Threshold (band)
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| Threshold | |
|---|---|
| Country | England |
| Years active | 1988 - present |
| Genres | Progressive metal |
| Labels | Nuclear Blast |
| Members | Steve Anderson Karl Groom Johanne James Andrew "Mac" McDermott Nick Midson Richard West |
| Past members | Mark Heaney Tony Grinham Jon Jeary Glynn Morgan Damian Wilson |
| Website(s) | thresh.net |
Threshold is a progressive metal band formed in Surrey, England in the late 1980s.
Contents |
[edit] History
Threshold began their career in 1988, initially playing covers of metal groups like Ratt and Testament. As they continued playing together, they began to write their own songs, and eventually stopped playing covers all together. In 1992, they made their first record deal, and, after adding Damian Wilson to the group as lead vocalist, produced their first recording, "Intervention," which was released on a Dutch progressive rock compilation album. Shortly afterwards, keyboardist Richard West joined the band, and he remains with them to this day.
The band's debut album, Wounded Land, was released in 1993, taking its name and some thematic elements from Stephen R. Donaldson's novel of the same name. Wilson was unavailable to join the band for the followup tour, due to various other responsibilities, and so Glynn Morgan was recruited to replace him. He sang on the band's 1994 sophomore recording, Psychedelicatessen, which spawned a music video for the song "Innocent," the band's first. The following year, Morgan and the band toured Europe and recorded some of their performances for the short live album, Livedelica.
Threshold took a break before their next effort, during which time Morgan and then-drummer Jay Micciche left to form Mindfeed. Rather than finding an unknown singer to replace him, the band turned again to Damian Wilson, and together they recorded 1997's Extinct Instinct. They followed this with another tour of Europe, this time supported by Enchant. Additionally, Johanne James, the band's current drummer, played with them for the first time during this tour.
Wilson left the band abruptly in 1998, two weeks before they were to begin recording their next album. Among the list of potential replacements was former Sargant Fury vocalist Andrew "Mac" McDermott, who joined to record Clone, and remains with them to this day. In 1999, the band released their first fan club CD, Decadent (the title is a pun on decade), containing remixes and radio edits of songs from previous albums.
In 2001, Threshold released Hypothetical, which saw Johanne James firmly cemented as the band's permanent drummer. The band's latest, and most drastic, lineup change occurred in 2003, when bassist Jon Jeary, a founding member of the band who also wrote the majority of the band's lyrics to that point, quit, citing dissatisfaction with the band's rigorous touring schedule. He was replaced by Steve Anderson, who began playing on the tour which led to the recording of the double live album and DVD Critical Energy and continues to play on their albums.
In 2001 in music, the band decided to re-release their first three studio albums in Special Editions, with bonus tracks, a remastered sound, expanded liner notes and, in the case of Wounded Land and Psychedelicatessen, special CD-ROM content. Their newer albums, starting with Hypothetical, were released in Limited Editions, with similar bonus content. Currently, Clone is the band's only regular release to not have an enhanced version, although it is possible that one will be produced in the future.
Threshold is now considered one of the leading progmetal bands, alongside Dream Theater, Queensrÿche and Ayreon. They have completed a number of international tours in recent years. [1]
[edit] Style
The band's style on their early albums was a combination of heavy guitars and sweeping keyboards, underscored by tight drumwork and bass. As time progressed, the emphasis on keyboards diminished, though they are still present in most of the band's non-acoustic work. One of the things which distinguished the band's early albums was their lyrical content, which, unlike the fantasy-oriented themes of similar groups such as Ayreon, were concerned with controversial subjects such as environmentalism, religion and spirituality, and genetic engineering. Their more recent albums deal with more personal and political issues.
[edit] Line-Up
Current members:
- Andrew "Mac" McDermott: Vocals (Clone - current)
- Karl Groom: Lead Guitar (founding member)
- Nick Midson: Rhythm Guitar (founding member)
- Steve Anderson: Bass Guitar (Critical Energy - current)
- Richard West: Keyboards (Wounded Land - current)
- Johanne James: Drums (Hypothetical - current, toured with the band in support of Extinct Instinct and Clone before permanently joining)
Former members:
- Damian Wilson: Vocals (Wounded Land, Extinct Instinct)
- Glynn Morgan: Vocals (Psychedelicatessen - Livedelica)
- Jon Jeary: Bass Guitar (founding member, left prior to Critical Energy)
- Tony Grinham: Drums (founding member, left after Livedelica)
- Mark Heaney: Drums (Extinct Instinct, Clone)
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio albums
- Wounded Land (1993, SE 2001)
- Psychedelicatessen (1994, SE 2001)
- Extinct Instinct (1997, SE 2002)
- Clone (1998)
- Hypothetical (2001)
- Critical Mass (2002)
- Subsurface (2004)
- Pilot In The Sky Of Dreams (2006) Unreleased
[edit] Live albums
- Livedelica (1995) - Included in SE of Psychedelicatessen
- Critical Energy (2004, 2CDs) - Special Edition containing both 2CD and DVD versions
[edit] Videos
- Critical Energy (2004, DVD)
[edit] Fan club albums (only available online)
- Decadent (1999) - out of print; an album of remixes and radio edits of previously-released songs, some of which appear in the enhanced portions of Wounded Land and Psychedelicatessen.
- Concert in Paris (2002, live) - out of print
- Wireless: Acoustic Sessions (2003) - out of print; an album of acoustic recordings.
- Replica (2004) - an album of remixes, radio edits and remakes of previous songs, also contains two new songs.
- Surface to Stage (2006, live)
