The Artist in the Ambulance

The Artist in the Ambulance
Studio album by Thrice
Released	July 22, 2003
Recorded	March–April 2003
Studio	Bearsville, Bearsville, New York Salad Days, Beltsville, Maryland Phase, College Park, Maryland
Genre	Post-hardcore melodic hardcore emo
Length	39:43
Label	Island
Producer	Brian McTernan
Thrice chronology
The Illusion of Safety (2002) The Artist in the Ambulance (2003) If We Could Only See Us Now (2005)
Singles from The Artist in the Ambulance
"All That's Left" Released: June 17, 2003 "Under a Killing Moon" Released: July 1, 2003 "Stare at the Sun" Released: November 18, 2003

The Artist in the Ambulance is the third studio album to be recorded by American rock band Thrice. It was released on July 22, 2003, through Island Records, becoming Thrice's first release on a major label. Thrice released their second studio album The Illusion of Safety in March 2002; by July of that year, they were writing material for their next album. Recording sessions were held with producer Brian McTernan at Bearsville Studios in Bearsville, New York; Salad Days Studios in Beltsville, Maryland; and Phase Studios in College Park, Maryland. The Artist in the Ambulance is a melodic hardcore and post-hardcore album that has been compared to the works of Blindside.

Following tours of the United States and Europe—the latter as part of the Deconstruction Tour—"All That's Left" was released as the lead single from The Artist in the Ambulance. Thrice briefly appeared on Warped Tour before the track "Under a Killing Moon" was released on a split 7-inch (18 cm) vinyl single with a track by Thursday. Thrice appeared at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in the United Kingdom before embarking on a European tour supporting co-headliners Rancid and Alkaline Trio. Thrice closed 2003 with another UK tour, and a US tour with Thursday and Coheed and Cambria. Thrice also toured Japan, Australia and Europe in 2004, leading into US tours; one with Poison the Well and Darkest Hour, and one supporting Dashboard Confessional on the Honda Civic Tour.

The Artist in the Ambulance received generally positive reviews from music critics, many of whom highlighted Thrice's musicianship and the quality of the songwriting. The album peaked at number 16 on the Billboard 200 chart, becoming Thrice's first entry on that chart. It topped the Top Internet Albums chart, and peaked at number 109 on the main UK Albums Chart and at number nine on the UK Rock Albums Charts. "All That's Left" appeared on three Billboard component charts; its highest peak was number 24 on the Alternative Airplay chart, on which "Stare at the Sun" reached number 39.

Background

In June 2000, Thrice released their debut album Identity Crisis through independent label Greenflag Records. Sometime afterwards, Louis Posen of Sub City Records took an interest in Thrice and re-issued the album. The band's second album, the Brian McTernan-produced The Illusion of Safety, followed in February 2002. Prior to this, Island Records' A&R member Robert Stevenson became interested in Thrice and saw them perform at Chain Reaction, a venue in California. The members of Thrice liked Stevenson's appreciation of the punk rock scene; he had grown up listening to New York hardcore bands and had previously signed Rival Schools. Soon afterward, the band came to the attention of major labels such as Capitol, Columbia and MCA Records. In February and March 2002, Thrice toured with Anti-Flag; before or after every show on the tour, Thrice had a meeting with a representative of one of those labels. Around this time, the band was also being courted by music producer Rick Rubin.

Thrice's manager Nick Bogardus spent time at Time Bomb Recordings, which helped him make contact with Epic Records A&R member Pete Giberga. Giberga, who also enjoyed New York hardcore, said while Epic had no interest in signing Thrice, he advised Bogardus and the band which A&R people were worth talking to. In June 2002, Thrice signed to Island Records and formally announced the signing the following month. Their recording contract was for up to three albums; vocalist and guitarist Dustin Kensrue said they "felt it was the right move" for the band and would allow them to "make better music and be on the road more". The same month, Thrice spent time at home writing material for their next album. The band then performed on the main stage at Warped Tour before playing club shows in October and November 2002.

