For the Journey (Stream)

[Defiance]

The band has kindly made the entire album available for stream here.

What can I say? Words fail me. I'm in "Lost in Your Memories" now, and so far "The Box" and "Turned to Dust" (which I played endlessly when it was released) have really made a strong impression. I notice(d), first of all, that Damian's vocals are much "better" than the previous album, i.e. I like them much more than in the previous one. His vocals are baritone much more frequently, even if he still is (from what I can tell) mostly tenor and countertenor, which I really enjoy, but I personally prefer the baritone ones. I also notice really cool keyboards, not so piano but with a lot of awesome distortions. The riffs seem to be very much in March of Progress style, whilst still being different. More comments after I listen to the album a few more times, but what can I say? The guys did it again, which is why they're my favourite prog band and one of my top 5 bands.

Threshold delivers, once again. And, just like wine, better than ever.

Cheers,

/Daniel

PS: Now living in Japan, so will get that über-expensive Japanese version when it comes out here.

 

[Pitiless Wanderer]

I can't wait to hear but I'll wait for the release. One thing I am worried about, or crossing my fingers about, is the fact that the songs are so short. MOP was epic because of the multiple 6, 7 8+ min songs. The longer song length allowed for more "parts" or bridges in each song resulting in a record of unimaginable scale. Does the new record still manage to maintain this feel even though it has much shorter songs? Also, if Damien's vocals are better than MOP then he can't be human. They sounded perfect before, so I am very eager to hear them now.

I'm really excited. Release is imminent. Why isn't there more publicity?

 

[Hetzer]

Didn't bother with the stream, but cd plays now for the very first time (digipak so there's that one extra song). It's all very familiar and safe, too early to say too much about it but it seems that this doesn't quite reach on same level with March of Progress. That being said, Threshold's music usually gets better and better after few spins so I'm confident that this will deliver soon enough.

 

[Pitiless Wanderer]

Yea MOP really clicked with me after a lot of listens.

 

[Allfadir]

Just finished my first listening, and I've got to say this sounds very promising and might grow to become better than MOP. Agree with Defiance who commented on Wilson's voice, it's much better then on MOP. Both Lost in your memory and The mystery show are really beautiful songs! Threshold have done it again!

 

[Pitiless Wanderer]

Just listened all the way through last night before bed. Initial impressions: Damian sounds better than ever but the vocal melodies aren't nearly as strong as MOP. The guitar riffs are definitely in the vein of MOP but perhaps not as strong either. The production is fantastic. The mood of the album, at least to me, seems very, very dark. Almost hopeless in a way. Maybe that's more due to circumstances rather than what the band intended. Highlights so far are definitely two above the rest: Unforgiven, and Siren Sky. But of course, it is very early, and I'll listen hundreds of more times and these first impressions are likely to change. Overall, a very, very impressive album as the band continues to write fantastic and just plain classy music.

Edit - anyone else notice that they used the same Mario Savio speech sound clip as Fear Factory on Timelessness?

 

[rebirth]

Production suxs

 

[Pitiless Wanderer]

No, rebirth, it's actually pretty much perfect. I mean what's wrong with it? What would you change? Jesus man give some credit will you?

 

[Hetzer]

Ok, after several spins this is really start to sink in. As said, mood is pretty dark/melancholic but not in depressing way. So, great stuff once again
I would also like to hear what's wrong with production?

 

[Defiance]

I can't wait to hear but I'll wait for the release. One thing I am worried about, or crossing my fingers about, is the fact that the songs are so short. MOP was epic because of the multiple 6, 7 8+ min songs. The longer song length allowed for more "parts" or bridges in each song resulting in a record of unimaginable scale. Does the new record still manage to maintain this feel even though it has much shorter songs? Also, if Damien's vocals are better than MOP then he can't be human. They sounded perfect before, so I am very eager to hear them now.

I'm really excited. Release is imminent. Why isn't there more publicity?

