Threshold - Subsurface. 2004 England

Subsurface is the 7th studio album from the English prog metal band Threshold. This is a band I've heard about for 25+ years, but inexplicably never heard a note of their output until today. Ostensibly a Dream Theater styled prog metal, Threshold manages to separate themselves from the pack rather nicely. Instead of a million-notes-a-second, Threshold restrains the impulse to do so, and rather puts that energy into songwriting instead. There are times the band falls into all-too familiar tropes, and during the chorus sections, I find myself asking them to put a sock in it. But otherwise there's quite a bit of thought within these compositions. 'Ground Control' is the winner of the bunch, and I heard snippets ranging from Voivod to... early 80s UK synth pop! All within the familiar confines of a progressive metal song. 'Opium' has some slight Supertramp references. And so it goes. Subsurface is a fine entry into the there-are-just-too-many-prog-metal-bands genre. I found subsequent listens more enjoyable than the last, always a hallmark of an excellent album.

Ownership: CD: 2012 Nuclear Blast. Recent acquisition from an online retailer. This version contains one new bonus track and 2 live renditions.

1/18/19 (first listen / review / new entry)