music critics. AllMusic reviewer Jason Anderson highlighted its mixes of styles: "Atypically dynamic for its genre, Thrice stabs at punk-pop with grandiose guitar harmonies, hardcore vocal wails, and a Metallic (note the big "M") chunk that transforms its emo turnarounds into progressive hardcore theater". Punknews.org staff member Chris Moran echoed a similar statement, listing off various forms on the first four tracks, before stating that "every track is incredible". Pitchfork contributor Brad Haywood said despite the "stylistic gumbo", the band "deserves some props", especially as in "terms of their hardcore/metal riffing capabilities, Thrice has the skills to get the job done". Ox-Fanzine writer Joachim Hiller found it to be the "best of all possible worlds between nasty biting new school hardcore, highly melodic Californian style punk rock and emo/screamo elements," highlighting the band's strength of the "clever combination of all these elements in sometimes even just one song". Brian Greenaway of Modern Fix said the "myriad acts out there attempting to meld melodic harmonies with heavy, relentless guitars would do well to take a page out of Thrice's playbook". In a retrospective piece, Athom reiterated this, saying that "thousands of bands that popped up after its release, trying in vain to capture the power and majesty hidden within its thirty-eight minutes". The staff at Impact Press said Kensrue's singing "nicely offsets the force of the screaming, and more importantly doesn¹t sound wimpy". Den added to this, saying that his "gut-wrenching-yet-tuneful delivery will have you pumped with drama". Greenaway was surprised by Kensrue's "ability to actually sing", easily separating them from their emo peers, while Sean Richardson of The Boston Phoenix wrote that Kensrue "purges his emo demons without ever turning into a cry-baby". Sacher said that while a listener was able to point out singers Kensrue was channelling on Identity Crisis, he would "become one of the most distinct vocalists of the emo/post-hardcore boom" on The Illusion of Safety. The Illusion of Safety sold 4,202 copies in its first week of release. It peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart, and number 20 on Heatseekers Albums chart. By July 2006, it had sold 167,000 copies in the US. Sacher said it "would go on to help define the early 2000s post-hardcore boom"; Jack Rogers of Rock Sound similarly called it a blueprint for the emo genre. Wolves at the Gate covered "Deadbolt" for their Back to School