DIVIDING LINES

British prog metal masters Threshold are back with their 12th studio album Dividing Lines, released on November 18th via Nuclear Blast. This is their second LP after singer Glynn Morgan - who had already appeared on Threshold's sophomore album Psychedelicatessen in 1994 - made a return to the band's ranks, replacing Damian Wilson. The rest of the line-up is unchanged compared to the band's previous record Legends of the Shire. Karl Groom and Richard West lead the charge armed with guitar and keyboards, respectively. As usual, the pair penned much of the material included on the new record, although there are also notable contributions by Morgan, who injected fresh blood into the band's songwriting department (more on this later). The line-up is completed by Johanne James (drums) and Steve Anderson (bass), forming a time-tested rhythm section for nearly 20 years now.

The band presented Dividing Lines as the "darker, moodier brother" of Legends of the Shire and the description is quite accurate: while Legends was a sprawling, double-disc progressive rock tour-de-force, Dividing Lines marks a return to a heavier and more compact sound that has characterized much of the band's output in the new millenium. Prog rock aficionados need not worry, though: there is plenty of sophisticated progressive goodness running through the album's 64 minutes, including distinct references to the 1980s neo-prog sound of bands like Marillion and Arena. This is probably the aspect of Dividing Lines that I found most satisfying: the album is a masterwork of balance as heavy prog metal riffage and aggression are combined with lighter prog rock arrangements and soft, emotional melodies, masterfully interpreted by Morgan's expressive and resonant voice. The singer also contributed to the songwriting with a handful of tracks that hint towards modern metal influences (the faint growls emerging underneath the cleans in the chorus of "Let It Burn", the massive vocal hooks in "King of Nothing" and "Run"). These influences also emerge more generally in West's futuristic keyboard sound, in the crisp, vocal-driven production, and in the streamlined song structures that never stray far away from a simple verse-chorus form.

This was a surprise for me, as I tend to associate Threshold with a more traditionally progressive form of metal, in a similar camp as Ayreon / Star One, Queensrÿche or Fates Warning. To their credit, Threshold pull off this modernist spin majestically - and this comes from someone who is not a big fan of the modern metal fad in the first place. Threshold's secret weapon lies in the exceptional songwriting and arrangements. Simply put, Dividing Lines contains a handful of songs that can be considered career highlights for the band. "Hall of Echoes", "Let It Burn", "Run" and the long-form epic "Defence Condition" offer a mighty testament to Threshold's extraordinary ability to tread a fine line between complexity, heaviness, technical playing, and melodic accessibility. The hooks are absolutely exhilarating, but the songs also possess strong replay value thanks to the intelligent arrangements and interesting dynamics. I am particularly fond of the depth and subtlety in the arrangements, with keyboards and guitars playing off one another to create an ever-changing, multi-layered sonic background that ensures the music never feels monotonous or repetitive. The playing is also sublime, with strong solos by both Groom and West, plenty of powerful grooves by the rhythmic duo Anderson-James, and a superb performance by Glynn Morgan, who sounds like a man at the highest point in his career.

My only gripe with Dividing Lines is that the songwriting quality drops somewhat halfway through the album. The first four songs are excellent, but things start to fall through with the first long-form epic track included on the LP, "The Domino Effect": the melodies here feel slightly phoned-in and predictable, which makes the song seem longer than it actually is. The subsequent tracks "Complex" and "King of Nothing" also fail to leave a strong impression. Things start to look up again with "Lost Along the Way", although its very overt soft neo-prog influences are somewhat at odds with the more metallic nature of the rest of the album. Fortunately, Dividing Lines closes mightily strong with two of its best tracks, "Run" and "Defence Condition", whose magnificence makes me forget the somewhat pedestrian 25 minutes that preceded them.

Despite the slight mid-flight turbulence, Dividing Lines stands out as one of the best albums by the British progsters, as well as one of the most accomplished melodic prog metal releases of the year. The album may not break any new ground, but when the quality of the songwriting is as high as on some of the tracks included here, it would be foolish to complain. Album after album, Threshold continue to perfect their special blend of melodic power metal and progressive rock, and on Dividing Lines they have found a way of expression that is at times utterly breath-taking. The album is the sound of a band riding a creative peak at the height of their compositional powers: if you are a prog metal fan, you'd be a fool not to ride along.

[Originally written for The Metal Observer]

THRESHOLD releases this lively and progressive 12th opus. An album addressing the acceptance of the other in our fractured world, here we go.

"Haunted" opens swirling, melodic and rhythmic by a metallic riff; acoustic break echoing the touching spleen and a sensitive first solo by Karl backed up by Johanne's pads. "Hall of Echoes" follows on a futuristic mid-tempo, AOR-proven metal-synthetic track; exchange of calm and shimmering parts before a duel between Karl and Richard; text on the antechamber of death and title where the synth smells good of the 80s. "Let It Burn" continues with a Glynn by the way, texts on climatic disorder; breaks in rhythm, punchy and controlled prog metal, calibrated with a fat sound; finale with solo and ethereal religious atmosphere. "Silenced" drives the point home with a vocoder that played well in the 90s; a synthetic neo-prog single, melodic with a precise chorus, also agreed which gets away with a melting solo and a finale with orchestral samples. "The Domino Effect" for one of two epic moments, over 10 minutes on the clock; atmosphere à la Symphony X more melodic metal than progressive, three moments including a neo-atmospheric break where the keyboards bring back a time to KANSAS with cottony vocals, a stratospheric Petrucci-like solo and a Wallien finale where Richard shows his aura like a certain Ruddess ; large piece smoothly conducted between technicality and emotion.

