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A few days ago, we were met with some bad news: Andrew McDermott, known as Mac, vocalist of Threshold from 1998 to 2007, passed away at the age of just 45 due to health issues stemming from kidney failure following 4 days in a coma. During his 9 years with Threshold, with whom he recorded 5 albums (from "Clone" until his departure after "Dead Reckoning"), he demonstrated great skill and his incredible voice capable of singing high notes without losing melodic emphasis and never becoming aggressive.
I thought the best way to commemorate him was to talk about an album I hadn't yet discussed: "Hypothetical". It is one of the three albums (the other two are "Critical Mass" and "Subsurface", which I have already reviewed) that, in my opinion, represents the period of maximum inspiration for the British band. It is an album where all characteristics of the Threshold sound find equal space: the thrash metal-inspired riffs, the melodic breaks with guitar arpeggios, atmospheric parts, and excellent electronic inserts, as well as the pompous AOR-style choruses and pleasant solos of both guitar and keyboards. And Mac's vocal performance on this album is as remarkable as in the subsequent albums; it might seem a little weaker and less flashy in the slower moments (probably a weak point for him) but never experiences significant downturns. For those wanting to venture into the world of Threshold, this album could be a good entry point.
The album opens with the sharp and powerful opener "Light And Space," led by powerful guitar riffs that also leave room for atmospheric moments. It’s followed by the strong "Turn On Tune In," more thrash-oriented, followed by the enduring "The Ravages Of Time," with over 10 minutes of duration that, after the atmospheric intro, starts with powerful thrash strikes only to then give way to a central part characterized by a significant keyboard interlude followed by delicate and dark guitar passages; a passage that will be repeated after the good instrumental section including a noteworthy keyboard solo. A track that represents one of the high points of the album. Then follows the melodic and melancholic "Sheltering Sky," with emphasis on piano keys and a slow rhythm but with some heavier riffs preventing it from being classified as a ballad.
"Oceanbound" returns to favor killer riffs and more sustained rhythms, but the slow central part reveals itself to be a notable change of pace. "Long Way Home" features even sharper riffs close to thrash but the keyboards with their piano touches help soften it a bit. As the penultimate track, we have the ballad "Keep My Head," and this time it truly is a ballad. The emphasis is on the keyboards and Mac’s voice shines most in the chorus; the guitar solo is also not bad. And to close, we have one of the career gems of the group: "Narcissus," which appears quite catchy in the first minutes, with powerful guitars alternating with softer parts and the usual pompous choruses with overlapping voices, then the central part brings the best: first, a beautiful part with Richard West's keyboards that, between atmospheric sounds, piano sounds, and others almost neo-prog in style, creates a dense and pathos-filled atmosphere, then a remarkable instrumental section clearly inspired by Dream Theater, rhythmically excellent, alternating with great skill significant guitar and keyboard solos to then return to the melodies of the previous minutes.
Thus comes the end of a work imbued with all the class this British band knows how to offer us. I feel inclined to give the highest scores to most of this band’s albums, probably because they have a decidedly very personal sound; from my point of view, Threshold is not the stereotypical progressive metal band of which there are thousands of clones just waiting to be discovered on Progarchives but instead is a band with its own style and a rather personal way of combining elements, I would say.
Browsing various forums, sites, etc., I often notice they are not mentioned as bands like Dream Theater and Pain Of Salvation are. Even though I'm not a fan of posthumous commercial processes like those that happened with people like Michael Jackson and Amy Winehouse, I think the news of Mac's death is a good opportunity to rediscover this band, especially for those who never considered it before.
Progressive metal in any case loses a valuable voice, perhaps not one of the absolute best but certainly involved in the best production of one of the most important bands in the field. We probably would not have seen him with the band anymore as he left after Dead Reckoning in 2007, but perhaps we could have seen some of his solo work, as he was working on some.
At 45, to remember him, we also lost another illustrious voice: Mike Baker of Shadow Gallery, who died in 2008, to whom many would have immediately thought after reading the news. I hope this 45 doesn't represent a curse like that of the rockstars represented by the number 27! In the meantime, I invite you to explore Threshold's discography hoping they will come out soon with a new album that now seems almost certain to feature their original vocalist Damian Wilson.