Recording

Thrice were adamant about working with McTernan, with whom they enjoyed working on The Illusion of Safety. Drummer Riley Breckenridge said the band did not have much time to write new material after The Illusion of Safety because they were constantly on tour. They were under pressure to write new songs, having only brief ideas by this point, and were given two months to write material for their upcoming major-label debut. McTernan visited the band at lock-outs in southern California for pre-production work on material. Thrice wanted to expand their musical palette but were unable to experiment due to the rushed nature of the process. For two weeks, drums were recorded at Bearsville Studios in Bearsville, New York, with engineer Michael Barbiero and Pro Tools operator Matt Squire; Bill Synan assisted the pair.

Thrice then went to Salad Days Studios in Beltsville, Maryland, for six weeks across March and April 2003 to record the rest of the instruments. Kensrue had a few disagreements over lyrics with McTernan, who felt "really maxed out" while in the studio because he wrote most of them there. Having no time to rest, whenever Kensrue came up with a lyric, McTernan "would know that it wasn't the best I could do, and he would tell me". Guitarist Teppei Teranishi said they spent more time on structuring their songs because they used to "just throw songs together". Thrice struggled to record guitars for "Under a Killing Moon" because of problems with tuning, resulting in them re-recording the guitars.

According to McTernan, Thrice added a megaphone to the second verse of "All That's Left" "literally 10 minutes before we had to fed-ex the song to be mixed". The strings on "Cold Cash and Colder Hearts" and "The Melting Point of Wax" were recorded at Phase Studios in College Park, Maryland. Charlie Barnett arranged and conducted the session, which involved musicians Marcio Bothello (cello), Osman Kivrak (viola), Teri Lazar (violin), Chris Shieh (violin) and Greg Watkins (double bass). Andy Wallace mixed the recordings at Soundtrack studios in New York City with assistance from Steve Sisco and Pro Tools operator Josh Wilbur. Howie Weinberg mastered the recordings at Masterdisk in New York City. The songs "Motion Isn't Meaning" and "Eclipse", were recorded during the sessions but were left off the finished album.

Composition and lyrics

The Artist in the Ambulance has been classified as melodic hardcore, post-hardcore, and emo with elements of indie rock. It drew comparisons to Blindside. Jon Wiederhorn of MTV said the album blends thrash metal, hardcore punk, emo and pop punk; "often within a single song". Fuse called the album a "post-hardcore landmark, one that coasted into the lanes of math-metal and, yes, even pop-punk just enough to appeal to a rainbow of fans". Teranishi called The Illusion of Safety the "anti-verse-chorus-verse record"; for The Artist in the Ambulance, they "realized that if something's good, it might be worth bringing back a second time". The album's title was inspired by the book Burn Collector by Al Burian; Kensrue said it "basically [asks] the question, 'Do we, as artists, have the responsibility to do something more than ... entertain?' "

The Artist in the Ambulance opens with "Cold Cash and Colder Hearts", an aggressive track that showcases Teranishi's guitarwork and Kensrue's vocals. It is the result of blending two songs together; Teranishi said the "spooky" section, which refers to the part with strings and palm-muted guitars, was initially played on a guitar that was enhanced with an auto-volume delay pedal. They switched it to a heavier version that was reminiscent of the work of Isis, before settling on the final version. McTernan sauid Barnett's string section "really took it over the top" with the instruments doubling the sound of the palm mutes. Bassist Eddie Breckenridge originally wrote the track's 5/4 section as part of an aborted 10-minute track. Thrice unsuccessfully attempted to put the section in every track before leaving it in "Cold Cash and Colder Hearts".

"Under a Killing Moon" mixed hardcore stylings with indie rock, switching between older forms of metal and hard rock. The band wanted another heavy track; Teranishi wrote the verses' guitar riff during a practice session. The song's ending guitar riff is slower in tempo because it had been played to a slow beat from Riley Breckenridge, and was later sped up and incorporated into the track. Both riffs were influenced by the sound of Killswitch Engage, to whose work Teranishi was listening on the days he wrote the parts. The lyrics initially worked well with melodic chord progressions but did not work when the band worked on the song during a practice session. Kensrue then decided to scream the words, which he felt worked better with the final song. "All That's Left" is the result of the band's desire to experiment with more-traditional song structures with The Artist in the Ambulance; its chorus section bordered on space-esque progressive rock before being reworked. Kensrue rewrote the song's lyrics around eight times and said the final version talks about the "strength we have in our youth and the things we trade for that". The vocal harmonies on the track are reminiscent of those heard in P.O.D. songs.

