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Threshold might be one of the most repetitive bands in the prog-metal scene: most of their albums resemble each other like two peas in a pod and always offer the same sounds, but that doesn’t detract from the fact that they have created masterpieces.
I am about to review what I consider to be the most underrated album the band has ever produced! "Extinct Instinct" is, in my opinion, never listed among the group’s masterpieces, yet I think it is superior to albums like "Wounded Land", the perhaps overrated "Psychedelicatessen", or even "Hypothetical".
It’s the album where Threshold’s sound takes a turn that will be confirmed in subsequent records... Darker and colder atmospheres compared to the warmer and sunnier ones of the first two albums, a harder sound leaning towards thrash, and greater complexity in the compositions with many more tempo changes, more daring and less cautious use of sounds, and more pronounced technique. The only flaw is Damian Wilson's not exactly excellent voice, which will fortunately give way to the more mature Andrew McDermott in the next album.
An album that offers everything Threshold's music can give from the very first "Exposed", with that truly impeccable guitar and keyboard intro; it then continues with "Somatography", where more delicate parts alternate with strong thrash accelerations, and the final keyboard loop is really well inserted. And what about "Eat The Unicorn" (aside from the rather insignificant title, tell me what "eat the unicorn" means)? One of the best pieces they have ever written, with strong and aggressive rhythms that also leave space for atmosphere and complex guitar and keyboard solos. The semi-ballad in Queen style "Forever" is an excellent prelude to the powerful yet always melodic "Virtual Isolation", while "The Whispering", with a warmer atmosphere compared to the other pieces, is really a song with two faces (and saying two seems really little); the delicate and clean guitar arpeggios of some verses transform, in the chorus, into powerful strumming accompanied by incredible choirs... a track created to unleash the most frantic but also to entertain, overall one of the most successful on the record. "Lake Of Despond" is instead a bit underwhelming, although it is well-crafted in terms of atmosphere. The ballad "Clear", well-tuned with piano and guitar, is still capable of giving emotions, while "Life Flow" offers good melodies and all in all a nice keyboard solo in the central part. And to close the album is another superlative track, "Part Of The Chaos", this one too less dark and closer to the atmospheres of the first two albums, which in its 8 minutes alternates powerful guitars, very well-placed choirs, and a beautiful instrumental part where guitar and keyboard once again embark on fine solos.
The outro "Segue", a guitar arpeggio accompanied by voices of people in the background, closes an album that really, and I say "really", deserves more attention and which I would honestly not want to hold back from calling a "masterpiece".
The limited edition of 2001 also contains the splendid acoustic ballad "Mansion" and the radio edit versions of "Exposed" and "Virtual Isolation".
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Exposed (06:26)
sick of guessing what's behind your eyes
i ask for truth and all i get is lies
the shrinking violet in your flacid mind
thinks he's cool but all you do is whine
and now you stand there and demand your half
when i have given to you all you have
don't make me laugh at that demo play
you're sick and tired of my clever word play
you find it hard doing things my way
you've done your part so tell me why do you stay
i assume your silence is a foil for rage
you can't find words even at your age
the space between us is the cloak you wear
to hide your feelings oh you just won't dare
to reveal the visage that's behind your mask
we have the answers but you just won't ask
don't make me laugh at that passion play
you're sick and tired of my clever word play
you find it hard doing things my way
you've done your part so tell me why do you stay
now i pick up the entrails of another dead affair
i assume the mantle that i knew you could not wear
you never had the confidence to leave yourself exposed
to the gaze of the tiny minds it's my mission to explode
is this more like it can you get into the groove
or are you paralysed still too scared to move
you are naked you are rooted to the spot
i am the walrus and it's clear that you are not
03 Eat the Unicorn (10:06)
give me a place to stand and i will move the world
give me the right to speak and see my flag unfurled
the gods of war and the generous whore
give me life in this tinsel town
but the shit i eat and the people i meet
make me want to bring this curtain down
in the night time the shadows fall and i retire to lay down
the twisted chains and losses and gains of war
it's the right time to speak in rhyme of the fire gods that lay down
read between all the shadows i've seen and more
i am falling down closer to the ground
(give to me your fairest deeds)
tell me where you're bound i will follow now
teardrops are rising
(i am he your fairy steed)
teardrops are falling
nightmare is coming and i hear the drumming
of demons in the night
the space where my heart was is claimed by the servants
of my subconscious flight
the wings that i fly on are taking me into
the underworld tonight
where i perceive all my wildest dreams where i
bring them all to life
all that stands before breaking human lore
(i'm your wildest fantasy)
teardrops are running
nightmare is coming and i hear the drumming
the space where my heart was is claimed by the servants
of demons in the night
of my subconscious flight
the wings that i fly on are taking me into
where i perceive all my wildest dreams where i
the underworld tonight
bring them all to life
unicorn so wild and free, balm my eyes carry me home
teardrops are drying
nightmare is coming and i hear the drumming
of demons in the night
the space where my heart was is claimed by the servants
of my subconscious flight
the wings that i fly on are taking me into
the underworld tonight
where i perceive all my wildest dreams where i
bring them all to life
06 The Whispering (07:50)
close your eyes and tell me what you find
don't you here the voices in your mind
where have all your lovers gone, the friends you thought you counted on
passed away like shadows lost with time
i gave you all your life to make a choice
from time to time i know you heard my voice
it wasn't just for information, i desired your conversation
all you did was drown me out with noise
when i said go you wouldn't go
i gave my hand but every time you never want to know
and so you turned away, the seasons reached their end
it took you all your days to keep me from your head
the night grew dark your eyes grew black
and soon there'll be no turning back again
are you swimming through a myriad
of spiritual decisions
are they whispering sweet nothing while they
drown you with derision
out of sight but in your mind
they're calling out they're pulling you away
deep inside you know what's right
but slowly you're believing what they say
if they said go would you go
are you orbiting the rainbow do you live to be in trances
are you lost in paranoia did you take too many chances
parasites and soul-destroyers ready for your life to drift away
deep inside they steal your mind and slowly you're repeating what they say
if they said go would you go
when every country's gone to war every dream has hit the floor
when every gene has split in two and every breath has poisoned you
only then you'll understand none of this is what i planned
but giving you the right to choose meant some of you would have to lose
when every lake is parched and dry when all pollution kills the sky
when every soul has gone it's way and every heart is old and grey
maybe then you'll understand somewhere on your wounded land
you heard my voice but chose to turn away
08 Clear (03:22)
as a child i recall i had once believed
i would die before i reached seventeen
seventeen i remember i faced the truth
when i understood your prophecy was confused
when all is done there is little that can guide everyone along
the faltered line you mumbled on the day you left us behind
nothing is clear though you promised me you'd be here
nothing is clear though you promised me
you promised me
you promised me that you'd be here
nothing is clear though you promised me you'd be here
you promised me
though nothing was clear
like a fuel it will burn until you are strong
as a child hope is what keeps us young
if you're weak you'll never see past the day
like a cynic you will probably feel betrayed
if one thing's clear there is certainly little of value here
and when we die inevitably we're leaving all this behind
nothing is clear though you promised me you'd be here
you promised me
nothing is clear though you promised me
you promised me that you'd be here
nothing is clear though you promised me you'd be here
you promised me
though nothing was clear
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