I'm really digging this new album, especially the heaviness in some of the songs! Though i wish the lyrics were a little more non-political as some of you have pointed out (but, only because i'm more into personal/abstract lyrics, myself). Still, i feel the album works pretty well overall, and i find it has a good cohesiveness throughout itself.
Favorite song from the album atm: The Long Defeat
My list is as follows:
The Alchemy Index Vol. I & II - III & IV (For the sake of pure creativity and songwriting-skills eminating from the band on all of the four records).
Beggars/Vheissu (The soundscapes they managed to create on both these albums are undoubtfully beautiful and well made, as well as the themes they use on alot of the songs).
TBEITBN (The new record is really powerful, which i really like, and although some of the production choices made, may seem a little predictable sometimes, it still stands strong amongst other records and even surprises me on some of the songs, which is always a good thing).
TAITA (The first record of theirs that i got into, obviously a fan-favorite and a record that still holds if you're into post-hardcore, and even if you're not, one can still appreciate why this record is regarded as one of the best in its genre).
M/M (The follow-up record to their self-produced Beggars, i feel this record had alot of left-over energy from Beggars + some new sounds coming through, but it never really feels like Thrice are giving it their all ((save for a few moments that actually are phenomenal)) on this record, most likely because of the emotionally heavy period the band was in. But, still a good record nonetheless).
IOS (I remember listening to this record alot when i was around 17-18 yrs old, going to school and whatnot. It really resonated with me in that period of my life along with AITA. It also got me interested in Thrice in general, because i could easily hear the potential of these guys coming through my headphones. And then i listened to Vheissu later on, and got blown away.
Identity Crisis (Never really been into this record as much as the others, i think it sounded a little too generic to me at the time when i first listened to it, even though, listening to it now i realise it would've fit perfectly in my mp3 playlist that i had at the time (read: angsty teenage yrs), although it's more of a "beginning of greater things to come" type of album to me.