronic, sounds (Great stuff to listen to as you sleep). Earth has some solid folk music but shows a much different side of guitar player Teppei Teranishi than I have ever seen before. And thanks to Air, I have my current favorite song (and favorite guitar riff) in The Sky Is Falling.

Basically, The Alchemy Index is the most complete record I have heard in my life. It has 24 great tracks (split over 2 volumes and 4 discs) that I love to listen to. Album of the Spring (even though Fire and Water came out in October) for sure.

Cory, Le Blog