THE RAVAGES OF TIME: THE BEST OF THRESHOLD

I had to check out this compilation of Threshold after being enamoured with 5 of their album releases. "The Ravages of Time" is a great starting point for those wanting to get into the band as it does feature some of their all time greatest songs. The epics are here in their unedited form and there are some variations on other songs that are edited for radio.

For a newcomer to the band there is enough here to satiate my interest including tracks from albums I do not own, but I cannot see this comp being suitable for anyone who already owns all the studio releases as there is very little new material, not even any live tracks which is a shame as I would have liked to hear them live.

The first CD opens with a radio edit of Slipstream which has some of the best bits cut out. There is a good selection from all of Threshold's albums up to the release of the compilation all jammed on 2 CDs. From the 1993 debut "Wounded Land" is Consume to Live and Sanity's End. From the 1994 followup

"Psychedelicatessen" is A Tension of Souls and Innocent. From 1997's "Extinct Instinct" is the brilliant Eat The Unicorn, The Whispering, and a radio edited version of Exposed. From 1998's excellent "Clone" is Voyager II and The Latent Gene, both highlights undoubtedly of one of the strongest Threshold albums. I had heard nothing from "Hypothetical" from 2001, but the songs chosen, Light and Space, Oceanbound and The Ravages of Time are incredible. Light and Space has an infectious riff, and very melodic, and The Ravages of Time is enough to warrant purchasing of "Hypothetical".

2002's "Critical Mass" is represented by Falling Away, Phenomenon, and Fragmentation, another album I did not have. From "Subsurface" 2004 are Mission Profile, a radio edit of Pressure, and The Art of Reason. I had not heard these tracks either but was very taken with the melodic Mission Profile, and the killer riff is delightful along those spacey keyboards.

Finally from 2007's "Dead Reckoning" are 2 radio edits, Slipstream and Pilot In The Sky. Pilot in the Sky of Dreams is cruelly edited for radio and of no interest as the 9 minute epic version is way better.

Overall this is a solid compilation worthy of checking out for those new to the group or have not got all their albums. Some of the albums are rather patchy so perhaps a compilation is appropriate rather than forking out for 8 albums. Having said that there are some songs that should have made it to the comp. Though I was impressed enough with the material from "Subsurface" and "Hypothetical" to get hold of those at some stage. Perhaps it is worth getting this along with the debut, "Clone" and "Moment of Progress" their best albums.