"Silhouette" includes a section Kensrue wrote in 7/7 time, which Eddie Breckenridge attempted to emulate. His part was in 13/8 and had to be re-edited to keep it in time with Kensrue's part, facilitating the addition of extra notes. Its lyrics originate from the band's first tour; Kensrue sent them to his girlfriend on the back of a postcard. He wrote them on a painting he made for her, and later reworked them into "Silhouette". The bassline of "Stare at the Sun" was initially written in a mathy, chaotic metal style that Teranishi tried to merge with "The Abolition of Man" before spinning it off into a new track. The drums were originally played in 4/4 time at 5/7 intervals before being simplified to allow Kensrue to sing over them. As a result of this, the bridge section had to be scrapped and a new one written. The beginning of "Paper Tigers" came from jamming sessions that occurred between Eddie and Riley Breckenridge following practice sessions. In its original form, the song was a metal and hardcore punk track, which was then merged with another part that became its final-chorus section. Kensrue wrote the lyrics for a piano song that was later scrapped, and added them to "Paper Tigers" towards the end of recording. "Hoods on Peregrine" is a combination of a guitar riff Kensrue wrote during practice, a 1970s-like bass part from Eddie Breckenridge, and a guitar riff Kensrue wrote during one of the coldest nights he had experienced in Omaha, Nebraska. Discussing the lyrics, Kensrue said when writing The Artist in the Ambulance, the "media was out of control. Don't take anything at face value cause everyone's got an agenda."

"The Melting Point of Wax" is the first song the band wrote after the release of The Illusion of Safety; Riley Breckenridge wrote the chorus section using an acoustic guitar. He did not like the way the track sounded with added distortion and felt Barnett's strings helped fill it out in places where he though "there were voices missing". The song went through 12 variations, which included verses in 5/4 time, before the band settled on the final version. According to Kensrue, the song is a response to people "bitching at us for decisions" they made the previous year. It is a re-telling of the Icarus mythology. "Blood Clots and Black Holes" is an amalgamation of riffs from Teranishi and Breckenridge, and is the second song written following The Illusion of Safety. The album's title track "The Artist in the Ambulance" was influenced by Burn Collector, which Kensrue would read while at a Starbucks coffee house. He said he discussed comparing "The Artist" and "The Ambulance" as concepts, and the "different roles they play and what contribution they make in life". "The Abolition of Man" is one of the heaviest tracks on The Artist in the Ambulance; it incorporated multiple time signatures and Arabian-style guitar riffs. It was named after C.S. Lewis's book of the same name and initially had the working title "Hot Water Metal" due to its anthemic first verse. Teranishi said his guitar parts were influence by the early releases of Converge. "Don't Tell and We Don't Ask", the album's closing track, resulted from ideas scrapped from other songs on the album. The drums in the chorus were adapted from those in the intro to "Paper Tigers".

Release

In April and May 2003, Thrice went on tour with the Used. During this tour, the band performed new material and played at Skate and Surf Fest. On April 5, 2003, The Artist in the Ambulance was announced for release in three months' time. During the next two months, the band participated in the Deconstruction Tour, which visited several European countries. "Under a Killing Moon" was posted on the band's website on May 10, 2003, and the album's track listing was posted three days later. "All That's Left" was released to alternative radio on June 17 and two days later, the album's artwork was posted online.

Between late June and early August 2003, Thrice performed on the Warped Tour. During one performance, Breckenridge tried removing his clothing-filled suitcase from the tour bus, which had become stuck in the cargo area. As soon as he freed the suitcase, he heard his back break. Despite increasing pain, Breckenridge continued performing shows; his pain increased until he would loudly yell between songs, prompting the band to play several of the shows acoustically. "Under a Killing Moon" was released on a split 7-inch (18 cm) vinyl single with "For the Workforce, Drowning" by Thursday on July 1, 2003.

