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THRESHOLD

(UNITED KINGDOM)

LEGENDS OF THE SHIRES

(2017)
LABEL:

NUCLEAR BLAST

GENRE:

PROGRESSIVE METAL

TAGS:
"After a nice album which was more progressive than metal, Threshold come back in this "Legends Of The Shires" to the basics laid down in "Hypothetical" or "Critical Mass"."
THIBAUTK (25.09.2017)  
5/5
(0) opinions (0) comment(s)
The last opus, "For The Journey", did not pleased everyone. Damian Wilson brought an almost pop orientation to it, and necessarily less metal. Maybe as a consequence, The band replaced its singer by an ex Threshold: Glynn Morgan present on "Psychedelicatessen". 

"Legends of The Sires" is a concept album lasting more than an hour and a half which is based on a unifying theme: how can a nation or a person find their place in the vast world? Everything is done to offer an album that is at once direct and striking from the very first moments, but conceals a myriad of variations and ideas. Indeed, even if the band has always favoured metal titles and ultra-square riffs, they add a multitude of odd bars and signature changes.

Threshold is also a unique sound that is identifiable from the very first seconds: the solitary guitar with dizzying melodies, the fast and technical solos, the bass that snores, the square drums but full of variations and feeling and the synthesizers with a modern sound. So, even with this change of frontman, the band remains as it was and does what it knows how to do best. This beauty is exalted by a limpid and powerful production and an art of composition, counterpoint, melodies and caesura that is truly hallucinating.
 
From the very first moments ('The Shire (Part 1)'), the melody of a bare six-string titillates our ears. These little phrases are then the leitmotiv that will guide our musical adventure. Then the thick, warm and precise guitar rumbles and shears the measures like a scalpel, while the voice intones a charming ode and blends into the setting with a formidable ease ('Small Dar Lines'). We recognize right away the strong point of the band: knowing how to integrate the disembodied synthesizers, without them ever being too far away or too present, but always right. 

Beginning with robotic and disembodied words, 'The Man Who Saw Through Time' is a soothing fake ballad. Although it starts with an intimate piano that invites us to dream, it quickly turns into a musical tour de force thanks to the melody that takes to the guts: a stunning and angelic beauty, a taste of the Garden of Eden. Finally, the now well-known 'Lost In Translation' imposes a consensus, a synthesis of the elements of this new (?) generation of the band: moving guitar with dizzying harmonies and falsely simple riffs, a voice between raw power and discreet charm and cavernous keyboards, hot or cold, that fill the space.

Thus, after a nice album which was more progressive than metal, the English come back to the basics laid down with "Hypothetical" or "Critical Mass". The band gained in power and refound its so particular identity. From the top of its hour and a half, the concept accompanies us in our quest for musical absolutes, resulting in luminous moments, in dizzy spells that stretch time and leave indelible traces. "Legends of The Shire" is maybe one of the most beautiful albums of the year.
- Official website

TRACK LISTING:
01. The Shire (Part 1)
02. Small Dark Lines
03. The Man Who Saw Through Time
04. Trust The Process
05. Stars And Satellites
06. On The Edge
07. The Shire (Part 2)
08. Snowblind
09. Subliminal Freeways
10. State Of Independence
11. Superior Machine
12. The Shire (Part 3)
13. Lost In Translation
14. Swallowed

LINEUP:
Glynn Morgan: Chant
Johanne James: Batterie
Karl Groom: Guitares
Richard West: Claviers
Steve Anderson: Basse
   
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