Thrice's Black Blast Stings...Literally

Let's hear it for a 2016 novel concept. And it comes to us courtesy of Irvine, California's Thrice, an act making a case for watching yourself around hornets' nests. They do have this tendency to react when provoked. First things first, the musicianship works on so many levels it's astounding. Who'd have thought a humble glockenspiel could spark tinges of terror into the hearts of so many. Teppi Teranishi pulls the trick off meritoriously. Of course, his guitar technique flat out bulldozes everything in its path, and that's why "Black Honey" leaves us tasting the titular sweetness all the way to the final notes. Lead vocalist Dustin Kensrue has a mission simple enough for us laypeople to comprehend fully. The man merely wants his honey so if some bees get a little bent out of shape that's the price that has to be paid I suppose. Riley Breckenridge steps forward on drums to become the ultimate skin bashing beast, the sprinkle provider for this cosmic cake. Check out his ferociousness and tell me venom does not dwell within his heart. Back to Dustin's honey lust and the violence he's willing to carry out to get his needs met. Butterflies aren't safe in Dustin's realm. For gosh sake the man tried to stick a pin through one because he liked the pretty colors. Warped sentiment to be sure and what did it get him? Just a butterfly burning in the fire with all the others. You sense a true Twilight Zone quality to the video, particularly apparent in the lip-syncing of the words by unknown (at least to me anyway) actors. The boy sporting alien eyes surely merits tooth chattering fear overtones. You can't reason with hornets, Dustin. You should have learned that in grade school somewhere. The busy buzzers don't care if you get top quality honey or not. They have their lives. Please find your own or else friends will start abandoning you in droves. Eddie Breckenridge throws down on bass like destiny made him do it. As I said, top-drawer musicianship everywhere you look. Intensity sells this ticket. Dustin's driven. Teppi slams home ideal chord changes when needed. To be honest the motor under this hood makes the lyrical content look highly anticlimactic. No problem, though. We didn't come here to discuss the finer points of why you should leave bees alone rather than piss them off for your own selfish reasons. The boy in the video had to have loved playing space oddity to the hilt. His whole face gets into the act. "Black Honey" presents to us a meaty slab of reliable rock. Its tone isn't charred black barbecue style but it leaves behind an earthy aftertaste sure to leave the initiated and newbies alike (ahem) buzzing for weeks.