If there’s anything prog bands like to do, it’s put out big, sprawling concept albums. Last year was full of them, and I’ve already lost count of how many have been done so far this year. Not that this is at all a complaint, mind you, I love concept albums. So when I got the new Threshold album to review and discovered that ‘Legends Of The Shires’ was a sprawling 83 minute double album I was quite intrigued. I knew the band mostly by reputation, so was excited to delve into the album, and the band. I was not disappointed.
Although it is a concept album I can’t say much about the overall plot of the story. Firstly because without the lyric sheet, and accompanying artwork I’m not positive about everything, and second, because the band has been deliberately quiet about details, with keyboardist Richard West saying “It’s like when you watch a movie preview and they tell you the entire story in three minutes. With music, you don’t want it to be as one-dimensional as some movies are. You want to provide space for people to put themselves in the story, so I don’t want to say much more!” What they did say is that it is about a nation (or perhaps an individual; which I feel makes more sense) finding their way in the world. The album also marks the return of vocalist Glynn Morgan to the band for the first time since 1994, a move I enjoyed thoroughly. They also made the conscious decision to write a deeper and more complex album than their previous album, ‘For The Journey,’ which, from the tracks of that album that I listened to, they seem to have done admirably.
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The album starts off slowly with the acoustic “The Shire (Part 1)” and sets the mood of the album up nicely with the narrator vowing to make it on their own, and leave their rural settings. The song bleeds directly into “Small Dark Lines” which starts the heavy riffing and manic drumming that are a hallmark of the album. Morgan’s vocals, in contrast to many prog metal or power metal vocalists, do not sound like his testicles are in a vise grip; instead they are a grittier mid-range style which I find quite refreshing and I think fit the music better than a higher ranged singer would. The first thing that was readily apparent is that unlike many prog bands, Threshold is not afraid to write really catchy, but still interesting music. The chorus of “Small Dark Lines” will get stuck in your head for days. And while guitarist Karl Groom certainly shows some nice chops, his heavy and memorable riffs are what really stands out to me, not only on this song, but the rest of the album as well.
This is followed up by the first lengthy track of the album, the 12 minute “The Man Who Saw Through Time” and it’s a fantastic example of prog metal done well. It contains the requisite lengthy instrumental section where Groom shows off his soloing skills, but also is cemented by the excellent bass work of Steve Anderson which, unlike too many metal albums, is actually clearly audible and gives song the proper weight and heaviness that it deserves. Johanne James also takes the opportunity to show why he has won numerous Best Drummer awards over the years. Like the rest of the band, his drumming is not super flashy, or overwhelming; instead it concentrates on fitting and driving the music. West’s moody key work floats over the whole thing, and he takes off on some nice runs which bring out the more progressive elements of the band’s music.
The band shows off a more melodic, almost power metal side with the heavy, but essentially ballad driven, “Stars and Satellites” and their tendency for writing big sounding choruses is again pushed into the forefront. In this way, and their overall approach, they remind me quite a bit of Vanden Plas, which is not at all a bad thing. The fact that they focus more on songwriting than bowling you over with feats of technical prowess might cause some prog fans with limited musical appreciation to turn their noses up at this album, but they would be doing themselves a serious disservice. I love mind melting complexity and blazing speed as much as the next guy, but to be honest eventually that sort of a thing becomes a one trick pony and after a while you wonder if the band can do anything other than play fast, like actually write songs. Threshold takes the time to prove they can write good songs as well as play their instruments.
The second disk opens with “The Shire (Part 2)” an obvious sister piece to the opening song. And it begins in the same way; same music and lyrics for the first minute and a half as Part1 before morphing into a new direction as the narrator goes into further plans to break out of where he is, and the music takes on a heavy, guitar driven sound, while still maintaining the main melody of the song. It works as an effective setup for the rest of the disk. The song moves directly into the heaviest song on the album, “Snowblind,” a song driven by jaunty riffing and almost jackhammer drumming and vocals. The strong melodies that make up such a part of Threshold’s style are still very much present, but the signature element is certainly the more aggressive nature of the majority of the song. “Snowblind” also features another heavy, yet extremely memorable chorus which works its way into your ear, and takes up residence there. This one of the more ever-changing songs on the album, as soon as you get comfortable with a catchy moment, it abruptly changes direction and does something else, often in a heavier manner than before. Despite being relatively short (just over 7 minutes) it is arguably the most progressive song on the album in my opinion.
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The story of the album is wound up with the final three songs starting with “The Shire (Part 3).” Unlike the first two parts it does not share the melody or lyrical approach. It is instead an airy piano driven track that serves more as an introduction to the following song than anything else. It is unique for fans of the band however as former bassist and founding member Jon Jeary makes a vocal cameo on the track. The following track, the 10 minute “Lost In Translation,” finds the narrator forced to stop and look at where his deeds and actions have gotten them, the regrets, and things that didn’t go as planned, compiling to make them who they are, and forcing them to come to grips with it. Musically everything is tied nicely together, with all the elements of the album coming together for a fitting conclusion, it’s melodic, plenty heavy and the vocals are an easy highlight.
The album closes with the sound of birds and piano with “Swallowed” as our narrator finds himself back on the farm where everything started. And, more importantly; their finding peace within for being who they are, and for where they are in the world. The second half builds into a melodic guitar driven ballad, and things end in a peaceful and ultimately satisfying manner not only for the protagonist, but the listener as well. At least that’s my reading of it.
With ‘Legends Of The Shires’, Threshold have created a highly engaging, and at times very beautiful epic for which they are justifiably proud. Through the two disks, they take the listener on a journey of frequently heavy and very memorable music that fans of song oriented progressive metal will find hard not to enjoy. As a newcomer to the band I can assert that it is an excellent introduction to their music, and imagine that longtime fans of the band will find plenty of things to be excited about as well. Highly recommended.