Thrice appeared at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in the United Kingdom before embarking on a European tour supporting co-headliners Rancid and Alkaline Trio.

The Artist in the Ambulance received generally positive reviews from music critics, many of whom highlighted Thrice's musicianship and the quality of the songwriting.

[2] Prior to this, Island Records' A&R member Robert Stevenson became interested in Thrice and saw them perform at Chain Reaction, a venue in California.

[3] The members of Thrice liked Stevenson's appreciation of the punk rock scene; he had grown up listening to New York hardcore bands and had previously signed Rival Schools.

[9] Giberga, who also enjoyed New York hardcore, said while Epic had no interest in signing Thrice, he advised Bogardus and the band which A&R people were worth talking to.

[12] Their recording contract was for up to three albums;[13] vocalist and guitarist Dustin Kensrue said they "felt it was the right move" for the band and would allow them to "make better music and be on the road more".

[17] The Artist in the Ambulance marked the first time McTernan worked on a major label release, which Eddie Breckenridge said made it "really stressful" for him.

[21] Thrice wanted to expand their musical palette but were unable to experiment due to the rushed nature of the process, since they were on tour constantly and did not have enough time to write.

[28] The strings on "Cold Cash and Colder Hearts" and "The Melting Point of Wax" were recorded at Phase Studios in College Park, Maryland.

Andy Wallace mixed the recordings at Soundtrack studios in New York City with assistance from Steve Sisco and Pro Tools operator Josh Wilbur.

[37] Teranishi called The Illusion of Safety the "anti-verse-chorus-verse record"; for The Artist in the Ambulance, they "realized that if something's good, it might be worth bringing back a second time".

[39] The album's title was taken from a short story in an issue of Burn Collector by Al Burian of Milemarker; Kensrue said it "basically [asks] the question, 'Do we, as artists, have the responsibility to do something more than ...

[30] The Artist in the Ambulance opens with "Cold Cash and Colder Hearts", an aggressive track that showcases Teranishi's guitarwork and Kensrue's vocals.

The song's ending guitar riff is slower in tempo because it had been played to a slow beat from Riley Breckenridge, and was later sped up and incorporated into the track.

[27] "All That's Left" is the result of the band's desire to experiment with more-traditional song structures with The Artist in the Ambulance; its chorus section bordered on space-esque progressive rock before being reworked.

[42] The bassline of "Stare at the Sun" was initially written in a mathy, chaotic metal style that Teranishi tried to merge with "The Abolition of Man" before spinning it off into a new track.

[47][48] Kensrue said the band glorified Icarus' flight, which contrasted the "traditional interpretations [that] include shunning vanity, respecting elders, playing it safe, etc.

[49] The album's title track "The Artist in the Ambulance" was influenced by Burn Collector, which Kensrue would read while at a Starbucks coffee house.

[72] For the rest of July 2003, Thrice were expected to perform at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in the UK before embarking on a European tour supporting Rancid and Alkaline Trio.

AllMusic reviewer Johnny Loftus complimented McTernan for "tighten[ing] the seams that hold together Thrice's patchwork print of post-hardcore bellow, emotional bluster, and unabashed metal wankery"; he called it the band's strongest work to date.

He considered The Artist in the Ambulance the "perfect evolution of Thrice's past material" because the "direction of the music and the delivery of the actual songs have improved three-fold".

[32] Sputnikmusic writer Damrod was surprised "anew by the nice basslines" as well as the use of "octaves, unvonventional [sic] patterns, [and] excellent fills".

[91] Melodic webmaster Johan Wippsson wrote the band provided "a bunch of great songs that just smashes you in the face with power and raw energy".

[52] PopMatters contributor Christine Klunk found it to be "more than just three chords, lots of guttural screaming, and heavy-handed drumming" because it offers "12 surprisingly varied tracks".

[40] Jens Brüggemann writing for laut.de stated the tempo shifts in the "individual tracks ensure liveliness" with melodies that showcase the album's complex nature.

[93] Belfast Telegraph writer Neil McKay remarked that the band "ticks all the right boxes for energy and noise, [but] it's too generic to be memorable".

[94] John Wiederhorn of Blender wrote; "[s]omehow, all these stylistic variations don’t disrupt the music’s flow, which rocks as hard as it aches".

[86] Rolling Stone writer Marie Elsie St. Leger said while the rest of the band "ably create a close facsimile of existential rage", Kensrue's words, which are "sharp, sometime political ... and even allegorical", typically get "lost in the screams".

[108] When discussing the recording with Spin Magazine, Kensrue said the band felt the original was "stiff" and wanted the re-recording to include the energy present in live performances.

[109] The album features guest vocals from Ryan Osterman of Holy Fawn, Chuck Ragan of Hot Water Music, Sam Carter of Architects, Mike Minnick of Curl Up and Die, Brian McTernan of Be Well, and Andy Hull of Manchester Orchestra.