WOUNDED LAND

Threshold had been chugging away for some five years by the time they produced this debut album. Founder and key member Karl Groom had founded his Thin Ice Studios in the meantime, which became a reasonably successful recording venue which gained particular traction in the neo-prog scene, but perhaps wisely Threshold didn't unduly rush to make use of this resource. By the time Karl Groom's connections had managed to land them a deal with the small Giant Electric Pea label - originally established by neo-prog band IQ to handle their own releases - it's clear that Threshold had workshopped their material a high degree and could present a debut in which they were confident in their sound.

That style here focuses on melodic metal with progressive touches and recording sensibilities, buoyed by the emotive vocals of Damian Wilson, whose band Landmarq had been one of those using Thin Ice Studios. There's a darkness to it reminiscent of the harder-edged 1980s thrash metal, but rather than taking on the tone of an angry protest, instead the atmosphere is more of a mournful warning, owing to the ecological concerns that inform the lyrics - something which has only become more relevant over time. (That's not the only place where they're right on the money - Siege of Baghdad was composed about the 1990s Gulf War, but could also be read as a warning about the Iraq War of the 2000s and the incessant chaos that has resulted from it.)

With Dream Theater's sound being so widely influential in progressive metal (especially in those sections of the scene which don't incorporate extreme metal influences), it's refreshing to hear a band who clearly are drawing inspiration from the same well but whose sound is distinct and clearly their own - Threshold having come together and developed this material whilst Dream Theater were still one band among many and hadn't yet conquered the scene. Threshold's more subdued, subtle approach isn't as immediately gripping or as technically flashy as Dream Theater, but it grows on you over the span of this album, making it well worth repeated listens. It's certainly a very promising start for the group, who'd clearly honed their craft to a fine degree even at this stage.