Threshold (band)
| Threshold | |
|---|---|
 Threshold 2009 L-R: Richard West, Johanne James, Pete Morten, Damian Wilson, Steve Anderson, Karl Groom | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | England |
| Genres | Progressive metal |
| Years active | 1988–present |
| Labels |
Giant Electric Pea Nuclear Blast Inside Out Music |
| Website | http://thresh.net |
| Members |
Karl Groom Damian Wilson Richard West Johanne James Steve Anderson Pete Morten |
| Past members |
Nick Midson Jon Jeary Tony Grinham Pete Crawford Ian Bennett Glynn Morgan Nick Harradence Jay Micciche Mark Heaney Andrew "Mac" McDermott |
Threshold is a progressive metal band, formed in Surrey, UK in the late 1980s.
History
- 1988 - 1992
Threshold began their career in 1988, initially playing covers of metal groups like Ratt and Testament. As they continued playing together, they began to write their own songs, and eventually stopped playing covers altogether. Early recordings were released locally on cassette under the band name "If Not, Why?". They played their first gig at The Compasses in Egham, Surrey, with Jon Jeary on vocals and Ian Bennett on bass. In 1992, they signed their first record deal, and after adding vocalist Damian Wilson to the group alongside guitarists Karl Groom and Nick Midson, bassist Jon Jeary and drummer Tony Grinham, produced their first commercial recording, "Intervention," which was released on a Dutch progressive rock compilation album. Shortly afterwards, keyboardist Richard West joined the band, and he remains with them to this day.
- 1993 - 1999
The band's debut album, Wounded Land, was released in 1993, taking its name and some thematic elements from Stephen R. Donaldson's novel of the same name. Wilson was unavailable to join the band for the follow-up tour, and so Glynn Morgan was recruited to replace him. He sang on the band's 1994 second recording, Psychedelicatessen, which spawned a music video for the song "Innocent," the band's first. The following year, Morgan and the band toured Europe and recorded some of their performances for the short live album, Livedelica.
Threshold took a break before their next effort, during which time Morgan and then-drummer Jay Micciche left to form Mindfeed. Rather than finding an unknown singer to replace him, the band turned again to Damian Wilson, and together they recorded 1997's Extinct Instinct. They followed this with another tour of Europe, this time supported by Enchant. Additionally, Johanne James, the band's current drummer, played with them for the first time during this tour. Wilson was unavailable for their next album, so former Sargant Fury vocalist Andrew "Mac" McDermott, joined to record Clone and would remain with them until 2007.
- 2000 - 2005
In 2001, Threshold released Hypothetical, which saw Johanne James firmly cemented as the band's permanent drummer. Another lineup change occurred in 2003, when bassist Jon Jeary left and was replaced by Steve Anderson. Around this time the band also re-released their first three studio albums in Special Editions, with bonus tracks, a remastered sound, expanded liner notes and, in the case of Wounded Land and Psychedelicatessen, special CD-ROM content. Their newer albums, starting with Hypothetical, were released in Limited Editions, with similar bonus content. The albums Critical Mass (2002) and Subsurface (2004) followed, interspersed by the double live album and DVD Critical Energy.[1]
- 2006 – present
Threshold left their longtime label, InsideOut Music, in 2006 to join Nuclear Blast Records. The band released Dead Reckoning which spawned a music video for an edit of the song 'Pilot In The Sky Of Dreams'. The song also appeared on the 2008 movie soundtrack In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale. This marks the first occasion of a song by the band appearing in a motion picture.
In July 2007 vocalist Mac left the band and original singer Damian Wilson returned as Threshold's frontman for the first time in nearly a decade for the band's tour dates which extended into 2009.
InsideOut Music released the first official Threshold compilation in November 2007. The album, titled "The Ravages of Time," is a two-disc set, covering all of the band's official albums from Wounded Land to Dead Reckoning.
In 2009 the band released a limited edition eight-disc singles box set, including previously unreleased b-sides and brand new re-recordings of old demo songs released in other forms before, including Smile At the Moon, (which was debuted live on the 2009 Essence of Progression Tour), Shifting Sands, Half Way Home and Fist of Tongues.
On 3 August 2011, former vocalist Andrew McDermott died of kidney failure.
On 24 August 2012, Nuclear Blast announced the release of March of Progress. It was the first album to feature Damian Wilson on vocals since 1997. The album was followed on 19 September 2014 by the band's tenth studio album For the Journey.[2]
Style
The band's style is progressive metal featuring a combination of heavy guitars and sweeping keyboards, underscored by tight drumwork and bass. The band's lyrical content is concerned with subjects such as life, religion, science, politics and the environment.
Personnel
|
|
Timeline
Discography
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak positions | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GER [3] |
NLD [4] |
SWI [5] |
SWE [6] |
FIN [7] |
AUT [8] |
FRA [9] |
UK [10] |
UK (Rock) [11] | ||
| 1993 | Wounded Land
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1994 | Psychedelicatessen
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1997 | Extinct Instinct
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1998 | Clone
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2001 | Hypothetical
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2002 | Critical Mass
|
78 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2004 | Subsurface
|
66 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2007 | Dead Reckoning
|
64 | 95 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 37 |
| 2012 | March of Progress
|
28 | 70 | 30 | 43 | — | 55 | 102 | — | 23 |
| 2014 | For the Journey
|
33 | 74 | 19 | — | 33 | 71 | 118 | 116 | 3 |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||||||
Compilations
- The Ravages of Time - The Best Of Threshold (2007)
Live albums
- Livedelica (1995) - also included in Special Edition of Psychedelicatessen.
- Concert in Paris (2002)
- Critical Energy (2004, 2CDs) - also included in Special Edition containing both 2CD and DVD versions.
- Surface to Stage (2006)
- European Journey (2015)
DVD
- Critical Energy (2004)
Singles
- Paradox
- Sunseeker
- Innocent
- Virtual Isolation
- Freaks
- Light and Space
- Phenomenon
- Mission Profile
- Pressure
- Pilot in the Sky of Dreams
- Supermassive Black Hole
- Watchtower On The Moon (2014)[12]
- Turned to Dust (2014)
- Unforgiven (2014)[13]
Music videos
- Innocent (1994)
- Fragmentation (acoustic version) (2003)
- Pressure (2004)
- Pilot In The Sky Of Dreams (2007)
- Staring At The Sun (2013)
- Unforgiven (2014)
Remixes and rarities album
- Decadent (1999) - remixes and radio edits.
- Wireless: Acoustic Sessions (2003) - acoustic recordings.
- Replica (2004) - alternative versions and previously unreleased songs
- Paradox: The Singles Collection (2009) - eight CD singles box set.
References
- ↑ Encyclopaedia Metallum: Threshold
- ↑ Nuclear Blast: THRESHOLD - new masterpiece "For The Journey" out now!
- ↑ German Album Charts > Threshold
- ↑ Dutch Album Charts > Threshold
- ↑ Swiss Album Charts > Threshold
- ↑ Swedish Album Charts > Threshold
- ↑ Finnish Album Charts > Threshold
- ↑ Austrian Album Charts > Threshold
- ↑ Nuclear Blast Chart Entries > Threshold
- ↑ Nuclear Blast Chart Entries > Threshold
- ↑ Nuclear Blast Chart Entries > Threshold
- ↑ Nuclear Blast: THRESHOLD - release 'Watchtower On The Moon' single & lyric video
- ↑ Nuclear Blast: THRESHOLD - premier their new video 'Unforgiven'
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Threshold. |