Trollheart

Let’s go right back to where it all began

Album title: Wounded Land
Artist: Threshold
Nationality: English
Year: 1993
Chronology: 1
The Trollheart Factor: 10

Track Listing: Consume to Live/Days of Dearth/Sanity’s End/Paradox/Surface to Air/Mother Earth/Siege of Baghdad/Keep it With Mine

Comments: For a debut album this is pretty stunning. Kicking off with “Consume to Live” it’s a powerful statement that chastises us for our misuse of the planet, evidence that this band was not going to just write about popular topics but would take the almost aggressive political commentary route. Not every one of their songs is political of course, but you can definitely see from this debut that they were going to have a lot to say. Of course, there’s not that much point in having something to say if nobody listens, so Threshold from the off surrounded the message in their lyrics with catchy, memorable melodies, hooks and singalong choruses. It’s progressive metal certainly, with the guitar of Karl Groom and Nick Midson taking control.

“Days of Dearth” continues the - it must be said - grim, morose tone of the album, slowing everything down with a real grind and slow march, while “Sanity’s End”, one of the two epics on the album, clocking in at just over ten minutes, takes the dangers of drug addiction - particualrly Ecstasy - as its theme, warning that there is always a price to be paid. Richard West begins to come into his own here for the first time as he breaks out his battery of keyboards. Nice introspective piece in the middle where Groom and Midson take over, then West is back to let it rip Geoff Downes-style all over the track. Man is taken to task again in “Paradox”, where there’s almost a sense of AOR about the melody, again quite keyboard-driven, very uptempo. Really nice slow guitar solo that leads into a faster run, very effective.

“Surface to Air” is another ten-minuter, opening on a soft gentle melody which gives Damian Wilson a chance to show the more restrained side of his singing, and West holds court on piano. Groom soon punches in though and takes the song in an entirely new direction, though West has his revenge (!) later when his lazy, whistling arpeggios lead Groom into what must be said to be a very Pink Floyd “Comfortably Numb” solo, but given that this was a band starting out, and given that the album is next to perfect we can forgive this one slight misstep. The final part of the song runs on a beautiful hook that just ramps everything up and ends the track wonderfully.

A marching grinder returning to ecological concerns, “Mother Earth” punches along really nicely, some great vocal histrionics from Wilson, then big doomy drums and a doleful wailing guitar usher in “Siege of Baghdad”, with the expected Middle Eastern riffs, kicking into a rhythm somewhat reminiscent of the opener. Groom pretty much runs the show here, with Midson adding some fine acoustic guitar, then we end on a simple acoustic ballad in “Keep it With Mine”, a perhaps low-key end to a very powerful debut album, but somehow appropriate, like a long slow breath released after a heavy workout.

Track(s) I liked: Everything

Track(s) I didn't like: Nothing; “Siege of Baghdad” would be the one I liked least maybe

One standout: “Surface to Air”

One rotten apple: n/a

Overall impression: As a debut album this is a real revelation. It's a pity Threshold aren't better known, but they fly the flag well for intelligent, thoughtful and melodic progressive metal.

Rating: 9.6/10

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