WOUNDED LAND

A classic debuts album this one! The first excellent studio release from THRESHOLD received great reviews and introduced THRESHOLD as one of the most exciting new bands in Progressive Metal. Although they sometimes reminds a little bit of DREAM THEATER, THRESHOLD are not even close to being a DREAM THEATER clone as so many other progressive metal bands today. THRESHOLD has gone through many different band line-ups, and this album is the only with Tony Grinham on the drums. The vocals are handled by Damian Wilson who after this release departure from THRESHOLD. He joined them later for the release of "Extinct Instinct" in 1997 and then went his own way again for other musical obligations. His vocals though are very good and his contribution to this album is very important. Sometimes his voice reminds of Robert Plant. The musicians are very skilful especially the guitar player Karl Groom. The music is sometimes close to heavy metal and sometimes not, but always very melodic. There are a lot of tempo changes and lengthy instrumental sections. The album has got some great arrangements, and the highlights are "Days Of Dearth", "Sanity's End" and the 10:14 minute epic track "Surface to Air". This track is very beautiful and it contains many different mood changes. "Mother Earth" is perhaps the heaviest track on this album. This is not an ordinary progressive album; it's simply one of the best debut albums from 1993, and a good investment to your CD collection. Highly recommended!

This group couldn't have given itself a better name than Threshold. They weren't only on the threshold of metal and progressive rock, they were forever in the middle of change with group members. If they were in the studio or on tour, they were changing group members. The constant state of flux that surrounded them did not deter them. They continued to grow as a unit and develop their own distinct sound. They were hailed as the UK's answer to Dream Theater. Although they reminded of that group at times, they most definitely have their own sound. They have a harder metal edge than most prog bands. Most recently they have settled into a more permanent lineup and their sound has reached a maturity that many groups never have the pleasure of enjoying.

These special edition releases from Inside Out Music give a great overview of group in transition as well as one going through tremendous developmental growth. The additional content on each album includes pictures, videos, and demos. All of that is very interesting and valid while absorbing this entire multi-musical experience.

I really enjoyed the artwork for each CD cover as well. Progressive bands really have a flair for attractive and thought provoking art on their albums (thank you Yes and Roger Dean). Wounded Land has strong green theme based on a story by Stephen Donaldson. While some folks felt it was a bit much, the music was a strong statement as well.

This album is worth its weight in gold for prog and metal fans. You get it all- remastered tracks, bonus CDs, demos, and videos, what more could you ask for? As usual there are a limited number of these on hand, so don't waste any time wondering if you should buy them or not, just do it.

Damian Wilson has it. You know the 'it' that so many singers seek but rarely find? Good genetic material gave Damian a great voice. Not a powerful one, not a dramatic one but very original. You don't hear much of this tone in music now. Mainstream market is searching for new Kurt Cobain and ends up with Chad Kroeger from Nickelback. So when bands like System of a Down enters the market with fresh new vocals, there is hope for a change, therefore Threhold's vocalist should get your attention.

Wilson's voice is mainly the key to a great Threshold album. This one not very old but feels old. Perhaps the production of Karl Groom is the reason. Wounded Land has a rather late 80's sound like Operation Mindcrime (Queensryche) or Through the Looking Glass (Shadowlands). Not a bad thing if you're alone and nostalgic, but playing this in presence of my wife will cost me serious making out time. The efficient lady turn off in my humble opinion.

To get a better album with Wilson in command would be Extinct Instinct. But, Wounded Land is still an above average record with the usual power house chords and clever environmentalistic lyrics, with this time more song variety than Clone or Hypothetical. This album kinda parts from the other Threshold records by it's application to not overdo the same techniques over and over again (unlike Hypothetical and so on).

Threshold is seriously concerned about the ecology in this record. How about that for a change?

First, let me say that I am a fan of Threshold's material from 'Extinct Instinct' to their latest 'Subsurface'. But how 'Wounded Land' is rated higher than the excellent 'Clone' is beyond my comprehension.

First of all, the production is just horrible. It sounds like a glam metal band from the early eighties (note that I base this review on the original Giant Electric Pea release, and not the Inside Out special edition), with over-triggered drums, static bass, crappy sounding synths and razor-toned guitars.

Second, their first drummer, Tony Grinham, is as bad as his sound, uncreative and untalented (at least on this record, I don't know if he recorded anything else, and frankly, I pray to God he did not. Good thing he only recorded this album with Threshold).

Third, the keyboards are also uncreative, unoriginal and quite frankly, cheesy at best. Some keyboard moments have more in common with Europe (the band) than with prog metal.

Fourth, the lyrics; even though this is an extremely environmentally engaged album (and we have to give them credit for that), the lyrics end up being close to ridiculously embarassing and laughable.

Fifth, the songwriting has absolutely NOTHING to do with prog metal. It's not because songs are long that they are prog, and this album is a perfect example.

Sixth, the guitars sound really bad and are very generic thrash metal sounding.

