Threshold - Dead Reckoning review
| Band: | Threshold |
| Album: | Dead Reckoning |
| Style: | Progressive metal |
| Release date: | March 23, 2007 |
| A review by: | Dream Taster |
01. Slipstream [feat. Dan Swanö]
02. This Is Your Life
03. Elusive [feat. Dan Swanö]
04. Hollow
05. Pilot In The Sky Of Dreams
06. Fighting For Breath
07. Disappear
08. Safe To Fly
09. One Degree Down
10. Supermassive Black Hole [Muse cover] [digipak bonus]
The leading UK progressive band Threshold has had a long career, going through seven studio albums already. I have always considered them more or less as a nice progressive rock or hard rock combo with Metal elements. Either way, there is no doubt that they have been a pillar band in the progressive scene all those years. Knowing all of this, it may come as a surprise that their latest album might just be my favorite progressive album of the year.
Despite losing another founding member with the departure of guitarist Nick Midson in 2006, Threshold has enhanced its sound to meet more Metal standards while keeping the catchiness of their trademark choruses. This is already clear as the opening track unfolds. Wait! Do they have Dan Swanö doing some guest vocals on that song? I guess so! Well, if that isn't Metal then, I give up. And that is just the beginning as Dan will be back on the awesome 'Elusive'. The unmatched groovy drumming of Johanne James coupled with Andrew "Mac" MacDermott's singing are still the band's backbone.
"Mac" has already proven that he can sing in the past, but on Dead Reckoning, he has upped his game yet another notch. Rarely a singer moved me this way. Take a quick listen to 'Hollow' or to the epic 'Pilot in the Sky of Dreams'; this is real singing! The somewhat tacky background vocals might still avert some people, but I found them interesting, as they seem to bridge two decades of the band's history.
Whatever it is, hard rock, rock or Metal, Threshold has given us a progressive masterwork that will be noticed by people out of their usual fan base. I tell you this is Threshold finest work to date. Simply put, Dead Reckoning is one of 2007's best albums.
Highlights: 'Pilot in the Sky of Dreams', 'Hollow', 'Slipstream', 'Elusive' and 'Disappear'.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 9 |
| Songwriting: | 9 |
| Originality: | 8 |
| Production: | 9 |
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Written on 22.07.2007 by
Bringing you reviews of quality music and interesting questions such as: "A picture is worth a thousand words. How many words is a song worth?" I have only got so much patience and skills, you do the math. |
Rating:
9.1
9.1
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Rating: 9.1 |
I don't write this review as an utmost expert of the band, I write it as a growing fan, having listened to one other album, "Hypothetical" and taking an interest in the band. From Hypothetical I got the impression that this Threshold band were a fairly typical, if actually substantially more catchy, Progressive Metal band with slight Hard Rock tendencies (in my opinion), and an overall quite epic commercialism to them. In simpler terms: VERY melodic metal put through the progressive wringer. I was actually really looking forward to this album as a result, and I was surely not disappointed at all. I was at first slightly put off by the album's more resoundingly commercial sound. The other Threshold songs I had heard were obviously very melodic and catchy, but this time around there seemed to be quite a few more that were focused on the catchiness of the melodies, and less on an epic expansive structure, but I mistook more simple songs for hollowness. Yes, I was indeed a moron, for this album is equally as good as Hypothetical. Songs such as "Slipstream" and "This Is Your Life" may be more commercial (with Slipstream having quite a hard rocky touch to the main verse: nice touch, actually), but it is also equally as powerful, catchy and memorable. Read more ›› |
Comments
Comments: 13
Visited by: 102 users
| DreamWeaver Elite Posts: 2034  |
Great album, and definetly one of the best Prog Album's in 2007.
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| Ivor Staff Posts: 5492  |
Personally, I didn't find this album interesting. Every time I listen to it, I get been-there-done-that feeling all over again. Yes, it's Threshold all right but it seems the same Threshold that we've heard on previous albums. Imo, something fresh was missing. I.
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| necrovamp Posts: 424  |
i thought it rather boring, certainly not as good as hypothetical and less progressive than the others, they seem to be going for a more commercial sound than anything. I mean its good, just not what I expected, but not one of my faverouites either.
---- 'I'd rather die than go to heaven' - Murderface
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| Susan Smeghead Elite Posts: 6941  |
Thanks for reviewing this! Definitely my PROG ALBUM OF THE YEAR!!!! 
---- "A life all mine Is what I choose At the end of my days" --The Gathering "A Life All Mine" from Souvenirs
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| DreamWeaver Elite Posts: 2034 |
Written by Ivor on 22.07.2007 at 23:40 The same thing happened with SX's "Paradise Lost", but no one seems to complain about it. I agree with you, something fresh was missing, but still is a great album.
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| Ivor Staff Posts: 5492 |
Written by DreamWeaver on 23.07.2007 at 04:34 I'm yet to lay my hands on Symphony X. As for Threshold, given the latest developments, ie that Mac pulled out of the upcoming shows and Damian Wilson stepped in, it seems that Threshold were in for a change already while recording the album. I don't think Damian will stay their singer. Though, it would be cool to see how he performes recent material. I.
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| Richard Elite Posts: 4862  |
Good review - I agree with what you said, and the rating. This is the first Threshold album I've heard, this sort of thing isn't always my cup of tea but I was very impressed with this album. Admittedly, it's rather commercial sounding at times - I can even imagine this appealing to AOR fans! But it also has some heavy riffs and basically damn good songs and melodies.
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| Jason W. Razorbliss Staff Posts: 3523  |
I'm not much a fan of this type of progressive metal/rock, but this is a great disc. The vocal work irks me a bit, though, so I'd be interested in hearing another vocalist sing it. Other than that, well done music.
---- "After silence that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music." - Aldous Huxley
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| manos Posts: 16  |
i really liked this album... great melodies, rythms, vocals, guitars, effects... one of the best progressive releases for the year
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| ROCKMASTER Account deleted |
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| Jonnz of Steel Posts: 119  |
I personally thought the Supermassive Black Hole cover was pretty horrendous, already being an avid Muse fan. I don't think Threshold really "get" the song...
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| Uirapuru Liver Failure Posts: 2955  |
Best Threshold album imo. Nothing spectacular, but its an album of theirs from which I can remember most of the songs.
----  ---- member of the true crusade against old school heavy metal, early 80s thrash, NWOBHM, traditional doom, first and second wave black metal, old school death metal, US power metal, 70s prog rock and atmospheric doomsludgestoner. o/
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| BlankFile Posts: 705 |
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