A music video for "All That's Left", which was directed by the Workshop, premiered on MTV a week later. The Artist in the Ambulance was initially planned for release on July 15, 2003, through Island Records but was delayed until July 22 of that year. A limited edition of the album featuring special artwork, lyrics and details about each track was also released. Five percent of the sales from the album was donated to Syrentha J. Savio Endowment, an organization that provides chemotherapy and other medication for those who cannot afford it. Thrice had previously donated money to charities while on Sub City; when they were negotiating with major labels, they made it clear they wished to continue donating money to charities. The president of Island Records had founded a charity and was supportive of the band's endeavors. Around the time of release, the band signed autographs at in-store events. On August 21, 2003, Thrice appeared on The Late Late Show. For the rest of July 2003, Thrice performed at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in the UK before embarking on a European tour supporting Rancid and Alkaline Trio. On September 18, 2003, the band performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

In October 2003, Thrice embarked on a UK tour, which led into a North American tour with Thursday and Coheed and Cambria that ran into November 2003. Two weeks of this tour was headlined by the Deftones. The music video for "Stare at the Sun" was released on November 12, 2003; It was directed by Brett Simon, and depicts use of a photocopier, which Simon says is done to "illustrate a search for meaning and knowledge". The song was released to alternative radio on November 18, 2003. The band wanted the release "The Artist in the Ambulance" as the album's second single but Island Records wanted to release "Stare at the Sun"; the label asked program directors of radio stations for input, all of whom chose "Stare at the Sun". In December 2003, the band performed at the KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas festival.

In February 2004, Thrice toured Japan before embarking on an Australian tour with Alkaline Trio and Hot Water Music. Following this, the band toured Europe with Coheed and Cambria, and Vaux. In March and April 2004, the band embarked on a US tour with Poison the Well, Darkest Hour and Moments in Grace. In May and June 2004, the band supported Dashboard Confessional on the Honda Civic Tour. Thrice then appeared on Warped Tour for a third time.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Blender
Cross Rhythms
IGN	9/10
laut.de
Melodic
Rolling Stone
Sputnikmusic	4/5

The Artist in the Ambulance received generally positive reviews from music critics. AllMusic reviewer Johnny Loftus complimented McTernan for "tighten[ing] the seams that hold together Thrice's patchwork print of post-hardcore bellow, emotional bluster, and unabashed metal wankery"; he called it the band's strongest work to date. Cross Rhythms writer Dustin Helgeson said it is "a record worthy of their big label, mainstream distribution", with the band providing "hope amidst suffering with 'The Artist In The Ambulance'". Nick Madsen of IGN said the band's tendency to "lean more towards the melodic" gave them "much more focused songs". He considered The Artist in the Ambulance the "perfect evolution of Thrice's past material" because the "direction of the music and the delivery of the actual songs have improved three-fold". Sputnikmusic writer Damrod was surprised "anew by the nice basslines" as well as the use of "octaves, unvonventional [sic] patterns, [and] excellent fills". He summarised it by saying the band's "musicianship is on a high level, the instrumental use as well as the lyrics". Melodic webmaster Johan Wippsson wrote the band provided "a bunch of great songs that just smashes you in the face with power and raw energy".

Jasamine White-Gluz of Exclaim! similarly said Thrice "sounds better than ever", managing to "hang on to their signature melody-based songwriting". PopMatters contributor Christine Klunk found it to be "more than just three chords, lots of guttural screaming, and heavy-handed drumming" because it offers "12 surprisingly varied tracks". Jens Brüggemann writing for laut.de stated the tempo shifts in the "individual tracks ensure liveliness" with melodies that showcase the album's complex nature. CMJ New Music Report's Amy Sciarretto wrote the band sound like a mix of Face to Face, Metallica and Thursday "somehow manag[ing] to pull the feat off—without resulting in an unlistenable mess of music". Billboard reviewer Bram Teitelman expressed a similar statement, saying the album "at times sounds like Iron Maiden, Bad Religion and Rush jamming (which sounds a lot better on disc than it looks on paper)". John Wiederhorn of Blender wrote; "[s]omehow, all these stylistic variations don’t disrupt the music’s flow, which rocks as hard as it aches". Rolling Stone writer Marie Elsie St. Leger said while the rest of the band "ably create a close facsimile of existential rage", Kensrue's words, which are "sharp, sometime political ... and even allegorical", typically get "lost in the screams".

