Threshold – Dividing Lines – Album Review

24th November 2022 0 By George Simpson

The marriage of metal and prog-rock becomes ever more thriving and prosperous with every passing year. Whilst the likes of Dream Theater and Porcupine Tree lead the way in terms of popularity, there, however, are a vast number of bands bubbling under the populist surface. Criminally under-rated British Prog Metallers Threshold, are one such band and is back with their first new album in five years.

Next year sees them celebrating 30 years since they released their debut album, Wounded Land. However, listening to this album, you would never know that you were listening to a band with such a long legacy. It’s vibrant. contemporary-sounding album, that packs quite a punch when it wants to. There is an assured quality to the songwriting throughout, coupled with a slick production giving the listener an album that will satisfy the seasoned progger, whilst still being accessible to a wider audience.

The album opens with Haunted, which is like a one-song advert for the rest of the album. Boasting a memorable chorus, it is a pounding and melodic one minute, then atmospheric and orchestral the next. The opening trio on this album sets a high bar, with both Hall Of Echoes and Let It Burn to complete a weighty starting brace of anthemic rockers. Not that you ever listen to this lot with low expectations!

Throughout the album, they manage to combine classic signatures of prog rock, such as keyboard solos, orchestral arrangements and moody atmospherics and wrap it all up in a modern-sounding metallic package. To pay homage to your influences and sound current is no mean feat. But then we are dealing with a band who’ve been carrying the genre’s British flame for many years. And will continue to do so for quite a while yet on this evidence.

The album’s high point is undoubtedly Silenced. It perfectly sums up that mix of the old and the new. The vocoder-style vocals sound modern but is also strangely retro if you think back to the early days of synth prog exploration by the likes of Kraftwerk. The track then develops into an anthemic rocker very reminiscent of Dream Theater in one of their more accessible moments.

Whilst the majority of the albums’ tracks all come in around the five-minute mark, no prog album would be complete without at least one track boasting a double-digit minute duration. Here. we get two. To my ears, The Domino Effect is the better of the two. Boasting all the hallmarks of classic prog, it’s an epic eleven minutes, that works through several movements, from metal, hard rock, through quiet reflection before finding its teeth again at the end. A great track.

The album’s other lengthy track Defence Condition lacks the same diversity for me. In my opinion, long songs that don’t go off at tangents like The Domino Effect fail to hold the attention. This one is a bit like that, but not bad by any means, it just outstays its’ welcome a bit to my ears. The concise nature of most of the tracks here is one the album’s strengths. They don’t become overlong and indulgent. They say what they have to and then make way for the next one.

In comparison to that opening five-song salvo, side two, to use vinyl parlance, was always going to have a tough act to follow, such as side one’s quality. It does, however, have its’ moments. The likes of Complex and King Of Nothing are in a similar vein to the albums opening pair of tracks. The keyboard-driven Lost Along The Way is a nice change from the precision riffing that dominates the rest of the album.

In addition to the songwriting, a special mention must be made about the production. This is a HUGE sounding album. Whilst some people may be put off by the clinical, pristine, note-perfect sound, it really does give it an epic feel that perfectly matches the anthemic songwriting here.

Sometimes when doing these reviews, you tend not to listen to albums again after you’re finished and it’s submitted. I can safely say that this will not be the case here, and I will be enjoying this album for a good while yet. Just try not to make us wait another five years for the follow eh chaps?

Score: 8/10

Tracklisting:

01. Haunted 5:05
02. Hall of Echoes 6:17
03. Let It Burn 6:49
04. Silenced 4:36
05. The Domino Effect 11:03
06. Complex 5:49
07. King of Nothing 5:07
08. Lost Along the Way 5:20
09. Run 3:59
10. Defence Condition 10:42

Release Date: Nuclear Blast Records

Label: 25th November 2022