CRITICAL MASS

Critical Mass is a glorious return to the recording studio for Threshold, one of Great Britain's finest prog-metal bands. Consistency with group members has blessed them at last, and with that, their best work to date is on this CD. Consistency is not the norm in the realm of music, particularly in progressive rock, it is anything but that, in fact the style spits in the face of conformity and is always full of surprises. That is why I love the music so much; I have always been a nonconformist.

Mac is at the peak of his powers as a lead vocalist, and the group as an entity is at its zenith, burning brightly at every musical twist and turn. Karl Groom and Nick Midson form one of the very best one-two punch guitar armies in rock music today. With Jon Jeary and Johanne James providing a rock solid rhythm section, everything else in the scheme of things falls right into place in perfect time. There are crunching guitar chords that come wailing down upon your senses, and Mac takes full advantage of those layers of sound to let his voice ride the tide of the music. Then to balance out their attack, the keyboards flutter away ingeniously.

The best in all of this divine organized musical mayhem is the track "Fragmentation." I felt that the song fittingly exemplifies and personifies the band; it displays all the group members' talents with equality and exactitude. With just enough keyboards in the mix, this band sits on the edges of straight ahead prog. I have to wonder if they will maintain this sound much longer or choose one of the two styles and record a totally free-form magnum opus with longer and meatier stretches of instrumentation. I wish they would, they are more than capable of doing so. "Critical Mass, Pts. 1-3" is an indication that they are leaning towards arrangements that are more complex. I really do enjoy Mac's vocals, and that would necessitate a change in his role in order to accommodate the longer instrumental breaks. Well, they could always record a double album next time out and have one featuring just instrumentals, now that would be the best of both worlds. What can I say? I want my cake and I want to eat too! I am not complaining, I am simply being garrulous about how great this band is and will continue to be for many years.

It is time to rock, metal progressive style.