Go listen to Thrice – The Alchemy Index volumes I & II: Fire & Water up for full stream on their myspace right now!

And go pick up the album in stores now! (and on iTunes and Amazon MP3 and eMusic)

Below is a recent press release by Thrice for their new upcoming album, The Alchemy Index:

Orange, CA- August 23, 2007- The first installment of The Alchemy Index, Vols. I & II: Fire & Water will be available October 16th, 2007, followed in Spring 2008 by Vols III & IV: Earth & Air. By turning the model for rock music on its head, Thrice have exposed the different components that create their signature sound, exploring each factor thoroughly, instead of condensing them to fit with one other. In the process, they?ve created a series of songs that shift from gritty to spacious and scorching to fluid between discs.

?We?re doing something that?s the opposite of what a producer is supposed to do on a record?which is make everything make sense and fit together?whereas this project is all about taking things apart and pushing them one way,? says Teranishi. ?We really wanted to try doing things our way this time around, and make this record sound the way we want it to sound, not the way it?s ?supposed? to sound.

?Dustin [Kensrue] came up with the idea of using the elements, and separating all of the feels that we normally come up with,? adds bassist Eddie Breckenridge. ?That was scary at first, because part of what our sound is, is that combination and the experiment of mixing different feels, but this is actually helping us push each feel in a further direction.?

Thrice fans will likely find the thundering strains of Fire to be the most familiar of the four EPs, with the kind of blistering riffs and captivating melodies the band has built a career upon. From the opening bombast of ?Firebreather? to the towering, unforgettable “Burn the Fleet” – with its Elliot Smith meets Isis vibe, is a song representative of the vast dynamics in these albums. Fire exhibits a Thrice who still know how to punish with decibels, and with greater force and impact than ever before. ?I?m really happy on how [?Burn The Fleet?] came out,? says drummer Riley Breckenridge, who also resides in the house that holds the band?s studio. ?It?s really melancholy, yet crushing.?

Water, on the other hand, offers some of the most subdued textures the band have explored to date, and makes extensive use of a palette of electronic sounds, particularly for rhythms and synthesized effects. Haunting and beautiful, Water is an aural aquatic voyage as serene as it is somber, with the shimmering bliss of ?Open Water? naturally coexisting with the dark, moody ?The Whaler? and the groundbreaking and evocative instrumental track, ?Night Diving.?
?For [?Night Diving?], we ended up making this whole plot outline of what?s happening in the song, even though there are no lyrics. That was how we decided on the different movements?when they?d come up, and when they?d come down,? Kensrue says. ?It?s the story of this guy diving at night, and the things that he encounters. That was a pretty interesting way to write a song; we definitely had never done anything like that before.?

Kensrue took the elemental theme still further by composing an original sonnet for each EP, set to music, yet organized in the traditional English structure and rhythmic fashion. These passages (?The Flame Deluge? on Fire; and ?Kings Upon The Main? for Water) offer powerful sentiments that serve as thought-provoking closers for each EP?s respective journey.
?Each sonnet is written from the point of view of the personified element, speaking to mankind, and lamenting our various failings,? explains Kensrue. “The Fire sonnet deals with fire being resentful and ashamed of the way that it?s been used in destruction and war, while the Water sonnet deals with man?s pride, and the futility and idiocy of that pride, when it comes face to face with the power of the sea.?

On The Alchemy Index, Thrice destroyed the rock rulebook and created their most engrossing and accomplished work to date?The true evolution of a band.

Thrice is releasing music videos in installments of one per week for the next 8 weeks. Click below for the first two:
Here is 1/10: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbOMAoIeLKE
Here is 2/10: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSGp1tyak-o

For more information on Thrice and The Alchemy Index please check out www.thrice.net or www.alchemyindex.com and be sure to check them out on their upcoming headline (9 week ? 42 dates) tour with Brand New.

Thrice posted the following to myspace, sharing the departure with Island Records:

We just wanted to let you all know that we?ve decided to part ways with Island Records. Over the past couple of years, we?ve realized that we have different visions for the band?s future and we both agree that we?d be better off going our separate ways at this point. We?re very grateful for all the help and support they?ve given us for the past four years. Thankfully, they?ve been generous enough to let us keep the record we?re currently recording, and we?re hopeful that this change in plans won?t delay its release. We?re currently in the process of finding a new home, and will let you all know once we do so.

