Thrice's second, and in my opinion best, release: 'The Illusion of Safety' is an amazing piece of work recorded in 18 days. 'The Illusion of Safety' is heavier than their previous release 'Identity Crisis,' which didn't have nearly as much bottom-end in the EQ. The CD starts off with "Kill Me Quickly," which pretty much defines the rest of the album. Great vocals, the lyrics refer to death or killing, awesome break-down (love the bassline!), awesome guitar harmonies, and tempo changes.

My two favorite songs on 'The Illusion of Safety' are easily "See You in the Shallows" and "Deadbolt." "See You in the Shallows" is a song about contemplating committing suicide by jumping off a cliff into rocky waters. Although not as technical as "The Beltsville Crucible" or "To Awake and Avenge the Dead," "See You in the Shallows" is nonetheless a powerful, catchy song. "Deadbolt" is technically superior to "See You in the Shallows," with a faster temp and some bloody sick screams in the last lines of the song, followed by a beautiful piano piece.

Its really quite hard to pinpoint Thrice's genre, 'The Illusion of Safety' mixes punk, hardcore, a bit of emo ("In Years to Come" is the only emo song), and some other sub-genres. This album is easily the epitome of Thrice's releases, and I highly anticipate the release of their new album and DVD mid-2005.