One of progressive metals aptly technical bands has come forth with the latest live album to expose the ultimately discrete musicianship that has made
Threshold a household name over the past few years. This being the first live album from the current lineup, the British sextet is captured at a live performance in Holland, and whoa, what a performance was captured.
Having been through lineup changes over a career that spans several records, several "different" records that is, you can really see the evolution that has taken place with these guys, going from sort of a progressive hair metal stance to literally creating their own unique brand of prog metal, fused with pop songwriting filled with hooks and the chops to match, just compare albums like "Wounded Land" to "Critical Mass," yes, believe it or not, it is the same band. The same band that bring you the thick heavy dueling guitar crunch along side the prefect balance of keyboard work and sub-Peart style drumming
Starting out with the intro of Holst's Planets orchestra piece, pre cursing
Critical Mass' "Phenomenon," all the basis are covered, with some Mack McDermott material such as
"Angels," "Narcissus," and
"Fragmentation;" there is also lots of earlier material performed such as
"Paradox," "Sunseeker," and
"Sanity's End;" even a performance of
"Choices" from the just recently reissued
Extinct Instinct is also present. But with the older songs being performed in the new fashion, it makes the material more relevant to the new lineup, especially since
Threshold have evolved with a more technical approach with the past few albums, having taken a few records to really put their own sound into place.
The musicianship remains tight, with McDermott's tenor hitting all the right notes, adding his own element to songs originally sung by previous vocalists. The mix is also engineered properly, like all the past records, with crowd noise being low in the mix during songs, McDermott even tells someone to "shut up" right before
"Choices."
For fans, it is "critical" that you buy this, and for those who are curious about
Threshold and have ever wanted to pick up a record by them, this is a great place to start. The sound is very tight like a studio recording, but yet has the spontaneous vibe of a live recording, listen and you will see how this band stands out with their own sound that has become recognizable as their own. How do they do it? It's a Phenomenon!
Written by
Hashman Thursday, June 3, 2004
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