As with every twist and turn of our careers, we made this decision based on trust and belief: belief in what we?re creating and our future, and trust in each other and you all as fans.

We?re excited to finish this album, get it out later this year, go on tour this fall with one of our favorite bands, and for everything our future holds.

Thank you all for your love and support, it means the world to us.

Love,
Dustin, Riley, Teppei, and Ed

Recently posted on their tour journal, Alchemy Index, Thrice has the following to share:

We?re back at home, after a really fun little run on the east coast. Thanks to everyone who came out to the shows, and those of you that braved the insane crowds at Bamboozle. It was good for us to get out of this little cave of a studio and share some new songs with you guys and play live in the states for the first time in like?a year? (wow) Big thanks to Moneen, The Receiving End of Sirens, and Norma Jean as well. It was kind of a bummer that it was such a short tour?all the bands and crew were really good dudes.

There was a little confusion surrounding our acoustic set in the bubble at Bamboozle on Saturday that I wanted to clear up real quick. Apparently they handed out ?exclusive? passes to 1000 people, because the Fire Marshall had set a very strict maximum capacity for the inside of that steamy bubble. The security guards at the door didn?t really handle the situation as well as we?d have hoped and were saying some pretty shitty things to people (and about the band) trying to figure out why they couldn?t just walk in and watch Dustin and Teppei play. I know this, because apparently Ed and I didn?t have the proper credentials to get in either, so we had to stand at the gate and watch this whole mess go down. It was beyond frustrating, and i just wanted to apologize to anyone who may have gotten the wrong information, or had a guy in a yellow shirt yell at them or tell them to beat it. It was out of our hands, and although we wish there was a way for more of you to get in and see the show, there really wasn?t anything we could do, because of the strict capacity limit. So please accept our apology for the way the whole thing was handled. It won?t happen again.

Despite the mess I just described above, and some technical difficulties during our set on Sunday, Bamboozle was a lot of fun. We had so many friends playing, and it was great too see old touring buddies, and possible future touring buddies, again. We had a little demo showdown in Saves the Day?s bus on Saturday night?two songs of theirs, two of ours, rinse and repeat. Good times. They?re heading into the studio soon, and I?m telling you?that record is gonna be great. I also had the pleasure of hearing some mixes of the new TREOS stuff, and it?s awesome as well.

So what?s next for us? We?re kinda getting into the final stretch of this project, and might have a couple more songs to track, some vocals, and assorted overdubs, and then it?s time to mix. We?ll keep you guys up to date with posts and pics on this here blog, and yes?after however many months we?ve been talking about getting you some video, we?re gonna get you some video. For real, this time. Instead of trying to shoot it ourselves, we?re having someone come in and stick a camera in our faces. So, yeah?it?s coming.
And that?s it. It?s been a long process and a huge project, and we appreciate your patience. It will be worth the wait. I promise.
be good,
-riley

Fall Out Boy has announce to MTV that they will be traveling to Uganda to rise awareness about displaced or forgotten children in Central Africa. Pete Wentz said the following about their upcoming visit:

The craziest thing I learned from working with people at Invisible Children is that if we sent one senior policy advisor to Northern Uganda, the potential for ending the war there [increases], And it hasn’t happened. If everyone writes in to their congressmen, it’s something we can actually do.

The charity sparked their interest from their labelmates Thrice who were early adopters. Thrice discovered the charity while taping a music video based on a fictional French film for their single “Image Of The Invisible.”

Recently posted by the band:

Let’s see? We started tracking the last Air song today. It?s a little upbeat number with breakbeats galore and I must say? Ri manned up and nailed it within a couple takes. We?ll be tracking the rest of the instruments for this song throughout the week, and maybe it?s about time to start thinking about rehearsing for the upcoming mini East Coast tour. Bah. On the other side of things, we?ve started discussing the rest of the aspects of the record like artwork, packaging, etc. Wonderful.

Love,
Teppei