Vheissu

Composition and recording

The album is characterized by many critics as being a rather experimental deviation from Thrice's post-hardcore roots, with the implementation of elements such as piano melodies ("For Miles"), electronica ("Red Sky"), folk Japanese music-box undertones ("Music Box" - The melody comes from the song Sakura Sakura) and chain gang chant choruses ("The Earth Will Shake"). UK producer Steve Osborne, whose past credits include many Brit-pop hits, was sought by Thrice to gain a new perspective on the songwriting process, enabling the band to expand their musical influences and produce a different album.

According to an interview with drummer Riley Breckenridge, the group recorded the album at Bearsville Studios, the same place he recorded drum tracks for 2003's Artist in the Ambulance. In describing reasons for returning to Bearsville, Breckenridge said, "It's so secluded and so cut off from everything ... and it was really cool to kinda separate ourselves from the rigors of being at home and the distractions of friends and families, and traffic and the L.A. and Orange County lifestyle."

Title and artwork

The morse code at the beginning of "Image of the Invisible" spells out the album's title.

The album artwork was created by author Dave Eggers and artist Brian McMullen. Eggers has said that he had not done freelance design in years, but after meeting the band and reading the lyrics he was happy to be involved in the project.

The name Vheissu appears in Thomas Pynchon's novel V., in Chapter 7. It also appears elsewhere in Pynchon's oeuvre in Gravity's Rainbow.

Release

Prior to the album release date, a four-part series of podcasts discussing the making of the album was released by the band, giving previews of each track and how it was recorded. Between mid June and mid August 2005, the group went on the 2005 edition of Warped Tour. "Image of the Invisible" was released to radio on September 27, 2005. A music video was released for "Image of the Invisible" on October 14, 2005, directed by Jay Martin. Vheissu was released on October 18, 2005 by Island Records. The album was released in two separate versions, including a limited edition version containing a booklet detailing the creation process of each track.

In January and February 2006, the group toured Europe with Coheed and Cambria. On February 9, "Red Sky" was made available for streaming. From February to April, the band went on the 2006 edition of the Taste of Chaos tour, which they co-headlined. Following this, the band went on a tour of Europe.

Reception

The album peaked at #15 on the Billboard 200 chart. By late 2005, it had sold over 90,000 in the U.S. By February 2006, the album had sold over 160,000 copies in the U.S., and over 184,000 copies since May.