Threshold

THRESHOLD [UK] - Progressive Metal

Threshold @ Rock Hard - Amphitheater, Gelsenkirchen (DE) - May 16, 2005 - Pictures by Franky Bruyneel

Recommended albums

#1 Critical Mass
2002

# 2 March Of Progress
2012

#3 Hypothetical
2000

#4 Subsurface
2004

#5 Wounded Land
1993

Discography

Damian Wilson
01|1993|Wounded Land
743 (#5)
02|1994|Psychedelicatessen
697 (#10)
03|1997|Extinct Instinct
714 (#9)
Andrew McDermott
04|1998|Clone
741 (#6)
05|2000|Hypothetical
774 (#3)
06|2002|Critical Mass
780 (#1)
07|2004|Subsurface
766 (#4)
08|2007|Dead Reckoning
731 (#7)
Damian Wilson
09|2012|March Of Progress
774 (#2)
10|2014|For The Journey
724 (#8)

Rock Report's choice

Critical Mass

InsideOutMusic, 2002
Produced by Karl Groom & Richard West
Cover by Thomas Ewerhard
Ratings: PA: 4.08 (217) | RYM: 3.72 (357)
Total rating: 780
Updated: 141218

Line-up

Andrew McDermott (v)
Karl Groom (g)
Nick Midson (g)
Richard West (k)
Jon Jeary (b)
Johanne James (d)

Track listing

Songwriters

JJ = Jon Jeary
KG = Karl Groom
RW = Richard West

Rock Report review

When Threshold released their previous album "Hypothetical" last year, most of us were sure that they would never be able to top that classic album. The Brits had lots of success and gained raving reviews, even in their home country, which had almost never been the case with their first albums. A bit more than only one year later, a new Thresh album is lying on the shelves, drawing the attention of lots of prog fans with its nice cover, once again courtesy of InsideOutMusic's 'home designer' Thomas Ewerhard. No line-up changes have taken place, which is remarkable for those who know the band's history, featuring Damian Wilson (2 times ex-vocalist) and Andrew 'Mac' McDermott (current vocalist). But the music is of more importance of course. Since Mac joined the band, the guys have developed a very recognizable sound, in which strong melodies and catchy hooks play the most important roles. In that respect, I would compare them to label mates Vanden Plas, who have the same great trademarks. Before Mac's arrival though, the band's musical history had been quite turbulent. This time however, I can assure fans and followers that they don't have to fear. "Critical Mass" is a valuable successor for "Hypothetical", in every sense of the word. Maybe the album sounds a little rougher, but it also contains guitar solos and arrangements that remind me of the softer British prog rock scene, thus balancing the overall feeling. It also seems that the band were less focused on the harmony vocals that were ever present on "Hypothetical" and tried some different vocal arrangements instead. On "Falling Away" for instance, Mac sings the chorus in a totally different way than we were getting used to. Nevertheless, I think he has never sung as well as on "Critical Mass". His change of life style clearly didn't do him any harm. As a result of the different focuses, the new album is more varied than its predecessor, culminating on the impressively built up "Choices", the beautiful "Echoes Of Life", the enormously catchy "Round And Round" and on the three-part title track, which rounds off this album in a great way. And what's more, Groom and West have excelled themselves on the production of the album, which is crystal-clear. I now have a promo copy of this album for only one week and have listened to it 7 or 8 times. Seems I just can't get enough of it. I can't wait to get my hands on the limited edition, containing 3 bonus tracks, of which 2 are previously unreleased, and a multimedia part with two videoclips and a screensaver. It's almost 30 degrees outside and this still makes my mouth water?
Stijn Lambert, August 2002