Prior to release, 100,000 copies of The Artist in the Ambulance had been shipped to stores; it sold 47,500 copies in its first week of release. By July 2006, it had sold 391,000 copies in the US. The album peaked at number 16 on the Billboard 200 chart, making it their first album to do so. It topped the Top Internet Albums chart. The album reached number 109 on the UK Albums Chart and number nine on the UK Rock Albums Chart. "All That's Left" peaked at number 24 on Alternative Airplay, number 36 on Mainstream Rock Airplay and number 37 on Active Rock. "Stare at the Sun" peaked at number 39 on Alternative Airplay.

Orange County Register ranked The Artist in the Ambulance at number five on their list of the "10 best albums of the ’00s". NME included the album on their list of the "20 Emo Albums That Have Resolutely Stood The Test Of Time".

Track listing

All music by Thrice. Lyrics by Dustin Kensrue. All recordings produced by Brian McTernan.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Cold Cash and Colder Hearts"	2:52
2.	"Under a Killing Moon"	2:41
3.	"All That's Left"	3:20
4.	"Silhouette"	3:06
5.	"Stare at the Sun"	3:23
6.	"Paper Tigers"	3:59
7.	"Hoods on Peregrine"	3:31
8.	"The Melting Point of Wax"	3:29
9.	"Blood Clots and Black Holes"	2:49
10.	"The Artist in the Ambulance"	3:39
11.	"The Abolition of Man"	2:46
12.	"Don't Tell and We Won't Ask"	3:59

Personnel

Personnel per booklet.

Thrice

• Dustin Kensrue – vocals, rhythm guitar
• Eddie Breckenridge – bass
• Teppei Teranishi – lead guitar
• Riley Breckenridge – drums

Additional musicians

• Charlie Barnett – arranger, conductor (tracks 1 and 8)
• Marcio Bothello – cello (tracks 1 and 8)
• Osman Kivrak – viola (tracks 1 and 8)
• Teri Lazar – violin (tracks 1 and 8)
• Chris Shieh – violin (tracks 1 and 8)
• Greg Watkins – double bass (tracks 1 and 8)

Production and design

• Brian McTernan – producer, engineer
• Andy Wallace – mixing
• Michael Barbiero – drum engineer
• Matt Squire – Pro Tools
• Bill Synan – engineering assistant
• Steve Sisco – mixing assistant
• Josh Wibur – Pro Tools
• Howie Weinberg – mastering
• Cold War Kids – artwork, photography

Charts

Chart performance for The Artist in the Ambulance

Chart (2003)	Peak position
UK Albums (OCC)	109
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)	9
US Top Internet Albums (Billboard)	1
US Billboard 200	16

References

Citations

Sources

• Martens, Todd (July 22, 2006). "Major Moves". Billboard. 118 (29). ISSN 0006-2510.
• Mayfield, Geoff (August 9, 2003). "Sales 'Now!' and Then". Billboard. 115 (32). ISSN 0006-2510.
• Orshoski, Wes (August 30, 2003). "Thrice's Major-Label Ride". Billboard. 115 (35). ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original on October 25, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
• Ozzi, Dan (November 18, 2021). "Sellout Stories: Riley Breckenridge (Thrice)". Reply Alt (Podcast).
• Sciarretto, Amy (July 28, 2003). "Loud Rock". CMJ New Music Report. 76 (9). ISSN 0890-0795. Archived from the original on October 25, 2021. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
• Sharpe-Young, Garry (2005). New Wave of American Heavy Metal (1st ed.). New Plymouth, New Zealand: Zonda Books. ISBN 9780958268400. Archived from the original on 2021-10-25. Retrieved 2020-09-26.
• Team Retail (December 22, 2003). "Before the Impact". CMJ New Music Report. 78 (6). ISSN 0890-0795.
• Teitelman, Bram (August 2, 2003). "Albums: Essentials". Billboard. 115 (31). ISSN 0006-2510.
• Thrice (2005). If We Could Only See Us Now (DVD-V). Island Records. B0003917-50.
• Weingarten, Christopher R. (August 2003). "Thrice". CMJ New Music Monthly (115). ISSN 1074-6978.
• "Thrice Readying Third Set". Billboard. 115 (15). April 12, 2003. ISSN 0006-2510.

External links

• The Artist in the Ambulance at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)