I'd say that most songs are around 5 minutes long, but there are a few around 7, and The Box is 11 minutes. "I FOUND THE BOX ON MONDAY".

So Damien is an alien because his vocals really improved. With MoP it took me a bit to get into his vocals, probably more due to the vocalist change than Damien's vocals itself, but in this one I got right into them, and I love them. He uses a lot more tones, and I really like his baritone singing.

Well they've had a bit of publicity, but you can't expect a Superbowl ad .

Just finished my first listening, and I've got to say this sounds very promising and might grow to become better than MOP. Agree with Defiance who commented on Wilson's voice, it's much better then on MOP. Both Lost in your memory and The mystery show are really beautiful songs! Threshold have done it again!

Indeed!!! I'm really into "Autumn Red" right now!!! The "haaaaa" (if you know what I mean) that he sings really gets to me, it's so very powerful! It seems like the chorus is a short one, but it actually has two parts and I really like that!!

Edit - anyone else notice that they used the same Mario Savio speech sound clip as Fear Factory on Timelessness?

Don't know cause I don't like Fear Factory, but I'll take your word for it haha….

Production suxs

You clearly have no idea what you're talking about. It's, without doubt, the best production on any Threshold album.

Ok, after several spins this is really start to sink in. As said, mood is pretty dark/melancholic but not in depressing way. So, great stuff once again
I would also like to hear what's wrong with production?

Yeah!! Very melancholic, talking about Autumn, for example, which can be taken as a melancholic season; however, I don't think the album is "dark", unlike MoP which had a grim outlook on life, dealing with politics and social issues, FtJ has actually a really positive outlook on life, kind of "you've to fight for what you want and to make a change", as in "Turned to Dust", "if light is fading for me now, I'll race the sundown". Even more in "Lost in Your Memory", which I enjoy a lot because it's so positive. "Hold on, keep yourself together there are, better signs to see". Looove it!!!! Can't wait for the Japanese release!

This and Cynic's album are definitely strong contenders for album of the year, although I think Cynic will win no matter what haha….

 

[Pitiless Wanderer]

What's the Japanese release contain?

 

[Defiance]

What does the Japanese release contain?

I don't know, but at least one bonus track for sure.

Addendum:

I actually realised the other day that Siren Sky is the last track, not "I Wish I Could". Kind of funny/strange that the stream has the bonus track too, and maybe that's the one for Japan.

 

[Pitiless Wanderer]

No need to make a correction to the grammar. Maybe English isn't your first language (you're from Japan, yes? Or you're not a native speaker). Native speakers use informal language probably more than formal language these days. Especially on the Internet. But that contraction is perfectly acceptable. Just check your nearest dictionary:


Contraction: what's

1. What is
2. What has
3. What does (informal)

More examples: What's she look like? (what does she look like), How's it work? (how does it work) etc...

Anyway, my download has the bonus track "I Wish I Could" as well. I hope that there is more unreleased stuff, though.

 

[The Unicorn]

'When people use “what’s” to mean “what does”—shrinking “does” to an apostrophe and “s”—they’re more likely to be talking than writing.'
Just because people use it doesn't mean it is grammatically correct (Lord Sugar springs to mind with his 'you was' EastEnd talk).
Anyway, shouldn't we talk about Threshold instead? My favourite track on the album is by far The Mystery Show.

 

[Pitiless Wanderer]

Yea, 'more likely' but that doesn't mean there is a rule, and a grammatical one at that, against it. But obviously this is an incredibly stupid argument to get into, so let's forget it and talk about the album.

Mystery Show is good but my favorite is Siren Sky. The melodic vocals are amazing. Unforgiven is also quite good. Oddly, as epic as it is in some ways, The Box is not one of my favorites. The album is very good and is growing on me but it isn't close to MOP.

 

[Defiance]

First time I see that one. You learn something new every day!

I still haven't found the album at the stores here, but I shall wait! More hehe.

Siren Sky is still one song I haven't fully discovered, so it should be a hit in a few weeks or so.