Critical Review

"Forever dreaming of what to do
Never achieving, I never see it through
Don't want to live like yesterday
This time my dreams are coming true" - Echoes of Life, by Threshold

Well, once again I can't sleep, so I figured I'd do a CD review.

Usually the first question is, "Which album do I review?"

Not for me. Mine was "What do I name the reviews?"

I have my priorities. Now if you know me, you know I can spend a week trying to think of a good name. I still haven't thought of one, so I'm going to do the review, otherwise I'll end up way too tired to do it. I may wait till tomorrow for a name.

I must warn you, I'm no expert on music, nor am I an experienced reviewer. I haven't reviewed anything other than Puroresu matches, so I'm probably going to suck...... A lot.

Onto the review.



Band: Threshold
Album: Critical Mass
Genre: Progressive Metal/Hard Rock
Label: Inside Out Records
Released: Sept. 24, 2002
Band Members: Mac (Vocals), Karl Groom (Guitar), Nick Midson (Guitar), Jon Jeary (Bass), Richard West (Keyboards), Johanne James (Drums)

Out of the CD's I got last Christmas, I thought this would be the weak link. Instead I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of music. Mac's voice is great and full of emotion, with a bunch of harmonic choruses. There are many defined riffs, with keyboards throughout.

Tracks:

1. Phenomenon (5:30): Great opening song that gets you right into the music. What stands out to me is the rhythm, I can't help but rock along with this song, air guitar and all. I also love the lyrics, it's good stuffs.

2. Choices (8:19): The dud of the album for me. I don't like the beginning of the song, which is pretty boring, with an odd vocal delivery that doesn't sound all too good. It does pick up, though, and becomes a pretty good song, but not worth the first two minutes.

3. Falling Away (6:52): This is the song that made me want the album. It is a slower song, and is quite beautiful. Mac's voice is just wonderful, with his passion and emotion coming through profoundly. James does some complicated cymbal work, and really adds a lot with his drumming. The lyrics speak of mankind's ignorance and how we are causing our own downfall. We vote for the pretty ones, and curse when the world falls apart. Song of the album.

4. Fragmentation (6:34): Another rocker. One of the more up-tempo songs on the album. There are some parts where it drags, but overall a good song.

5. Echoes of Life (8:55): Starts slow and pretty, then rocks, and exits slow and pretty. Again Mac brings the emotion and delivers great vocals. The lyrics are about someone finally getting sick of procrastinating and having his life go nowhere, at least that's what I got from it. Quite fitting for me right now. Either Groom or Midson (I'm not sure which, they both do solo's) does a beautiful solo near the end that brings in more emotion.

6. Round and Round (5:26): A filler song. Not bad, but not great. It has a slower tempo, with a lot of quiet parts. The chorus can get a bit repetitive (round and round and round and round and - oh shit I'm gonna throw up).

7. Avalon (4:45): The true power ballad of the album, and one of my faves. Mac puts on a beautiful performance, and the solo fits perfectly. The piano is also nummy.

8. Critical Mass (Part 1-3) (13:35): This song is made up of three parts. Part 1: Fission, Part: 2: Fusion, and Part 3: Lucky. Fission is typical Threshold, good riff, with keyboards playing their part, with Mac doing his thing. Fusion is instrumental, one big Pink Floyd-ish guitar solo, which is fucking awesome, and I can get lost in it. Lucky is acoustic save for the keyboard. Overall this song makes good use of it's length. It's changes make it easy to know when you've finished one part and moved onto another. Overall a very good song.

In closing this review has taken way longer than I anticipated, and I'm tired as hell. Overall this album is very solid. Threshold has a unique sound with distinctive riffs, lots of keyboarding, and powerful choruses. Mac's voice is just awesome. I'm glad to have this in my collection, and I look forward to getting the rest of Threshold's catalog.