Threshold - Subsurface

Year of Release: 2004
Label: InsideOut Music
Catalog Number: IOMCD 178SPV 085-60872
Format: CD
Total Time: 57:09:00

While packing a hard punch, this one never loses pace. It is a successful marriage between rock and metal. If I hadn't known better, I would have figured this was a new album from Toto or Asia. This is their most melodic effort to date. I am thoroughly impressed. If you are a fan of Threshold and you've been spinning Hypothetical and Critical Mass for the past few years, toss those discs aside. This one is leaps and bounds ahead of anything they've done. EVERY SINGLE SONG on this album is amazing. While it progresses you'll find yourself choosing each one as your favorite. It is difficult to choose. There is no question this is their best album with all their best songs. It is cutting edge while abstaining from the cookie cutter. If Threshold had been guilty in the past of following a formula, this one breaks clean free. It is neither overly complex nor overly predictable. It is well balanced. Most lyrics elsewhere are secondary to the music, hard to hear, or hard to understand. The lyrics in this album, however, are extremely thoughtful. The lyrics are relevant to the current times. The most impressive song, a ten minute opus called "The Art Of Reason," uses vibrant words like "globalized" and "demonized" that force the listener to delve deeper into their meaning. While sharing ideas on one front, it brings a memorable melody on another.

The album and all its contents demonstrate attention to detail. It is a lean mean fighting machine ready to go the distance. The new bassist Steve Anderson fits like the last piece to a puzzle. It is like he has been with them all along and necessary to complete the picture. The keyboardist, Richard West, is easily at his best ever. He gives the music the extra dazzle like a graffiti artist painting the clever little baubles into a mural. Basically, all of them click with one another and the songwriting is excellent. This is no doubt Threshold's best album and a top contender for the year. Highly recommended and soon to be highly acclaimed. Get yourself a copy now!

Tracklisting:
Mission Profile (8:15) / Ground Control (7:13) / Opium (6:48) / Stop Dead (4:21) / The Art Of Reason (10:20) / Pressure (5:17) / Flags And Footprints (4:54) / Static (5:07) / The Destruction Of Words (6:14)

Musicians:
Mac - vocals
Karl Groom - guitars
Nick Midson - guitars
Richard West - keyboards
Johanne James - drums

Discography:
Wounded Land (1993)
Psychedelicatessen (1994)
Livedelica (1995)
Extinct Instinct (1997)
Clone (1998)
Decadent (1999)
Hypothetical (2001)
Wounded Land: Special Edition (2001/2002)
Psychedelicatessen/Livedelica: Special Edition (2001/2002)
Concert In Paris (2002)
Critical Mass (2002)
Wireless - Acoustic Sessions (2003)
Critical Energy (2004)
Extinct Instinct: Special Edition (2004)
Subsurface (2004)
Replica (2004)
Surface to Stage (2006)
Dead Reckoning (2007)
The Ravages Of Time (2007)
Paradox - The Singles Collection (2009)
March Of Progress (2012)
For The Journey (2014)
European Journey (2015)
Legends Of The Shires (2017)
Two-Zero-One-Seven (2018)

Critical Energy (2004) (DVD)

Genre: Progressive-Power Metal

Origin UK

Added: August 1st 2004
Reviewer: Joshua "Prawg Dawg" Turner
Score:
Artist website: www.thresh.net
Hits: 2545
Language: english