CRITICAL MASS

Could we presume without talking too fast that United Kingdom is the craddle of heavy music? With a indiscutable line-up of all stars such as Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, The Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Who, we can honestly say that Britannia's got a lot in fire in her belly. What's with this country and hard music?

Could Prince Harry's putting some Threshold in the Buckingham Palace in the absence of his grandmother? Well if he's got good flair, he could. This would rock the casbah metal style.

With Glass Hammer and Camel, Threshold is one of my picks for best underdog of all-time. I always wondered why this band hasn't hit the big leagues yet. Well, you gotta hit where the fans are. And believe me, the hungry metal fans are not in U.S.A. but in the french province of Quebec. Quebec has been the castle of heavy/metal since the early 70's, many bands made their theeth on the green soil of Quebec City. Quebec City is the oldest city in North America and the fortifications of the old city are always ready for some crunchy Marshall sounds. And Threshold should aim there to launch a North American career. French canadians are a very generous and faithful crowd towards radio hits. If Threshold could score a hit, they'd be on a great start to go south after.

The sound of Threshold really got more sophisticated when Critical Mass to life. We assist with eyes wide open to quieter, more romantic moments (Avalon). More orchestration keyboards has been added to enrich the sound, making it less cold. The band is really heading more on a Steve Vai path. Lots of crunchy guitars, sharp as knives but there's more space left for carving the songs more. The coldness and negativeness of Extinct Instinct is fading to a punchier, more captivating pieces of music. For those who heard Narcissus from Hypothetical, you get the idea. The use of more lively keyboards, catchier chords and voice enhancement provided by vocoder is really giving a cool proton-neutron scientific side. A refreshing approach compared to all the legendary warrior/vampire/sad minestrel clichés of metal prog. Threshold is never overdoing it, nor vocally nor proving it's muscial superiority.

THE fullest album in terms of good material. The others are great, but this one's very generous. Forget how fake Dream Theater is and fuel up on Threshold's atom fusion.