Warthur Threshold had been chugging away for some five years by the time they produced this debut album. Founder and key member Karl Groom had founded his Thin Ice Studios in the meantime, which became a reasonably successful recording venue which gained particular traction in the neo-prog scene, but perhaps wisely Threshold didn't unduly rush to make use of this resource. By the time Karl Groom's connections had managed to land them a deal with the small Giant Electric Pea label - originally established by neo-prog band IQ to handle their own releases - it's clear that Threshold had workshopped their material a high degree and could present a debut in which they were confident in their sound.

That style here focuses on melodic metal with progressive touches and recording sensibilities, buoyed by the emotive vocals of Damian Wilson, whose band Landmarq had been one of those using Thin Ice Studios. There's a darkness to it reminiscent of the harder-edged 1980s thrash metal, but rather than taking on the tone of an angry protest, instead the atmosphere is more of a mournful warning, owing to the ecological concerns that inform the lyrics - something which has only become more relevant over time. (That's not the only place where they're right on the money - Siege of Baghdad was composed about the 1990s Gulf War, but could also be read as a warning about the Iraq War of the 2000s and the incessant chaos that has resulted from it.)

With Dream Theater's sound being so widely influential in progressive metal (especially in those sections of the scene which don't incorporate extreme metal influences), it's refreshing to hear a band who clearly are drawing inspiration from the same well but whose sound is distinct and clearly their own - Threshold having come together and developed this material whilst Dream Theater were still one band among many and hadn't yet conquered the scene. Threshold's more subdued, subtle approach isn't as immediately gripping or as technically flashy as Dream Theater, but it grows on you over the span of this album, making it well worth repeated listens. It's certainly a very promising start for the group, who'd clearly honed their craft to a fine degree even at this stage.

Losimba I admit that Threshold is one of my two favourite bands, the other being Celtic Rock veterans Runrig. For those who think "Huh?", there are some unexpected similarities between them and this album. The obvious one is the focus on environmental topics, but some of the melodies could easily feature on Proterra, the heaviest Runrig album, of course minus the double bass drum and with less distorsion in the guitar riffs. Keep It With Mine wouldn't even need any change at all (and I'm pretty sure Bruce Guthro would fit in as well as Damian Wilson does).

Even apart from that, Wounded Land is a really strong debut album. The rhythm section is solid, the guitar parts show great variety and the keyboards, while used relatively sparingly, leave their impact in the necessary places. The songwriting gives a clear impression of what is to follow in the later albums, it is consistent without getting boring. Needless to say that there is no weak song. Add in the deep lyrics (which are in no way ridiculous and cliche-ridden as another reviewer suggests, there are more than enough prog and metal bands with fantasy as their only topic, and hey, something can be well-written even if I don't agree with the point made) and there is one of the best albums of 1993. The highlights for me: Paradox, Surface To Air with its extra moment of genius in the final chorus which makes it one of my Threshold top 5 songs, and the aforementioned ballad Keep it With Mine.

I don't want to throw around 5 stars too easily, so I happily go for 4.5 which I couldn't do over at progarchives. By the way, the 1993 Runrig album Alba contains some really good songs, but is summa summarum considerably weaker than Wounded Land.

SouthSideoftheSky Heavy Metal environmentalism!

Wounded Land is the debut album by Threshold and one of my earliest encounters with this band. My interest in the music of Threshold began when I heard Damian Wilson singing on Rick Wakeman's excellent Out There album and also on the very good DVD Live In Buenos Aires by Rick Wakeman's New English Rock Ensemble (despite a couple of slight vocal mistakes by Wilson there). I think that Damian Wilson's distinctive voice fits the music of both Rick Wakeman and Threshold very well. I have also recently been listening to Shadowland which is a Neo-Progressive band that Karl Groom, Threshold's leader and principal guitarist, was in together with Clive Nolan. And this reminded me of Threshold (that is, not the music but the pure fact that Karl Groom was involved). My first Threshold experience was, however, with their Extinct Instinct album, which was the second one they did with Wilson on vocals (third overall).

The music of Threshold is progressive and melodic Heavy Metal with much keyboards and good compositions. Both Karl Groom and Damian Wilson have connections also to the Neo-Progressive subgenre with membership in bands like Shadowland and Landmarq respectively. This might lead you to expect that Threshold's music is close to Neo-Prog which is not entirely false. Fans of bands like Arena and Pallas should check out Threshold. However, Threshold is clearly more Metal than those very good Neo-Prog bands and the songs here are mostly based on heavy guitar riffs with symphonic keyboards. Black Sabbath is just as relevant as a reference but Threshold is more melodic than the founders of Heavy Metal.

The lead guitar work is very good and is the primary instrument for solos, but there are also good keyboard solos.

The concept behind Wounded Land is environmentalist and I must admit that I am not at all in agreement with the political stance expressed in the lyrics here. But regardless of what we think about the environmentalist ideology, we should agree that it is not very successful when it is transformed into Rock lyrics. The lyrics here are full of clichés of the supposed conflict between man and nature, how we pollute the environment, etc. The lyrics often come across as naïve and childish. It is, for example, very hard for me to take lyrics like "will rich men eat their money when they've killed the world stone dead?" and "he [i.e. man] makes big generators chewing up the atmosphere" seriously! This is sad, since the compositions are mostly very strong as are the vocal and instrumental talents. If you can ignore the lyrics, you are in for an enjoyable ride!

While Extinct Instinct is my favourite Threshold album, Wounded Land is very good also! Recommended for all fans of the lighter side of Prog-Metal and the heavier and more hard edged side of Neo-Prog.