The Threshold Thread v. Divided Lines

[jingle.boy]

Today is release day for 'Divided Lines' some 10 months after the band delivered the album to their label.

10 months seems excessive. Apparently industry timescales are now about 6 months (compared with more like 3-4 months pre-COVID) due to vinyl production times. Not sure what they were doing the rest of the time!

Anyway, first listen is sounding good so far.

Then I wish more bands would do what Borealis did - release the album as the mediums become available (ie, they released their album digitally, and then on vinyl a couple of months later).  Oh well, it's finally here.  Time to click play.

[ariich]

Today is release day for 'Divided Lines' some 10 months after the band delivered the album to their label.

10 months seems excessive. Apparently industry timescales are now about 6 months (compared with more like 3-4 months pre-COVID) due to vinyl production times. Not sure what they were doing the rest of the time!

Anyway, first listen is sounding good so far.

Then I wish more bands would do what Borealis did - release the album as the mediums become available (ie, they released their album digitally, and then on vinyl a couple of months later).  Oh well, it's finally here.  Time to click play.

Depends on the band's status, label and other factors. For a lot of bands/labels, performance is partly determined by first week sales/streams. If vinyl is excluded, that can have a material impact (pre-orders don't count until they're actually shipped).

That's why it tends to be independent bands or those on smaller labels who do that.

[jingle.boy]

Today is release day for 'Divided Lines' some 10 months after the band delivered the album to their label.

10 months seems excessive. Apparently industry timescales are now about 6 months (compared with more like 3-4 months pre-COVID) due to vinyl production times. Not sure what they were doing the rest of the time!

Anyway, first listen is sounding good so far.

Then I wish more bands would do what Borealis did - release the album as the mediums become available (ie, they released their album digitally, and then on vinyl a couple of months later).  Oh well, it's finally here.  Time to click play.

Depends on the band's status, label and other factors. For a lot of bands/labels, performance is partly determined by first week sales/streams. If vinyl is excluded, that can have a material impact (pre-orders don't count until they're actually shipped).

That's why it tends to be independent bands or those on smaller labels who do that.

Fair point.

Anyway ... this one is an instant purchase.  Fantastic music.

[gazinwales]

Today is release day for 'Divided Lines' some 10 months after the band delivered the album to their label.

10 months seems excessive. Apparently industry timescales are now about 6 months (compared with more like 3-4 months pre-COVID) due to vinyl production times. Not sure what they were doing the rest of the time!

Anyway, first listen is sounding good so far.

When you involved a label like NB, then its no surprise.
Since they were sold, all their best bands and staff have left them.
The new owners even changed their iconic green radiation logo to a boring skull.

New lyric video for the opening track from 'Dividing Lines', 'Haunted'
https://youtu.be/g9kaTZb4H2A

[goo-goo]

Absolutely loving the keyboard work on this one.

[gazinwales]

The lyrics are brilliant and for all of those leaching streaming, these can be found here;
https://www.thresh.net/music/dividing-lines/

[goo-goo]

The song “Run” is hitting me hard. Enjoying this album more than Shrines even though it was a superb album.

[gazinwales]

'Run' is great Glynn's vocals on this one really shine, the passion and emotion are sublime.
My current fave is 'Hall Of Echoes' as different kind of song for Threshold.
In fact the whole album is just slaying me, one of their best to these ears.

[The Paddies]

Great record overall indeed! Took them a few years, but it's been worth the wait.

[JLa]

Just pressed play on this one. The singles didn't really click with me, but "Hall of Echoes" is an instant favorite. Looking forward to the remaining tracks, this is good stuff.

[wolfking]

I've been super critical lately with new stuff.  Not much grabs me and I can be pretty ruthless but I checked this album today.  This has potential.  I'm not a die hand fan but have most of their albums.  There was quite a lot of good songwriting here and some nice crunchy riffs too.  Let it Burn was a fav but Domino held my attention too.

Hopefully the second listen tomorrow keeps that going.  There were a few moments I drifted but was very good on a whole.