"Complex" returns to the synth-metal sound eyeing a beat on LINKIN PARK; air worthy of the consensus 80s; the jerky riff is also reminiscent of the works of STAR ONE; hard and synth break for a knife jam and deluge of symphonic technical notes to avoid landing. "King of Nothing" appears for the heaviest, supercharged, trending 90s track this time around; A masculine EVANESCENCE, a nasty riff and Glynn onward; a single from yesteryear in prog nu-metal where the break and the solo allow you to hang on. "Lost Along the Way" hard-FM intro and EUROPE-style tune, for stadiums at last when that was the time. A little FOREIGNER too, ASIA for the voice in the fiery chorus, in short all the big names; soulless title in fact saved by a synth solo bringing me back to BANKS and the 3rd version of GENESIS. "Run" falls back into that 80s-90s soundtrack, that's nice but it's still 2022; the found air is energetic and conventional and Glynn overplays; once again it is the solo that takes the title out of torpor. Finally "Defence Condition" intro prog, ie effects, backing vocals, cinematic synths; fat riff, Glynn surfing on metronomic drums; symphonic and pompous break and it starts again on the jerky rhythm; spleen guitar break and we return to it on the same side on a perceptible finale; the last two minutes ambient, spatial and sympho then strongly metallic show the imprint of the group.

THESHOLD therefore releases a well-calibrated album, which sounds like deja-vu; yes, I expected more from this group, too far back on the metallo-progressive scene, delivering good music without pouring into that little extra that would make it an excellent album. Glynn brings the most to give the pep to each title, Karl and Richard set the fire well with their various solos, the bass is very well set with Steve and Johanne, but there is this but; the spark that makes you vibrate and leave you speechless at the end of the album, in short I continue to hope for a little more.

It may have taken five years for Threshold to provide the follow-up to the mighty 'Legends of the Shires', but at long last they are back with their twelfth studio album. In many ways I find it hard to understand that it has now been 30 years since they released their debut, as in many ways it seems like just yesterday that I played it in the car for the first time wondering what on earth was going on, but in others ways it is truly a lifetime so I guess that's right. There have been quite a few line-up changes over the years, but guitarist Karl Groom and keyboard player Richard West have been there since the debut, drummer Johanne James has been there for more 20 years, bassist Steve Anderson has been there since 2004's 'Subsurface', it is just within the singers that their history has been a little more fraught. Incumbent Glynn Morgan replaced Damian Wilson for their second album, before being replaced by Damian in turn who left the band before returning years later, after which he was replaced by Glynn again in time for the last album, which means that Glynn is not only the new boy but also one of the three who were in the group in the 90's.

Confused? There is no need to be, as Glynn knows exactly what he is doing and has slotted right back in where he was back in the day. They have kept with the style they demonstrated so well on their last release, using a single guitar yet still looking back in time to what they were doing in the 90's. The single guitar means they are not as heavy as they used to be, as Karl has resisted the temptation to overdub everything in sight, which means there is more room for Richard to shine. Steve and Johanne stay back in the pocket, meaning they are providing the support required for the others and ensuring the foundation is always there but never taking anything away from the two melodic leads. This also means there is quite a lot of space within the arrangement, deliberately so that Glynn has been given the room for his voce to really shine. I am not the only person who felt it was a shame he had not been allowed to develop his time with Threshold nearly 30 years ago, but here he is comfortable and enjoying himself.

Richard has also brought in some of his non-metallic or prog influences, which adds additional flourishes to what is an incredibly polished release indeed. Wherever Karl Groom is involved one knows the production is going to be superb, and the guitar sound great, but he also has restrained himself at times to provide more balance and thoughtfulness, while also riffing hard in the way we have come to know so well at others. They describe the album as 'Legends'' darker, moodier older brother, yet to my mind it is also still very much linked back to their earlier works. I have been a fan of these guys throughout their career, and even saw (and reviewed) them when Glynn was in the band first time around. They say they can't wait to get out on tour, and all I can say is that everyone in Europe is very lucky as this great band has released another great album.

Who'd have thought that twelve albums deep and with Glynn Morgan back on lead vocals Threshold would have dropped perhaps their magnum opus? The band describe this as taking the sound of Legends of the Shires in a darker direction, and that's certainly accurate, with Richard West's keyboards taking on a chilly, almost cyberpunk quality to them and the lighter power metal influences on the prior album are dialled back, yielding an album which is both one of their proggiest and one of their heaviest (even working in the odd bit of harsh vocals more effectively than any of their previous brief experiments with such). The lyrical focuses of the band from their earliest years have never been more relevant than they are here in the 2020s, and they take aim at them here with pinpoint accuracy, yielding one of the angriest and most relevant albums Threshold have ever put out.