Artist: Threshold
Label: Inside Out Records
Released: 2004
Rating: 4.5/5
Finally, it’s here! A double live CD from one of the hottest “proggy metal” acts around. The double album serves up live material that’s a fantastic cross-section of everything Threshold are. A fantastic setlist, fantastic ambience and majestic sound. Every factor lined up perfectly. From a hall boasting superb acoustics to the spot-on working chemistry of a band that nailed its performance with a flat-out ten out of ten.
If you don’t know the band yet, I warmly recommend this live double disc as the starting point for your new adventure. Truth is, live albums are often not the best way to get to know a band. But not this time. The sound is damn alive and conjures up a grandiose atmosphere that most of Threshold’s peers can only dream about. Everything is played flawlessly, and the instruments sit in perfect balance throughout. Threshold build the bulk of their melodies on the massive guitar riffing of the Groom/Midson duo and on the keyboard arrangements of bandleader Richard West. Against the grandiose, juicy wall of sound the guitars create, the keyboards still find enough room, not just to stand as equals but to push all that stage magic even further. The sonic space is filled to the brim, and the band puts convincingly bringing moods to life first, through the poetry they preach. The rhythm section is cut from the same cloth. Drummer Johanne James’s contrasting barrage is clean and precise, his rolls are varied, and he especially shines with his imaginative, jerky use of the double bass pedal in the transitions. This clean drum assault is backed by the excellent accompaniment of Steve Anderson’s melodic bass line, crystal clear in the production, who recently replaced founding member and bassist Jon Jeary. If this album doesn’t send chills down your spine, nothing will.
The man who matters most on stage, since the audience connects with the whole band most intensely through him, is of course Andrew “Mac” MacDermott, one of the most charismatic and likable singers in the younger generation of prog metal rock bands. A great frontman, he ties the performance together with a keen sense of humor and, most importantly, a fully committed, all-in approach, constantly and sensitively shaping that unique voice, which adds to the special vibe only Threshold can conjure up.
The first CD opens with Phenomenon, a track off their current studio record “Critical Mass” (2002). The band always writes songs that make sense, with atmosphere taking priority in the music. The CD rolls on through emotionally charged songs with striking ambient contrasts, Choices, Angels, Falling Away, and closes with the masterpiece Fragmentation. The second CD kicks off with an acoustic package of two gems, Clear and Life Flow, with “Mac’s” vocals and the keyboards in the absolute spotlight. Next comes Narcissus, whose studio version runs well over 10 minutes. This time the guys cleverly trimmed it down, playing the first part pretty much by “unplugged” rules, while in the second part they fired up their lively engines again. The metal vibe keeps building through Sunseeker and jumps up another level in the phenomenal live renditions of The Latent Gene and Light And Space. The guys then masterfully flip the atmosphere once more with my personal favorite of the second disc, Sunrise On Mars, which is mostly played acoustically, yet its atmosphere is a chapter all by itself. In some parts, this track reminds me of the Dutch outfit Ayreon. For the encore, the guys bring the gig to a boiling point with two metallized tracks from their debut “Wounded Land” (1993), Paradox and Sanitiy’s End. A big finale that practically wants to explode from all that raw emotional energy. Above all, Threshold’s music carries a constant air of longing and melancholy, which some of their other Celtic peers from the British Isles express just as sincerely. Threshold clearly have it in their blood. It’s hard to single out highlights on this record, because the magic is captured everywhere.
Lineup
Andrew McDermott – vocals
Karl Groom – guitar
Nick Midson – guitar
Jon Jeary – bass
Johanne James – drums
Richard West – keyboards
Production
Karl Groom & Richard West
Track list
CD1:
1. Phenomenon (6:06)
2. Oceanbound (6:24)
3. Choices (8:40)
4. Angels (6:47)
5. Falling Away (7:09)
6. Virtual Isolation (6:10)
7. Innocent (4:21)
8. Long Way Home (6:06)
9. Fragmentation (7:00)
CD2:
1. Clear (3:41)
2. Lifeflow (3:53)
3. Narcissus (5:25)
4. Sunseeker (5:25)
5. The Latent Gene (7:56)
6. Light And Space (6:15)
7. Sunrise On Mars (5:29)
8. Paradox (9:25)
9. Sanity’s End (10:16)
Total running time: 116:50
