THRESHOLD
“DEAD RECKONING”
(Nuclear Blast)

Line-up:
Mac - Vocals
Karl Groom - Guitars
Richard West - Keyboards
Steve Anderson - Bass
Johanne James - Drums
(Additional vocals on 1&3: Dan Swano)

 

Release Date:
23 March, 2007 (EU)

 

Tracklist:
1. Slipstream
2. This Is Your Life
3. Elusive
4. Hollow
5. Pilot In The Sky Of Dreams
6. Fighting For Breath
7. Disappear
8. Safe To Fly
9. One Degree Down
10. Supermassive Black Hole (Bonus) 

 

Website:
www.thresh.net

 

Check also:
Surprise Of March 2007

Their previous monumental album “Subsurface” proved that the band was in the right direction, the new album verifies it and places the band in the top quality league of the prog genre. We are talking about one the most qualitative prog albums released in the past 5-6 years, an album baptized in inspiration, good taste, lyricism, pure artistic songwriting. The band seems to have (finally) found the golden line between prog metal and melodic music in general. After many come and go they managed to hold on to a steady line-up, which is tied up with a unique chemistry.

Their sound is so trademarked that any one who has heard the band in the past cannot confuse them anymore. They manage to balance among sharp riffs, melodic bridges and lyrical outbreakes, where the keyboards paint wonderful sound-emotions. The album gains you since the very beginning with the smash prog hit “Slipstream”, which is among the best ever recorded tracks of the band and among the best opening tracks I’ve hear for quite a while. And this enhances your appetite for more... and the great thing is that the band fulfils its promises to make this thirst of your subside with their music. Monumental songs like “Pilot In The Sky Of Dreams”, “Safe To Fly” and “One Degree Down” with the amazing refrain are capable of sending any prog fan to heaven. But the rest of the songs are equally good - yes, there are no fillers here, guys!

The band seems to have adopted a more “down to earth” approach this time (elements of which were present in the previous album too): more solid tracks, with only few extended solos, shorter duration of songs, with emphasis on guitar riffs. After all Threshold always invested on their guitar works. Of course this doesn’t mean that they have moved towards any simplistic forms, or that their music is “easy”. No, they just managed to fit within fewer notes and more plain structures all their ideas - which is a rather hard thing to do. A total must for prog fans and for the rest, a qualitative idea of what the prog genre in general can provide! Congratulations!

 

 

by Alex Savatianos 9/10