Melodic, progressive or whatever you want to call them band Threshold now hit us with their twelfth album release. I knew about them but really picked up on them mid-way through with their 2007 album “Dead Reckoning”, which is as epic as it gets without being pompous and which I like very much. If it helps at all, the band describes “Dividing Lines” as the “darker, moodier older brother” of their previous album “Legend of the Shires”.
It’s impossible to talk about Threshold without reference to tight musicianship and this album is no exception. The album opener “Haunted” brings me back into the Threshold zone. It’s a clean chorus-driven melodic rock song, with nice touches and a strong and emotively powerful ending. Singer Glynn Morgan’s voice has an emotive strength without conveying passion at least on the recorded version. It’s tested out on “Hall of Echoes” whose rocking qualities and keyboard flourishes I liked but otherwise it was a something or nothing song which floated into the wind in spite of its lofty intent. A dark mood opens up “Let It Burn”. There follows an epic power-progressive romp. If you like power metal bordering on cheese, but with some nice instrumental work, this is for you. Synthesised vocals start off “Silenced” as a prelude to a dramatic progressive-power track. The dark layers and finally the drama made his song a highlight.
This isn’t a continuous work in that each song has its own personality and qualities. “The Domino Effect” is a classic Threshold song – it rocks, it has melody, it’s catchy and then takes off into progressive reflection. “Is it time to put us back in our box?” enquires Glynn. This interlude is dreamy and quite sad, and in true Threshold fashion after hearing the sound of the crowd we bounce back into electronic melody and guitar flamboyance, topped off by a catchy chorus. Great song. “Complex” is from another Threshold template: a driving force of a melodic power-progressive song with the customary persistent beat and rousing chorus which everyone will sing along to at concerts. Power metal beseeching dominates “King of Nothing” but unlike others, although the style’s the same Threshold do not resort to clichés. “Lost Along the Way” and “Run” moved along comfortably but both lacked the bounce of some of the others in the way that “Hall of Echoes” had. The album closes with “Defence Condition”, a typically fluid and imaginative song which is full of the story-telling, instrumental twists, dramatic atmosphere and nuances that Threshold are so good at.
There is much to enjoy on this album. “Dividing Lines” has many good songs and others which didn’t achieve the heights. There are anthemic choruses that listeners and live audiences will sing along to, plenty of instrumental work to delight in, and a host of great moments and passages. I’m sure existing Threshold devotees will like it as it is familiar in many respects, and there’s every chance they can pick up more followers on the way.
(8/10 Andrew Doherty)
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