So now everyone's had a good listen (over and over again in my case ) what are your outstanding tracks? Do you keep repeating a track before listening to the rest of the album? Does any song hold significance for you? I love it all but for me the outstanding songs are: Coda Return of the Thought Police The Hours Colophon
Intro in "Hours" Chorus in "Liberty, Complacency, Dependency" Verse in "Rubicon" First 22 seconds in "That's Why We Came"
After just one complete spin, Ashes and The Hours stand out great. See you in this topic a few spins later
The Hours Coda That's Why We Came (the song i can't get rid off at all. I must have heard it at least 50 times)
Can we do that with message boards Anyway onto more serious things. Favourite tracks: Ashes - I have found myself singing it when I am on the bike climbing hills this week. The Hours - emotional content is massive and keeps drawing me back. But hell I love all the tracks. Last night my CD finally arrived (I have been legitimately listening on Zune) and managed to listen to about 20 seconds of the bonus track until someone called me to talk about the album. He and I have spoken several times each day since release about it. And every time we have a new favourite track. "Its time to shine!"
Well... I'm back. Couldn't resist First of all, it is obvious on this album that the rythme section has found its place ! The bass is stronger in the mix than before, and the little bass soli here and there are really refreshing. Along with Johanne's playing, who obviously had (took ?) more liberty on this album than previously (the killer fill in Don't Look Down !), it helps bringing a fresh "organic" sound to the band, taking it away from the often too "robotic" guitar wall formula. - Don't look down has a lot of "one degree down in it", so I love it. And I actually wonder if there was any kind of connexion between those two songs in the writer's mind ? The hip hop groove on the break is really clever, and daring I must say. Oh, and heavy riff on the keyboard solo at the end makes me grin with joyful hate everytime (if that even means something, sorry). - Liberty, Complacency, Dependency (never recall the right order) is ultimately epic. It lies somewhere between Somatography, Eat The Unicorn (one of the best Thresh tunes ever), and the Art of Reason intro/outro, with a very "1984ish" flavor to it. I never thought I could love tempo changes so much within a song - Return of the Thought Police has really beautiful melodies. I find the intro riff quite weak, and the 7/8 section useless, but the rest is killer. The double tempo riff makes you wanna raise an army, ahah. As I asked earlier, was the chorus somewhat inspired by the "28 weeks later" theme ? - And finally Ashes. It's the easiest song to digest, it's pure Threshold, but it works, and the instrumental section is quite beautiful. Cheers.
What an EXCELLENT album! The best tracks for me so far (am still digging it all, so perceptions may change): Ashes The Rubicon Return of the Thought Police Feel free to read my personal review (under the name Brazilian Progger) on progarchives.com - http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=38346 Cheers, brlawyer
Johanne sounds inspired on this new album, but the funny thing is that the killer fill in Dont Look Down was almost note for note the same as the demo with programmed drums. I thought he would play something radically different on the session, although it sounds much more articulate with him playing it on real drums. I didnt think there was any connection with ODD. It was 5 years earlier and I always start from fresh for a new album. I have never seen 28 weeks, but know the music you mean. I guess it is the keyboard part on the chorus behind the vocal. If I compared that chorus to anything, it would be to Edenbridge. They are an Austrian symphonic metal band I work with and am friends with the guitarist. I produced their last 3 albums and they often have these kind of bombastic sections where the distorted rhythm guitars hit quarter notes.
I must say, I really like "Staring at the Sun". Musically it seems to me quite unusual for Threshold (and unusual for me means great, especially when it comes to prog). And Damian's voice is really soaring in this one.
I really can't decide. All the songs stand out in one way or another. Right now I'd have to decide between RotTP, Colophon, TWWC, and Coda. Aghhhhh. Stupid poll haha.
Off topic, but Rubicon made me think of this (for obvious reasons). If you haven't heard VNV Nation you're missing out, brilliant music and even better lyrics.
I limited myself to choosing three: Ashes for its memorability and how I hear multiple vocal lines almost completely echo Mac, The Hours because the lyrics powerfully speak to me and the music drives it home so well, and The Rubicon for its grand summation of Threshold including the lyrical retrospective and its devastatingly epic outro. Rich and Karl, I don't know how you came up with that idea, but I'll be playing that over and over again for years.