There are only two positive elements I can think of about this album : Damian Wilson, and Threshold's birth. Wounded Land is the last album I bought from Threshold (after having purchased all their official releases), and unless you are a huge fan and a completionist, I urge you to stay away from this one.

THRESHOLD's debut album's main theme is about the enviroment as the title of the record suggests. Damian Wilson does a great job on vocals as usual.

"Consume To Live" opens with crunchy riffs as synths join the melody briefly. Drums pound away as vocals come in.The song gets better as it plays out as we are treated to some spirited guitar solos. "Days Of Dearth" opens with slowly pounding drums as a mournful guitar melody comes in then vocals with riffs in tow. Some good contrasts throughout. Good song with synths to close it out. "Sanity's End" is dominated with synths, drums, and vocals. There is a nice pastoral section after 2 minutes. Damian's vocals are excellent ! Some good soaring guitar followed by a keyboard solo.

"Paradox" is an ok song but doesn't do a lot for me because of all the synths. "Surface To Air" is ballad-like for 90 seconds with piano and vocals leading the way. Drums and guitar come in, and more great vocals. "Mother Earth" is an incredible song. I really enjoy the guitars in this one, from the riffs to the scorching solos. "Siege In Baghdad" opens with slowly pounding drums along with a guitar melody. It gets heavy as vocals come in. Some more great guitar to follow. "Keep It With Mine" is a beautiful, hopeful song with acoustic guitar and reserved vocals.

Favourite songs are "Sanity's End", "Mother Earth" and "Siege Of Baghdad".This isn't as good as "Clone" in my opinion but it's well worth checking out.This is where it all started.

Threshold have long been regarded as the UK's finest exponent of the Prog Metal genre but to be honest they haven't had a lot of competition in that field. But taking nothing away from Threshold, they are an excellent band having produced many excellent albums since this, Wounded Land, their 1993 debut and are one of the best bands the UK has produced in the last 20 years period.

Wounded Land is a solid debut with a strong ecological theme running through many of the tracks before it was fashionable to be concerned about the state of the planet. The twin guitar attack of Karl Groom and Nick Midson are well to the fore as would be expected in Prog Metal but still leave plenty of room for Richard West's keyboards to cut through, sounding better and more to the fore here incidentally than on some of the bands recent releases. Threshold struggled in their earlier days to keep the same Vocalist and Drummer for long. Here Damian Wilson is on vocals and an excellent singer he is too. He would leave however before the follow up Psychedelicatessen was released but return again for Extinct Instinct before leaving once again (interestingly he is now helping the band out again on tour since the departure of "Mac"). Solid Drumming is supplied by Tony Grinham although the Drum sound is a little artificial. Jon Jeary, also a solid player provides Bass.

One of the good things about Threshold is their ability to combine good Metal riffs without losing sight of a strong melody which they show here on album opener Consume to Live, one of the best tracks on offer. However album highlight belongs to the excellent Sanity's End. At ten minutes long it goes through a number of changes from the keyboard dominated intro, the slower pace mid section and the instrumental workout culminating in a great unison Keyboard/Guitar solo. A superb track as good as anything the band have ever done. The problem with having such a good track on an album is that everything else is often overshadowed by it but the band tries hard with fan favourite Paradox and another favourite of mine, the riffy Mother Earth. Siege of Baghdad as the title suggests has an eastern sound to it and as a contrast to the overall heavy nature of the album Keep it With Mine provides a nice acoustic based album closer. Having said that, if you own the remastered version you get the bonus track Intervention, a track which originally appeared on the Si Too compilation in Holland.

When I first decided to review this album I had a 3 star rating in mind, having not listened to it for some time but I had forgotten what an excellent album this really is and is easily worthy of 4 stars.

Wounded Land is the only Threshold's album i've heard... And this is just a wonderful debut!

It's pity this personal and original band has not the position it deserve in Prog Metal history... Ok, they are well known, and a lot of people know about their quality. But in my opinion, and having only heard Wounded Land from them, I must say they should be beside Dream Theater, Queensrÿche or Opeth like one of the most influential and important bands in the prog-metal subgenre.

Wounded Land has a clear direction, a really well represented style... The sound of the album is homegene, all the tracks are made in a similar way. But it doesn't mean this album is boring or repetitive... Every track deserves close attention!

This is not metal in the proper sense of the word. It's maybe hard rock with some progressive elements, like prominent keyboards and complex structures. The longer tracks are progressive (Sanity's End, Consume to Live...) while the shorter ones (Mother Earth, Days of Dearth...) are just brilliant hard rock pieces. The sound is a bit in the 80's way, being maybe the Richard West's keyboards the retro element of the music... But I really love this Marillionesque sense of the keys mixed with the Karl Groom and Nick Midson's hard riffs! Some fragments of songs like Paradox and Surface to Air sound Neo-Progressive to me...

Another great fact of the album is the Damian Wilson's voice... This man is a SINGER! And I must say it really clear: his voice is unique, original... This man has something not easy to find in a frontman: personality, originality, quality and feeling... This man really rules on vocals! You only have to hear Mother Earth no notice it...

