CLONE

Threshold has always been a very high quality band. Although they were plagued with personnel changes and thier earlier releases, although quite enjoyable, didn't boast the highest production quality, or the best vocalists. After burning through two singers and three drummers, in 1998 Threshold released their groundbraking album, Clone.

This album marks the beginning of Threshold's signature sound. The keyboards are more modern, showcasing more synthetic sounds as opposed to the strings, piano, and choir-ish sounds from Wounded Land up to Extinct Instinct; the guitars have a warmer crunch and emit more emotion; the bass rises to new rhythmic heights and the drums are more energetic. I almost thought Johanne James was drumming on this album, but it turns out it's a much improved Mark Heaney. And finally, vocalist Andrew ''Mac'' McDermott proves to us that he is Threshold's best vocalist. Like Glynn Morgan, Mac sings in the lower registers, but what sets the two apart is the fact that Morgan always sounded a bit forced when trying to evoke emotion into certain passages of a song (''Innocent'', anyone?), but Mac maintains his voice, choosing to lock it up most of the time, except for the first verse of ''Freaks'' when he is almost shouting but still sounding like 100%.

Much of the album is heavy and fast (''Freaks'' and ''Life's Too Good''), and also somber. A couple of the songs are about genetic experimentation, ''The Latent Gene'' especially will keep you hooked. ''Angels'' is about changing yourself physically, and features good crunch from Nick Midson. ''Voyager II'' features a crazy keyboard intro from Richard West. And there's even a little ballad to close the album. ''Sunrise on Mars'' is one of my favorite songs by Threshold. Mac is at his best here, and exudes incredible emotiveness amid uplifting music.

This album would mark the beginning of a wonderful and classic era for Threshold. One that would sadly end 9 years later with Mac leaving the band.

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