The Beltsville Crucible

According to the Thrice DVD If Only We Could See Us Now, this song relates the agony it took to record this album. The Illusion Of Safety was recorded in the town of Beltsville, Maryland, where the band staying in producer Brain McTernan's basement while they were there. The lyrics, "Short cuts through graveyards and a brand new way to breathe" refer to how the band used to walk to get food and took a shortcut through a graveyard. At the end of the song when Dustin Kensrue is screaming, "You've got to play it again!," it's referring to having to re-record parts of the tracks that weren't just right, and reflects the frustration and emotion that the band put into creating the album.