Best Songs: Consume to Live (marvellous opening, with an outstanding final part... This track shows the way the album will follow: quality, complexity and good feeling), Sanity's End (my absolute favourite of the album: great keyboard introduction, marvellous vocal melodies, really well made central part, catchy chorus... A classic!), Surface to Air (I love the guitar opening melodies, and the chorus's explosion... The second half of the song is the most progressive part of the album) and Mother Earth (Damian Wilson rules here... Great riffing for another brilliant track!)

Conclusion: after hearing Wounded Land many times, I'm sure I will buy more Threshold's albums... I'm really addicted to this kind of Neo-Hard Rock-Progressive Metal! If you like hard riffing, great singing with marvellous vocal melodies, intrincated keyboards and guitar parts... But with the accesibility and feeling that other bands lost in their seek for something progressive and originial, Wounded Land is your album. They made this mixture between progressive structures with catchy melodies in a really natural way... Strongly recommended!

My Rating: ****

Imagine Marillion didn't hire Hogarth but instead went with the best Robert Plant replica around and added an extra rhythm guitarist to metalize their sound a bit. Wounded Land might be the very result. It's more then 15 years ago already but this is the very album that (together with the entirely different progbeast "Into The Everflow" from Psychotic Waltz) ruled my playlist in 1993 and got me completely into progressive rock again after years of other explorations.

It's packed with beautiful melodious guitar solos like I hadn't heard since Marillion's Fugazi, it has epic songs with a fine balance between heaviness and melody, a big glossy sound that was nevertheless crystal clear and warm, nice crispy grooves and so on. Some samples:

Days of Dearth. This is the song I got to know them from, it's an ecstatic doom metal track with excellent lead guitars, very emotive vocals and a wonderful finale. A bit different from the other songs here but a good track to sample as a starting point.

Sanity's End. If you've never made the link between Threshold and Marillion then you haven't heard this one yet: a piece that is every bit as impressive as Incubus. It's a typical example of Threshold's approach to prog: start with a few pretty basic but memorable guitar riffs, add tons of synths on top of that, create a clever song structure that builds up to a splendid finale, make the best possible use of your world class vocalist and spice it up with plenty great guitar solos. The focus is not on technicality but it sure works fine for me.

Paradox. Probably my least favorite track here. It's still ok but too cliché FM-rock, and way too Market Square Heroes! But it's the only lighter piece in this otherwise dramatic album, so it adds a little variety and a bit of playfulness to the gravity that surrounds it.

Like it or not but this album has that trademark Threshold glossy sound that they basically wouldn't stray away from anymore. But, contrary to their later works, they were still full of ambition and good ideas here. Threshold would continue to create great songs in the 90's but with the turn of the century they gradually turned into a slick commercial format that got them more fans but has little to do with their initial charm.

Debut album of British prog metal band Threshold is strong enough to be noticed. This band is often named as British answer to Dream Theater, but I can't find too many similarities there.

Successful combination of melodic heavy metal with progressive elements. Nice classic heavy metal guitar solos, excellent vocals. Songs all are different, some of them are 10+ minutes long and contains some interesting arrangements and rhythmic constructions. One more great important component of this album is sound and production.

The music there sounds as vintage metal from early 80-s, and it has its charm. I had similar feeling when listened to Riverside album from year 2009. Yes, looking from now, Threshold debut sounds a bit product of its time, but it's a significant product!

Threshold had been chugging away for some five years by the time they produced this debut album. Founder and key member Karl Groom had founded his Thin Ice Studios in the meantime, which became a reasonably successful recording venue which gained particular traction in the neo-prog scene, but perhaps wisely Threshold didn't unduly rush to make use of this resource. By the time Karl Groom's connections had managed to land them a deal with the small Giant Electric Pea label - originally established by neo-prog band IQ to handle their own releases - it's clear that Threshold had workshopped their material a high degree and could present a debut in which they were confident in their sound.

That style here focuses on melodic metal with progressive touches and recording sensibilities, buoyed by the emotive vocals of Damian Wilson, whose band Landmarq had been one of those using Thin Ice Studios. There's a darkness to it reminiscent of the harder-edged 1980s thrash metal, but rather than taking on the tone of an angry protest, instead the atmosphere is more of a mournful warning, owing to the ecological concerns that inform the lyrics - something which has only become more relevant over time. (That's not the only place where they're right on the money - Siege of Baghdad was composed about the 1990s Gulf War, but could also be read as a warning about the Iraq War of the 2000s and the incessant chaos that has resulted from it.)

With Dream Theater's sound being so widely influential in progressive metal (especially in those sections of the scene which don't incorporate extreme metal influences), it's refreshing to hear a band who clearly are drawing inspiration from the same well but whose sound is distinct and clearly their own - Threshold having come together and developed this material whilst Dream Theater were still one band among many and hadn't yet conquered the scene. Threshold's more subdued, subtle approach isn't as immediately gripping or as technically flashy as Dream Theater, but it grows on you over the span of this album, making it well worth repeated listens. It's certainly a very promising start for the group, who'd clearly honed their craft to a fine degree even at this stage.