Band:	Dominion
Album:	Threshold - A Retrospective
Style:
Release date:	2006
A review by:	Jeff

01. Release
02. Ill Effect
03. Covet
04. Prism
05. Millenium
06. Tears From The Stars
07. What Is Truth
08. Deceiver
09. Silhouettes
10. Down
11. Shout
12. Joyful Tears Of Sorrow
13. Threshold
14. The Voyage
15. Distortion
16. Blackout
17. Hollowvision
18. Alive?

One of the last releases of the British label Peaceville records is a compilation of a really original band from England, Dominion. Not a lot of people know them unfortunately, but I'm sure that some of the information that I will give you will be really surprising. An example: Bill Law, was MDB's drummer on "34.788%...Complete". Michelle Redfield was the guest singer on Anathema's "Eternity" and she was also the singer on the really great Anathema cover of Bad Religion's "Better Off Dead"?Ho and yes she was also Antimatter's singer?. What else, they were evidently signed on Peaceville during the 90's and Mags produced their two albums? Nothing to add I think?

Dominion, it's a bit like the "avant-gardist" female Metal band of the 90's. Actually, back in 1996 with their first album "Interface" they were probably ten years ahead of their time. Of course some bands were already starting to have female singers but except The Gathering, and probably Orphanage, I don't believe that the others ones could be compared to Dominion. It's simple the music of Dominion, even after ten years, is still modern and extremely original.

But let's talk about this music. Dominion is a mix between Doom, Death, Prog and Thrashy music with, as you already know, a female singer (accompanied sometime by some male Death vocals). It's powerful, technical, catchy as hell and even if the music is dark, sometime it can be also really jumpy on some others songs. This mix of Death and Dark music is extremely good and the great lovely voice of Michelle fits perfectly to this kind of music. But it's also the originality of the music that will blow you, like with "Release" where we can find some tribal percussion or, in opposition, a song like the long Progressive Death one "Joyful Tears Of Sorrow". So believe me it's really hard for me to do a description of all the eighteen songs of the CD but due to the big variations between each songs it's extremely fresh and never boring and if you like English bands like Paradise Lost or Anathema and want to discover something linked to their music but with its own personality and some more punch, you'll have to listen to this "Threshold".

Note finally that the production is perfect; and that you'll be able to find the voice of Aaron Stainthorpe on the Epic "Alive" and an excellent cover of Tears For Fears' international hit "Shout". This best of features the best songs of the band and it will be a great introduction to the band but I just hope that you won't forget to check their two albums. They just deserve to be known.

This compilation is a good idea because it's not so easy to find the albums of Dominion. And I really hope that a lot of people will understand that they're just missing an amazing band and will fix this mistake as soon as possible. Just have a look on this release and you'll be able to discover an excellent band that disappeared too early? Even if it's a compilation, this is without any doubt one of the best release of the year 2006!