Tracklist and Lyrics
01 Light and Space (05:58)
as you look on your surroundings from the mountain to the sea
you find everything i gave you you see everything but me
i am the storm that won't be calmed i am the calm that follows
i'm in the stars that fill your sky and when i choose
i'll be in your thoughts i'll be in your dreams
all the light you see all the air you breathe
as you look on all the hurting and the finger points at me
you see freedom in deserting and the cost of being free
i painted the heavens the sun and the moon
i know what's beyond them i know you
i know what's before you and what's going to be
but now is the moment you'll find me
and all that you ever thought will fall to the ground like snow
clearing the air you breathe whitening all you know
and all that you ever see is never the same again
your eyes will be open wide then you will understand
as your science takes you further you'll eventually concede
you can only scratch the surface i'm the one who's playing me
i am the road that won't be found i am the sign that guides you
i'm in the air that's all around and when i choose
i'll be in your thoughts i'll be in your dreams
all the light you see all the air you breathe
05 Oceanbound (06:42)
every time i try to climb a mountain
all i find are steeper ones ahead
every time i walk along the highway
all you do is push me to the edge
i'm not afraid
let the sky become an ocean pull me in above my head
won't deny my one devotion lose or win cos i'm not scared
the higher up you build your walls around me
the higher i discover how to fly
i'm not afraid
let the sky become an ocean pull me in above my head
won't deny my one devotion lose or win cos i'm not scared
i know the truth of my conscience and i know the lies of my sign
i know how it feels to be wanting and i know of the fullness of time
i feel a storm across my face as night is falling
and i can't see to carry on
i know the emptiness of space can hear me calling
but i don't know what lies beyond
i dream of a world without shadows and i dream of a day without pain
i long for perpetual motion and i dream of living again
every time i try to climb the mountain
nothing in the world can pull me down
i'm not afraid
let the sky become an ocean pull me in above my head
won't deny my one devotion lose or win cos i'm not scared
08 Narcissus (11:22)
caught in the headlamp glare of your own blinding vanity
mesmerised by the stare of your shallow personality
gorging the junk food of flattery you drag your fat ego around
everyone floored by the battering you give to whoever's around
trapped in the personal hell of your own desperate addiction
frightened that others can tell of your expensive affliction
with your happiness based on a chemical you wax lyrical with words so profound
when your indulgence reaches that level it's safest not to be around
oh narcissus you petulant child admiring yourself in the curve of my eyes
oh narcissus you angel beguiled unsated by self you do nothing but die
wrapped in the transparent lies of your desperate situation
you expound on imaginary ties expecting us to believe them
in the absence of concrete commitment
you've all the attention that money can buy
not caring that those who still love you are callously thrown to one side
oh narcissus you petulant child admiring yourself in the curve of my eyes
oh narcissus you angel beguiled unsated by self you do nothing but die
oh narcissus you treacherous child admiring yourself in the curve of my eyes
oh narcissus you angel beguiled unsated by self you do nothing but die
hey you dog man whelp of a litter of scavengers
bolting the flesh of your victims with a ravenous greed
you work with your siblings up to a point
'til your ego is sated or your wallet fulfilled
jealously guarding the bones of your kill
with a malice that's born out of fear
running with the pack your defence is to attack
but i detect you in your stealth because you've rolled in your own filth
you hope to gain my trust with your cowardly disguise
whispering such confidences my revulsion to a-wreck
you call yourself my friend you call yourself my friend
and when i turn my back your fangs will feel my neck
what is your domain but a barn where your runts roll in the reek
you would seek to steel my freedom and have branded me a freak
i want nothing of your snarling mongrel strain your smarmy doggerel lies
and if these words have singed your fur consider yourself a whipped cur
gorging the junk food of flattery you haul your fat ego around
everyone floored by the battering you give to whoever's around
oh narcissus you petulant child admiring yourself in the curve of my eyes
oh narcissus you angel beguiled unsated by self you do nothing but die
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