Hold the presses, everybody, because British outfit, Threshold have delivered a brilliant album in the form of Legends Of The Shires. This stunning new album sees the return of former lead singer, Glynn Morgan to the band. Morgan, who was previously with the band back in the 1990s when they recorded fan favourite album Psychedelicatessen, makes a massive impact on Legends Of The Shires, and it’s obvious the fans will welcome him back with open arms.
It is Morgan’s vocals that take hold of you very early on and show you what a great album Legends Of The Shires are going to be. His vocals shine on the acoustic opener – “The Shire (Part 1)” – and then continue on “Small Dark Lines”, which sees the metal side of Threshold come out and play. Be warned though, if you are not a fan of prog rock or prog metal, then this isn’t the album for you. Because, as tracks like “The Man Who Saw Through Time” shows Threshold are capable of trying anything throughout the album. That track, in particular, sees the traditional Threshold metal sound infused with some electronic keyboard and even some piano. This is also the first track that brings the guitar work of Karl Groom to the fore, as well. That same mix returns on “Subliminal Freeway” and again sounds fantastic as well.
Threshold’s sound is forever changing on Legends Of The Shires. Tracks like “Trust The Process” and “Lost In Translation” have a strong 1980s feel, with the latter also exploding into life with some excellent guitar work from Groom. Alongside Morgan, it is the work of Groom that lifts this album into an entirely different place. His playing is sublime on “On The Edge” while “Stars And Satellites” contains an epic solo that any guitarist would be impressed with.
With an album like this, it is very hard to pick a favourite track as there are many great tracks, and then there are beautiful tracks like “State Of Independence”, “Superior Machine” and “Swallowed”. The beauty of those tracks is rare today, as somehow both instrumentally and vocally, they work perfectly.
Legends Of The Shires is a sensational piece of progressive metal. With brilliant guitar work and amazing vocals, this is an album that shows that Threshold is a band on top of their game despite the line-up changes.
