HYPOTHETICAL

There isn't a lot of progressive metal I like and I bought this record for its few Arena-like neo-prog moments. Treshold is however an eighties metal infused symphonic metal band with poppy refrains and a very smooth production. Almost a bit like the later albums of Toto. Some guitar riffs are clearly influenced by Metallica. The keyboards of Richard West sound great and I like his modern sounds. During the solo-sections there is some real modern prog bliss to be found. The powerful vocals of Andrew McDermott have a modernized stadion rock appeal, but the execution here is faultless and easy on the ears. If the style of the band is a bit typical, the song- writing is quite strong here. Some refrains are too poppy for my taste, there is a lot of melody here that does stick - which is not a given in my experience! The eighties swoosh ballad 'Keep My Head' is probably not meant to be a parody, but that's exactly what it sounds like to me. The 55 minute album is well spread over three sides of the vinyl and the sound and quality of the record is outstanding. I must admit I'm quite satisfied after the first two sides, but the final epic 'Narcissus' is also a great track full of strong instrumental sections. Treshold's 'Hypothetical' delivers nothing new here, but the mix of metal / prog / classic rock works well for me.