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Threshold Bio

Threshold
Band members
Mac - vocals Karl Groom - guitars Richard West - keyboards Steve Anderson - bass Johanne James - drums

Genres
progressive

Threshold are England's foremost progressive metal band. The latest chapter of Threshold's story sees the band signed to Nuclear Blast Records to release their 8th studio album "Dead Reckoning". Hailed as a "masterpiece" by UK rock magazine Fireworks, the album was written and produced by Karl Groom and Richard West, who have been with the band since Threshold's debut release "Wounded Land".

Formed in the late 1980s, Threshold combined their influnces of heavy metal and progressive rock to craft their own unique sound which was a far cry from the commercial sound of the time. "Wounded Land" was released on GEP Records in 1993, and was hailed by many as the best debut album of the year. The following few years saw three more album releases and tours with bands such as Dream Theater and Psychotic Waltz.

By the end of the decade Threshold were signed to Inside Out Music and had established drummer Johanne James and vocalist Andrew "Mac" McDermott among their ranks. Regarded by many as one of England's finest rock voices, Mac brought an enigmatic and unpredictable edge to Threshold's live shows. From being voted best frontman of the festival at Wacken in 1999, to risking life and limb scaling across a huge lighting rig during the finale of the band's performance at the Bospop festival in 2001, Mac's on-stage antics soon became known as Macrobatics, and other band members learned to keep a watchful eye on the singer in case they got caught in the crossfire.

Threshold's Inside Out era brought 3 more studio albums, a live DVD and long-awaited chart success for the band. In 2003 bassist Steve Anderson joined Threshold, and the following year "Subsurface" was released. Hailed as "absolute perfection" by Darkscene (AT), "Subsurface" scooped 15 "Album Of The Month" awards across 9 countries, making it one of the essential rock albums of the year. The band's subsequent European tour was their most successful yet.

In 2006 Threshold signed to Nuclear Blast Records and started work on their new album "Dead Reckoning". Described by Powerplay (UK) as "heavier, darker yet more accessible" than their previous work, "Dead Reckoning" is hailed by Aardschok (NL) as a "great new album by a band that seems to have reinvented itself", and which according to Scream (NO), "could very well take the band to a new level of stardom".

Threshold's "Dead Reckoning" is released in March 2007.



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