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With Dream Theater
experimenting on new sounds and ideas
album after album (not necessarily
bad, but not always successfully)
and Fates Warning out of the picture
for at least 7 years (wake up Matheos),
progressive metal seems to be on a
crucial crossroad once again. The
fans are anxious about the future
of the genre and they are desperately
looking out for new acts that will
fill the gap. Fortunately, there are
2-3 bands that are not willing to
leave the "twilight zone",
the dimension of diversity and madness
and 2-3 more that aren't afraid to
step into this psychedelic and thrilling
world no matter the cost or what they'll
manage to achieve at the end of their
exciting trip. I'm talking about bands
like Redemption (wake up Matheos,
Alder is showing the way) Andromeda
and Zero Hour, followed by the promising
Pagan's Mind and even Dominici. None
of them of course has reached perfection,
which lies on the center of the progressive
universe, a place explored and conquered
by Dream Theater and Fates Warning
(wake up Matheos) before, only to
be displaced by the British quintet
in the recent past, which keeps pulling
the strings up to now. Heretic as
it may sound, they are the masters
of Progressive metal and this opinion
comes from a man that dared to write
them off after the release of "Clone",
their weakest moment so far. If only
I knew…
So, 2007 finds Threshold
releasing their new album supported
by Nuclear Blast this time. A smart
move if you ask me, which proves them
to be not only genius musicians, but
brilliant professionals as well. They've
chosen to trust a recognized label,
ideal for boosting their stocks promotion-wise,
leaving behind a sleeping giant of
prog like Inside Out, an indecisive
company regarding its future course,
something that obviously effects its
bands. So after such a smart move
from their side, I had no doubt that
"Dead Reckoning" would be
the album of the year, or at least
among the first 3, on my playlist.
Even though I consider "Hypothetical"
and "Critical Mass" to be
their top-notch deliveries so far,
"Dead Reckoning" is catchier.
Does that mean simplified on the compositional
aspect? Not necessarily, since it
preserves Threshold's progressive
and multidimensional standards, adding
some catchy riffs and licks, apparent
on songs like "Slipstream",
"This is your Life", "Disappear"
(the most "groovy" song
if I may say) and "Safe to Fly".
As for the rest, what can I write
that you don't know or suspect already.
Once again they provoke our senses
and feelings by changing the rhythms
and the color of the sound from track
to track and into each one separately.
The only thing I want to point out
is the gravity of the keyboards. More
than ever before, they play a vital
part on Threshold's music and atmosphere
of each song. No further details needed
about the musicianship and interpretation
of the five geniuses and of course
you don't expect me to comment on
the production! It would be a sacrilege
to do such thing.
Oh, I almost forgot!
Dan Swano features on 2 tracks (like
I care!!!). Thank God he only has
to repeat one line two or three times
on each song, so no harm done. Looks
like a commercial trick and not a
musical choice, but what the hell,
the result remains the same. The album
is simply amazing and you can do nothing
but buy it. May the "Prog"
be with you!!! |
