Vheissu by Thrice

Vheissu, Thrice's fourth studio album (say it "vee-sue"), came out on Island in 2005, the Irvine, California band's second record for a major after The Artist in the Ambulance. This is where they jumped the fence. The melodic hardcore of their early records, all distorted guitars, lead lines and knotty time changes, gives way to electronic beats, keyboards and a far more experimental sprawl, with Steve Osborne producing.

Dustin Kensrue still sings and plays guitar, Teppei Teranishi adds guitar and keys, Eddie Breckenridge doubles on bass and synth, and his brother Riley drums, but the four of them sound like they've been let loose in a bigger room. The quiet parts hang in the air and the loud parts land like a building coming down. "Image of the Invisible" was the single that went to rock radio, and critics took kindly to the whole left turn.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.