The Journey Continues

On Sunday I saw Threshold for the tenth time. To say they’re my favorite band is an understatement. I’ve seen them more than any other band, but Marillion, Paradise Lost, The Wildhearts and Skin aren’t far behind.

As is common with lots of bands at the moment, there were two support acts. I struggled to see the point of Damnation Angel, although their singer was clearly very talented. Spheric Universe Experience, from France, on the other had were really quite good. Proggy, heavy and well worth the £10 for an album.

If I’m honest, For The Journey is my least favorite of the recent Threshold albums, so I was apprehensive about hearing it all the way through. I was delighted, however, to find they were opening with Freaks and Mission Profile before diving into For The Journey. I shouldn’t have been apprehensive as live it was amazing from beginning to end. Although by no means the best song from the Hypothetical album, Oceanborn, which followed, is a superb live track and had me thinking back to when Mac was in the band. Then there was the superb and unexpected Pilot in the Sky of Dreams which had Damien Wilson splitting the crowd, walking among us and kissing a lady who had put herself right in front of him. Before the encore they finished with Ashes, which was, unfortunately, the only track from For the Journey’s predecessor, March of Progress.

The encore consisted of the Art of Reason and of course Slipstream. Both brilliant. Damien Wilson of coursed joined the crowd straight after and I was able to get the new album signed. I’d bumped into Pete Morton earlier and was able to distract Richard West for clearing away his keyboards too.

They’re still my favorites and I expect when they play again I’ll see them again. Hopefully they’ll do another set like they did at the garage a few years ago with a few songs from each of their albums. And you never know, they may even play in Norwich.

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Paul Grenyer

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