[Zydar]

King Of Nothing is probably my favourite right now. And I had Hall Of Echoes stuck in my head this morning.

[wolfking]

I'm not the biggest fan of Glynn either.  He's fine but Tim summed it up well, he's just kinda.....there.

[ErHaO]

I like the record, but am not blown away or anything. Run is a standout to me and a track where Glynn does shine (I am also in the camp that thinks Glynn is solid but his vocals do not stand out to me usually).

[Zoom E]

I’ve listened to Divided Lines twice so far and quite enjoyed it. I didn’t like Legend of the Shire very much, so I had low expectations for DL and am pleasantly surprised.

[Lethean]

It took a really long time for my copy to arrive, but I've been listening to it a lot over the last few days and it's a great album. I think Glynn sounds great too.

[Lethean]

I'm on my third listen in a row today.... Really enjoying this album.

PS - the title is DividING Lines.

[nick_z]

Liking it a lot too...I had enjoyed Morgan's comeback with Legends of the Shires, but I might (still early to say) like this one even better. It's punchy, classic but very "contemporary"-sounding...and the melodies are fantastic...they nail pretty much every chorus. Let It Burn my favorite song, currently.

[Lethean]

Let's not get too crazy with the "better than Legends of the Shires" statements...

You're right that it's too early but if I end up thinking that I'll be quite surprised.   Even though so far I think this album is awesome.

[Mebert78]

Enjoying the new album so far. "King of Nothing" and "Let it Burn" are instant favorites.  Glynn sounds incredible, as does the whole band.  And I'm enjoying the themes in the lyrics so far. Gonna be listening to this disc for some time. \m/

[Lethean]

Dividing Lines rules. 

It has me listening to a ton of Threshold lately and everything this band has done is great.  Right now it's Critical Mass and earlier it was March of Progress.  Crazy singer changes, plenty of other line up changes, and they adjust and put out something amazing every time.

[Mebert78]

This album has been totally kicking my ass. I've basically had it on repeat in my house for the past few weeks and and in my car. I'm pretty hooked. Glynn's voice is so good. Everyone sounds great. I never thought I'd like a Threshold album more than one from the Mac era (because I totally loved his voice), but this one is up there. This band, which has amazingly endured over the course of three different vocalists, deserves so much more recognition. They should be considered among the progressive metal elite.

[Lethean]

I'm just finishing up another listen to the album as we speak (er, as I type...).  So so good.

[nick_z]

Agreed. Where does it stand for you within their discography? I know it's pretty early, but curious on your thoughts at this stage...

[Lethean]

Uh.... Can't we just agree that there's really no need to rank Threshold albums?

It is way too soon for me to even think about comparing Dividing Lines to the others.  But I have a really hard time ranking the others anyway.  Threshold is one of the few bands where I really like every song. 

Mac is my favorite Threshold singer, but I love all three of them.  (And all three made my favorite singers list). 

Maybe Hypothetical, Critical Mass, Subsurface, and Legends of the Shires would be my top 4.  (And that's chronological because picking between them is really really hard).

And sometimes the other Mac albums join that list.  And sometimes March of Progress and Extinct Instinct and Psychedelicatessen... See this is impossible.

[nick_z]

I hear ya 

Yep, they are kind of the very definition of "consistent band"...and I say this in the best possible way. Sure, it might not be one of stroke of genius after another, but the quality is so high throughout, it's hard to rank their work (and there is no need to, really!)

Partly for sentimental reasons, I have a (very) soft spot for the first two records, Wounded Land and Psychedelicatessen. I bought their debut when it came out, after reading a glowing review in a magazine. At the time, obviously there were many prog metal bands releasing records following the success of I&W, and everyone was rushing to label everything as the "new Dream Theater" (as if they were not still pretty "new" themselves!). Clearly, Threshold's sound never had much to do with DT anyway...but I remember thinking, when I first listened to Wounded Land, this is quite different than I expected. It almost had an epic-doom vibe in some songs...something they never quite explored again in subsequent albums. And the way they combined hefty guitars with neo-prog sounding keyboards was great. Psychedelicatessen immediately felt a bit heavier, and it brought it Morgan, who I always thought was a fantastic vocalist. Amazing record.

