Sputnik music is right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! no one can defy they have created another masterpiece. this album gives a new direction to the face of music. It completely measures up against anything happening in music today and is completely refreshing to have a band like thrice at thr helms of a new musical revolution. they are quickly joining the ranks of Sunset Rubdown, Sufjan Stevens, and Animal Collective as leaders in a new direction and there are undefinable ways this thing is packaged which is reason enough to buy this music. If you like revolutionary music then you should but this disc. Its the best thing you'll here all year and there is nothing that can compare… Expand

Wow! Absolutely stunning album. When I heard it the first time I thought it was nice but not as good as Vheissu, but especially the fire side is a grower and in combination with the water side this album has become my personal favourite. There is not one track I can't hear over and over again. Very nice, looking forward to the Air&Earth parts.

In a time when melody has been thrown out the window by ninety percent of rock bands to accommodate nu-metal structured, scream-o garbage, Thrice has found a niche. This is not the greatest album, by any means, but it is the best I've heard in a long time. "Fire" allows you to rock out - something I've yearned to do since every worthwhile band that doesn't replace singing with screaming has either disbanded or turned sour. "Water" is laid-back, as cliche as that may come across, but still a good listen. I insist you try this album out, disregarding any (mis)conceptions you have about Thrice's first two albums.… Expand

Hey, I actually wrote the sputnikmusic review. I feel like other reviewers graded the notion of fulfilling the concept of the album as more of a literal fulfillment. They were peeved that fire maps to heaviness and water mapped to subdued tones. I guess I never really listened to each disc as an opportunity to fully render all of the implications and subtleties of an element, but more of a way to invoke an element by way of a composition. I dunno. To talk about the form of the discs some more they are analogous to two tone poems or song cycles rather than a larger scale symphony. The compositions are much more based on sentiment and and sensation rather than overarching structural progress and motivic development, which I think other reviewers tended to focus too much on. However, I do agree that if looking at it from that perspective Thrice is definitely lacking. Fire has those expected melodic and harmonic moments I mention in my review that definitely dumb down the rendering of fire. Either way, everybody should check out the disc.… Expand

To Hell with what the critics say! Alternative Press and Sputnik seem to be the only critics with straight heads nowadays. Thrice isn't trying to be the Deftones or Radiohead, they are branching out musically, sure water has alot of slow melodic electric sounds similar to those of other bands, but thats just water 1/4 of the record, if all the songs were on the same disc of 12 tracks and 4 of those had a sound that was different than what people usually associate a band with, no one would say that the band in question is trying to be someone else. And besides, it isnt like there was a huge jump between Artist in the Ambulance and Alchemy Index, like it or not there is and album in between the two that is argueably more of a brave excursion for Thrice than t.A.I. is, and nobody tore it down so badly. Vheissu is an amazing record there is no denying it and The Alchemy Index is yet another great chance for Thrice to showcase their musical prowess in a world of stereotypes. Sure the second two discs aren't out yet, but for now, this record gets a perfect 10 in my book.… Expand

Great cd, although I wish they'd ditch the concept aspect and just put out a solid 10-15 song album. Anyone that harkens to their "sub-city" days is just unwilling to see the band explore and expand their musical horizons. If you like the post-hardcore/punk sound and good musicianship, give it a listen.

I heard of the 4 disc, elemental concept album over a year ago, and I was pretty excited about it. Especially the fact that they came up with the idea and then wrote around the concept. A good test of musicianship. The album came out amazing! People who only like Identity Crisis will not like it because Thrice has tried to do something different with every album, creating a natural evolution in their music. The Fire disc is very cool. I think The Flame Deluge is a great ending for the disc. It is very heavy, but pretty at the same time. The water disc is all mellow and very pretty. Lost Continent is an amazing song. The Whaler is sad as it seems to tell the difficulty of Dustin leaving his family to do his music through the story of a man leaving to go to sea. The album is amazing, I give it a 9 only because it takes a lot to have a perfect album, and even the best albums aren't perfect.… Expand

An absolutely gorgeous album, from start to finish. Thrice create yet another marvelous album to compliment their already impressive discography. The ambitious (and extremely well done) concept of the album alone is enough to make the purchase of this album truly worth it.

very good, though certainly not without its flaws. thrice is maturing musically and experimenting in ways that bands like from first to last or the used could only dream of being able to pull off.

for any of you who have rated this album on the basis of a fist listen you probably will only hear what you have cited. however this album is a devoted work of art; music for expressive purpose rather than catchy background noise. its bleeding obvious to see that reviewers have listened once and picked at song titles and lyric adjectives relative to the elements and branded them worthless. take a read of their lyrics and you can see the poetic brilliance that thrice have worked so hard for. ie: the arsonist; the flame deluge; the whaler. listen to the musical intricacies in their melody, harmonies and rhythm and you will hear what sets thrice apart from other post-hardcore groups. its a shame to see that as our music gets drummer and uninspiring so has our appreciation of it. thrice; sigur ros and radiohead are amongst a forever dwindling group of new-age musicians who can actually call themselves composers!… Expand

Amazing album. I love how they do each of the albums differently so you don't don't get the same repetitive crap over again. I will say though that "The Artist In The Ambulance is by far my favorite album.

This album really surprised me. After hearing about the whole concept behind it i wasn't so sure Thrice would be able to pull this off effectively and wow was I wrong. Thrice really deliver on this album and in my opinion its one of the best albums this year and its gotten me really excited in hearing Volumes III and IV.

I feel embarrassed to ever have enjoyed Identity Crisis. This album destroys nearly ever album they have previously released and is easily the best rock album of 2007. Pure genius.

cons: divided by 4 make it less homogen and easy to listen all straight. pros: Its Thrice that evolve and doing what they want, leading the way for a new generation of band, breaking stupid music industry rules and pushing further their personnality. It's full of good ideas well done but not a 100% perfect like in vheissu.

This IS the album of the year. Thrice have matured from a small oc punk band and have evolved into a musical powerhouse producing epic tones indescribably rich. Although people might want to listen to Vheissu before listening to this to see what direction there coming from on this one. A must have for any music fan.

Amazing album. For me it was very memorable, especially lyrically; Dustin keeps writing amazing lyrics that just blow my mind over and over again with every piece they release.
The hiatus they just announced was truly devastating for me...