Threshold
Dividing Lines

I didn't know whether to expect a lot or keep my expectations low and be content with the usual, yet excellent, prog-metal album. Because by now we know, the proposal of Threshold has been roughly the same for 25 years, and there are very few possible surprises... but they are possible, and then there's that little something that makes the difference from one record to another, even if you need to be skilled and analytical to find it. In 2017, they surprised us a little, hitting us with an unusual double concept album with more expansive atmospheres than usual and the highest prog imprint in about 18 years, they certainly gave the illusion of raising the bar.

What happens in this "Dividing Lines"? I thought nothing, but instead, something happens, no revolution but a small attempt at diversification is made. The album overall is more immediate than the more pretentious previous concept, but obviously, that's not the point. Fundamentally, the attempt is to reorganize the structure of many riffs, to avoid sounding too predictable, to create a bit of variety while strictly maintaining their trademark. These are all minimal fluctuations, but they are noticeable, it's clear that the Threshold are what they are and remain so, but there is something that slightly breaks the monotony, you can sense that a minimum effort to refresh the proposal has been made. Let's see what...

Well, for example, they tried not to overuse those pounding riffs halfway between polished thrash metal and supercharged hard rock that were abundant until recently; we find them in all their strength and typicality in the song "Complex," in "Haunted" but already more subdued, in the rest significantly less. In general, all the guitar work seems more varied and redesigned but without being revolutionary. In "Silenced" they managed to put in the right dose of aggressiveness using small, choked riffs, in "King of Nothing" we find some passages a bit more virtuosic than usual and some sharp and open riffs that make it resemble a more recent Fates Warning song, the verses of "Lost Along the Way" seem like quite peculiar rhythmic marches. Even regarding the slower parts, there is something different, with considerably less space given to the usual clean parts which over time became trite, preferring somewhat sharper notes still well inserted in the always very gray and autumnal mood.

What varies more, however, is the keyboardist Richard West. On several occasions, he makes a rather heavy and ingenious use of electronics, from the abrasive sounds of "Haunted" to the robotic ones of "Hall of Echoes," to the hypnotic shards of "Complex," the intro of "Lost Along the Way" even mirrors the late-era Depeche Mode; but even the phrasings and solos never sound the same way, you don't always hear the usual acidic and jangling solo (the one in "Lost Along the Way" is even Emersonian); there are not lacking brilliant sounds of neo-prog making and even some orchestral touches.

Some surprise also comes from the drummer Johanne James. I had always considered him a "normal" drummer, but here he does some things that tell of a drummer of quite another caliber; the weave of hits characterizing the verses of "Hall of Echoes" is quite imaginative, the virtuous outbursts he places in "Complex" are truly incredible. Basically, he's telling us he's a monster too, and I've come to think that he might be in the wrong band, a band perhaps not technical enough for his skill, who knows what he could give us in a more complex and tentacular instrumental band...

It's not surprising, however, the singer Glynn Morgan, he's a monster and we already knew that, a vocalist who can be tremendously aggressive without screaming, maintaining an extraordinary balance between melody and grit. Moreover, here the vocal lines are specifically designed for him, whereas in the previous album they were written for Damian Wilson and then sung by Morgan.

However, all this initial enthusiasm seems rather fleeting, initially one gets enlivened by a supposed breeze of freshness but then this euphoria fades quite soon, it becomes apparent that in reality, it is a normal album of Threshold, it's still one of many in their discography, not the album destined to stay in the annals, it has a rather low longevity. The impression you get is of a band that is afraid to experiment, which might translate to a fear of making a misstep and/or losing some solid approval, they do it but with the handbrake on.

One wonders which of the last two albums is more courageous, it is a difficult question to answer because both at least try to change something, it's hard to determine whether the double concept with expanded melodies makes more of a splash or a hint of sound and rhythm restructuring, in both cases it's a rather brief step forward, as much as still a step forward. Let's say we can allow ourselves to raise expectations a little when it comes to Threshold but having peace of mind and fixing it in our minds that they will not go beyond that limit.