Playing with the elements

Thrice's latest, The Alchemy Index, is an exercise in the realization of ambition. Each of the four six-song records tirelessly explores one of the classical elements (fire, water, earth and air) both lyrically and sonically, touching on the extremities of the band's influences in the process. For example, the Water record deals with weightless, Radiohead-esque synthesizers, while the Earth record visits the acoustic, alt-folk side of Thrice's influences.

"The kind of music we had been starting to listen to had gotten a lot broader," drummer Riley Breckenridge said. "We wanted to incorporate that into what we were doing."

On Sunday the band will bring both its newer experimentalism and older post-hardcore stylings to Rams Head Live! as the band supports Rise Against and Alkaline Trio. With such a varied back catalog, sometimes the creation of an encompassing set list can be difficult.

"On a tour like this, when we're playing second out of four bands and probably playing to a decent amount of people that have never seen us before, we want to give a pretty decent representation of our entire catalog," Breckenridge said. "We just try to keep it balanced and take into account the people that are coming out to these shows."

Thrice released its first full-length, Identity Crisis, in 2001, an album characterized by its blazing metal riffs and alternately sung and screamed vocals. By 2003, with the release of the band's third studio album, The Artist in the Ambulance, Thrice became something of a mainstream presence with comparatively radio-friendly singles "Stare at the Sun" and "All That's Left."

After the band's success was established, Thrice took a hard left for 2005's Vheissu, abandoning all conventions. While some heavier tracks remained ("The Earth Will Shake"), they were no longer straightforward. Experimentation abounded in songs such as the tender ballad "Atlantic" and the aptly-named "Music Box," which uses its titular object to establish the main melody.

And now, with The Alchemy Index, Thrice has expanded further than ever. Acoustic guitars and eerie piano drench the Earth disc, while feathery passages juxtapose with distorted heaviness on Air. The feral nature of Fire contrasts directly with the liquidity of the synths and pre-programmed drums of Water.

In the past, the band's writing process wasn't much different than it is now, Breckenridge said. The band would bring all the varied styles but condense them into one unified record - the flipside to Alchemy.

"On previous records, we would always try to turn those sparks into something that was a little more coherent," he said. But for its latest project, "we just wanted an opportunity to take those ideas and make them be what we felt like they wanted to be."

In the end, though, The Alchemy Index was more of a way for Thrice to explore extremes and learn more about what works - and what doesn't - for them as a band. The next record, which Breckenridge said he hopes will be out by next summer, will be another amalgamation of the ideas that were stretched so far apart on The Alchemy Index, but this time it will also hearken back to the energy of earlier releases.

"When it comes time to make the next record, which we're all really excited about, we have such a broader palette of ideas and experiences to draw from," he said. "It's going to make making another full-length really, really fun."

So when the band hits Rams Head Live! Sunday, they'll be bringing set staples both new and old, all the while capitalizing on the uncommon intimacy of the place.

"To be playing a venue where you know you're going to have that kind of connection with the crowd - it's something to look forward to," he said.

Thrice's show with Rise Against and Alkaline Trio on Sunday at Rams Head Live! is sold out. If you already got your ticket, doors open at 6 p.m.

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