Extinct Instinct, while good, is maybe one of my least favorites...not sure why...it disappointed me a bit at the time. Then came Mac...another great singer.  Of that era, I think Hypothetical and Critical Mass might be my favorites. But, as you say, there is something to like in all of them.

For some reason, I didn't spend as much time with March of Progress and For the Journey. They didn't impress me as much, but I should revisit.

And, finally, the "reunion" with Morgan...both records are SO good. Way better than I expected, actually, at this stage. They are very much Threshold records, but there is a certain energy and enthusiasm about them (even in the melancholy that pervades most of Legends of the Shires).

[Lethean]

That is so cool that you've been a fan since the beginning.   Was it really crazy being a fan in real time when all of the back and forth singer changes were going on? 

My first album was Hypothetical.  At first I didn't really think about the vocals much one way or the other - they were there, they were fine.  I just thought the songs on Hypothetical were awesome.  And that morphed into "hey this guy is actually really good" and then to him being one of my favorite singers.  When I went backwards, I really had to get used to Damian's voice on Extinct Instinct.  But at that point I was all in on Threshold and was determined that if it was an acquired taste, I was acquiring it.    And again, I thought the songs were fantastic.  I liked Wounded and Land and Psychedelicatessen a lot, and became a fan of Damian between his Threshold albums and Star One and Ayreon.  With Glynn, I thought he sounded really good on Psychedelicatessen but what really made me a Glynn fan was the Livedelica album that came with it.  I thought he crushed it. 

March of Progress took me a while to fully embrace.  I reluctantly had to acknowledge how good it was, but I had been very upset by Mac leaving and then he passed away and I kind of stopped listening.  Not completely, but it was a rare occasion that I would listen to Threshold and when I did I kind of mentally kept myself at arms length if that makes any sense. 

And then with Legends of the Shires I was pulled back in - first, the whole thing with Damian being fired seemed like it came out of nowhere.  I was disappointed by that, because he's a fantastic singer and those albums were great even if I wasn't listening much.  Damian had been active and everyone knew he'd lost nothing and is good at pretty much everything he does (except he never sounded quite right singing the Mac stuff).  I was very skeptical of how Glynn was going to sound after all those years, even though I probably shouldn't have been.

I heard Small Dark Lines ahead of time and I was like "meh" but I bought the album anyway  And... it was good.  Wait, it was better than good.  It felt like Mac would have sounded perfect on some of those songs, and then I finally decided it was time to listen to everything and I did and it was emotional and stuff and I've been on board ever since.   I really hope Glynn stays with the band because he sounds so good on these last two albums and he also sounds so good singing the Mac songs.

(Also I was insane to brush off Small Dark Lines - that's an incredible song).

[nick_z]

That is so cool that you've been a fan since the beginning.   Was it really crazy being a fan in real time when all of the back and forth singer changes were going on? 

Yes, it kinda was  I mean, at the time the access to information wasn't as immediate, so you'd rely on printed magazines for the most part...so yeah, it was a bit jarring. I liked Damian Wilson, but he wasn't my favorite aspect of the band on Wounded Land, so I wasn't too disappointed with them parting ways after it...and, like I said, Morgan was an immediate hit for me, so all good there...but then, back to Wilson?!  It wasn't entirely obvious what was going on there...and as if that wasn't enough, Clone rolls in, and there's yet another singer...

With Glynn, I thought he sounded really good on Psychedelicatessen but what really made me a Glynn fan was the Livedelica album that came with it.  I thought he crushed it. 

Couldn't agree more! His performance on Livedelica is fantastic (that version of Innocent!). By the way, after his first stint with Threshold, Morgan formed this band, Mindfeed...the sound is a bit different, more "alternative metal" if you will, but the songs are great, and his vocals are awesome. Check out their second album, Ten Miles High, if you don't know it and you are curious...they have their own version of Innocent on it too...

