The Alchemy Index: Vol. III & IV – Air & Earth

Teppei Teranishi - Guitar
Ed Breckenridge - Bass
Dustin Kensrue - Vocals/Guitar
Riley Breckenridge – Drums

 After releasing volumes one and two of The Alchemy Index back in October the band is back with three and four Air and Earth. Each disc on this 2 disc set has six tracks on it. Air which is volume three begins with “Broken Lungs.” It offers up a soft sound with a deep lyrical meaning. I found myself ready the lyrics as they we being sung. “The Sky is Falling” is a little more upbeat that the pervious track. The vocals seem far in the distant which give the track a different feel, like they are miles away. They do repeat a lot on the track though. This track gives you a simple guitar riff and vocals in the beginning. “A Song For Milly Michaelson” begins kind of like an acoustic track. In this I mean that it is just Dustin and a simple repeating couple of cords. Drums are introduced for a couple of seconds towards the end but quickly dissipates The disc concludes with “Silver Wings” which is another soft tender track with lopping drums and a great light weight felling to it. Disc 2 or volume 4 Earth beings with “Moving Mountains.” The track is raw and has a bit of a blues fell to it. It’s very unique as are all the songs on each volume, but even to a different degree.  “The Earth Isn’t Humming” is another example of how widely talented Thrice is. Another blues feeling to it with the addition of some other instruments mixed throughout. “The Lion and the Wolf” puts forth an old time chapel church feel. A chorus in the back and mostly piano music throughout the track it is again a unique track. “Child of Dust” ends disc 2 like “Silver Wings” ended disc 1, solid. It has the group vocals and has pianos and an organ in it. Overall this is a solid 2 disc set and completes a unique but solid 4 disc set. The time and the talent put into a set like this is tremendous and shouldn’t take away from what the band has done before. This is a complex effort that should enhance everything that they have done before and what they do after.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My favorite tracks:

Silver Wings and The Earth Isn’t Humming

Track List:

            Disc 1

1.      Broken Lungs

2.      The Sky is Falling

3.      A Song For Milly Michaelson

4.      Daedalus

5.      As the Crow Flies

6.      Silver Wings

            Disc 2

1.      Moving Mountains

2.      Digging My Own Grave

3.      The Earth Isn’t Humming

4.      The Lion and the Wolf

5.      Come All you Weary

6.      Child of Dust

Website (s): www.thrice.net, www.vagrant.com