PSYCHEDELICATESSEN

Threshold's "Psychedelicatessen" is the second studio album and has a very different sound than other Threshold albums due to the earlier lineup consisting of Glynn Morgan on vocals, Karl Groom on guitars, Nick Midson on guitars, Jon Jeary on bass, Richard West on keyboards, and Nick Harradence on drums. The real change from subsequent albums is undoubtedly the vocals of Morgan. I prefer either Mac or Damian Wilson, though Morgan still knows how to power out a song.

'Sunseeker' opens proceedings with a blaze of riffs and an onslaught of lead guitar attack. Next up is 'A Tension Of Souls' that I like with very slow power chords, a bit like Black Sabbath. The keyboards have a cool retro sound but this one just sits on repetitive riffs on one note for the most part.

'Into The Light' is a 10 minute track so I had high hopes for the brilliant musicianship of Threshold. It begins with quiet guitar picking and mellow vocals. I already miss Wilson as he is so much better, though he is certainly a difficult act to follow having graced Threshold's debut. The song locks into a very mainstream sound on a simple 4/4 sig and becomes mediocre. It builds into a heavier sound with Tony Iommi riffs and a glorious lead break saving it. It is quite interesting how it changes towards the end into a faster riffier track, and ends with dialogue samples. Having said that it is not one of the best Threshold epics; one would do better to check out 'Eat The Unicorn', 'Voyager II', 'The Ravages of Time', 'Rubicon' or 'The Hours'.

'Will To Give' follows, with a pulsating bassline from Jeary, and cool guitar licks. The keys are sequenced in a retro 80s style, then it breaks out into a great metal riff. 'Under The Sun' is a quiet song, 'Babylon Rising' is standard metal, but 'He Is I Am' is one I really like with great riffs and the time sig change, along with a stirring lead break. 'Innocent' is a great metal ballad, with strong lead guitar arpeggio attacks, and some of the best melodic vox. 'Devoted' has a crunching measured riff and some lead breaks with odd unsettling screeches with machine gun fire sampled over the top. 'Lost' returns to the mellow ballad, then it ends with 'Intervention', where the band break into some incredible solos.

This earlier Threshold album does not measure up to releases to come culminating in some excellent albums such as "Clone" and "Moment of Progress". It does have some excellent tracks such as 'He is I AM', 'A Tension of Souls' and 'Intervention' but it is not consistent in quality. It did not measure up to the debut but the best is yet to come from this innovative UK prog metal band.