[Lethean]

That is so cool that you've been a fan since the beginning.   Was it really crazy being a fan in real time when all of the back and forth singer changes were going on? 

Yes, it kinda was  I mean, at the time the access to information wasn't as immediate, so you'd rely on printed magazines for the most part...so yeah, it was a bit jarring. I liked Damian Wilson, but he wasn't my favorite aspect of the band on Wounded Land, so I wasn't too disappointed with them parting ways after it...and, like I said, Morgan was an immediate hit for me, so all good there...but then, back to Wilson?!  It wasn't entirely obvious what was going on there...and as if that wasn't enough, Clone rolls in, and there's yet another singer...

At least Mac stayed with them for a good long while. 

I think I put my foot in my mouth because I saw them the first time ProgPower and said something at their signing table like "no more lineup changes right?" in a kind of joking way but in a way that (hopefully) conveyed that I just liked the band that much.  They turned to Jon Jeary as if it was up to him.  And I (pretty stupidly I think) thought that meant he was kind of the band leader or something, but actually, he had already decided to leave and it was announced not too longer after. 

With Glynn, I thought he sounded really good on Psychedelicatessen but what really made me a Glynn fan was the Livedelica album that came with it.  I thought he crushed it. 

Couldn't agree more! His performance on Livedelica is fantastic (that version of Innocent!). By the way, after his first stint with Threshold, Morgan formed this band, Mindfeed...the sound is a bit different, more "alternative metal" if you will, but the songs are great, and his vocals are awesome. Check out their second album, Ten Miles High, if you don't know it and you are curious...they have their own version of Innocent on it too...

I have them both!  Which is how I pretty much instantly knew that Run was his song, because it sounds very much like his Mindfeed stuff.  And yes, his vocals are awesome.  Sounds like Glynn was a fan of Alice in Chains, which is fine by me.  Just as far as the song-writing goes.  His vocals just sound like himself.  Also there's some really cool drumming on some of those tracks.  Probably because I heard it first, but I like the Threshold version of Innocent better than the Mindfeed version.  And yes - the Livedelica version is awesome. And he totally nailed the Wounded Land stuff. 

[nick_z]

I have them both!  Which is how I pretty much instantly knew that Run was his song, because it sounds very much like his Mindfeed stuff.

You know, I didn't even think of it...but you are right, I can totally hear it!

[Snow Dog]

Been digesting this one for a few weeks, listening to nearly nothing else in my car, and I’m absolutely loving it. These songs have been stuck in my head and won’t leave, and I’m fine with that! These guys almost never disappoint, and it’s another stellar record, which is awesome this late in their career. The front half is one banger after another, and I need to listen more to the second half.

One thing I’m loving is the guitar tone, especially during the lower riffing. It’s got some great punch and chunk, with what seems to be a trebly bite along with it. Sounds so good.

It’s honestly a much rarer occasion nowadays for me to get genuinely excited and moved while listening to music, but this album has hit all the right spots. One of Threshold’s best for sure.

[Lethean]

The second half is absolutely as good.

Glad to hear you're enjoying it so much.  I still am as well.

[nick_z]

Also in complete agreement with the guitar sound on this album. Absolutely love it.

[gazinwales]

An absolute killer album, never thought they had it in them at this stage in their career to produce something this close to a perfect piece of art (aka masterpiece).
The music is incredible, the guitar tone, the melodies and then we have the lyrics, which I never usually pay that much attention to, but these are really hard hitting.
But most of all its far more listenable than it's highly praised predecessor, due to a far superior, mix, mastering and production.

[DoctorAction]

Just got back from seeing these guys in London. Terrific gig.

I've not really heard much of them for a few years. Damian didn't quite click with me, perhaps? Not sure. But a mate kept up with them and suggested it. Really glad he did. Glynn has a fantastic live voice and the whole band was tight and heavy as you would probably expect.