Critical Mass

Threshold | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 13, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Inside Out U.S.
• ASIN: B00006HI7B
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #43,904 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Phenomenon

2. Falling Way

3. Echoes of Life

4. Avalon

5. Choices

6. Fragmentation

7. Round and Round

8. Critical Mass: Fission/Fusion/Lucky, Pt. 1-3

Editorial Reviews

Limited edition of the English progressive metal act's 2002 album includes a three track CD single featuring, 'Phenomenon' (Edit), 'Do Unto Them', 'New Beginning' & a multimedia section. Slipcase. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not a critical purchase, but still entertaining, December 29, 2002

By 

Robert Pontzer (State College, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Critical Mass (Audio CD)

Threshold released their definitive masterpiece, "Hypothetical", in 2001. 2002's "Critical Mass" is also an enjoyable release, but falls short of the lofty heights of "Hypothetical". The high points are sky high, some of the best prog music I have ever heard. But there are some glaring weaknesses. Essentially, you could split this album into two: the 4 Richard West (keyboardist) compositions and the 4 Karl Groom (guitarist)/Jon Jeary (bassist) compositions. The 4 West songs ("Phenomenon", "Falling Away", "Echoes of Life", "Avalon") are lively, fresh, unpredictable, beautiful and take the Threshold sound to the next level. You can definately tell these songs were composed on keyboard. The Groom/Jeary songs ("Choices", "Fragmentation", "Round and Round", "Critical Mass") sound weary, tired, predictable, uninventive and boring. The riffs often have a "been there, done that, hey wasn't that on the last album?" feeling and the choruses are usually annoying. The exception is the epic "Critical Mass" which works well. Despite the shortfalls of this album, the Richard West songs are so good to warrant this a 4 star release. Vocalist Mac puts in his best performance. He has a great, mature British voice with can be cutting at one point and gentle later on. Johanne James also deserves accolades for his powerful and technical drumming throughout. Richard West may be the star of this release, with not only his great songwriting but his gorgeous synths and piano. The production on this album is great on the keyboards and drums, which sound fresh, warm and alive. But the guitars lack bite. Also, there are too many mid-tempo songs. A few faster numbers would have definately helped with the pace of this album. Generally, I think Richard West is now the most potent songwriting force in this band. Karl Groom seems to have run out of ideas.

Despite the shortfalls of this release, I still recommend it. And I recommend you get the Limited Edition which has 2 more great songs and some very enjoyable multimedia elements and liner notes.

"Phenomenon" is an excellent way to start off the album and a great introduction to the Threshold sound. It's punchy, somewhat fast and extremely melodic. Vocalist Mac sounds quite fierce and at other times very gentle. Keyboardist Richard West makes use of samples to enhance the song and lush backing keyboards during the chorus. The mid-section of this song is amazing. Mac sings very gently, "I don't want many things. Just a chance to spread my wings. Don't know what the future brings, but I want to be there". He then repeats these lyrics at the top of his lungs. A nice dynamic.

"Choices" is an 8 minute tune with tons of changing parts and the most solos I have ever heard in a song, it's ridiculous! This song ends up sounding very choppy and disjointed, and really doesn't have many memorable parts. Even the solos get annoying after awhile. The guitar riffs are very boring and the chorus is very weak.

"Falling Away" is arguably the best song on this album. It is a 7 minute epic power ballad. It opens with piano, before moving into an extremely lush synth part. The verses are very sparse with some tasty cymbal shuffling by Johanne. Mac puts in a gorgeous, restrained performance. Mac then explodes into the AWESOME chorus! Words cannot describe how amazing this chorus is. "We're powerless. We're paranoid. We'll never know what we destroyed. We're falling... falling away!" The vocal melody is just sublime. This is then followed by a brief passionate guitar solo before entering another lush verse. This song has such a great atmosphere, the perfect night music.

"Fragmentation" is a long, slow song. It has boring guitar riffs and an uninteresting chorus. The most annoying thing about this song is the "breathing" that Mac does throughout. This song is a lyrical nadir for Threshold as well, especially the embarrassing fragmented sentences in the middle.

"Echoes of Life" is the other best song on this disc. It is a 9 minute excursion into prog-metal bliss. Like "Falling Away", this song starts off with gorgeous piano. Mac provides some more beautiful gentle vocals: "Everything's gone out of control, silently sliding away. Destiny's end is calling again, the future was yesterday". The song then builds up to a powerful verse with lots of excellent piano. Great chorus, memorable melodies and technical chops galore! There's a lot of transitions and time signature changes. There's also some 70's sounding Hammond organ.

"Round and Round" starts off with a beautifully morose verse, but it ultimately ruined by the "round and round" curse. It is my theory that any sound with a chorus that relies on the phrase "round and round" is doomed to failure, and this song is no exception. Repitition of "round and round and round and round" is exceedingly annoying.

"Avalon" is a Richard West composition with the piano as the primary instrument. It is a ballad with a very 80's neo-prog sound to it. Mac puts in a very calm vocal performance. The chorus is rather beautiful. "And you laughed and you cried. And that made it all worthwhile. And you hoped and you prayed. That your world would never change. But all that it's become... is Avalon". This song isn't very deep musically, but is rather pretty and calm. This song has a very intimate sound to it.

"Critical Mass" is the 3 part 13 minute epic closer to the album. The first part is called "Fission" and it starts off very softly with nice vocals by Mac. It builds into a rather rousing chorus. The second part is called "Fusion". This part is instrumental. It features a lot of crazy technical musicianship and transitions. The third part is "Lucky". This is a very soft acoustic ending. Mac provides one of his most gentle and gorgeous vocal performances. "I don't pray so I'll have to stay lucky".

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Getting better with each release!, November 3, 2002

By 

Sven B. Schreiber "rawol.com" (Fürth (Bayern)) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Critical Mass (Audio CD)

Threshold is one of the bands that get better with each new album release. That's probably because the main songwriters - Richard West, Karl Groom, and Jon Jeary - continually improve their shills. Meanwhile, the writing team seems to have split sharply into two fractions: Out of the eight tracks, the odd-numbered titles ara written by Richard West, and the even-numbered by Groom/Jeary. All tracks are great, there's no garbage or filler material on this CD. The style is similar to the previous "Hypothetical" album: Powerful "Metal" with catchy melodies and rich "progressive" arrangements. Great ProgMetal for people who like Arena, Dream Theater, and the likes.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite Threshold album, January 8, 2008

By 

R. Gorham "RCG2" - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Critical Mass (Audio CD)

THE BAND: Andy "Mac" McDermott (vocals), Karl Groom (guitars), Nick Midson (guitars), Jon Jeary (bass), Richard West (keyboards), Johanne James (drums & percussion). Band origin: Surrey, UK.

THE DISC: (2002) Two versions of "Critical Mass" are available. 1. - the single music disc contains 8 tracks and clocks in at approximately 59 minutes, and 2. - the double-disc version, containing the music disc and a bonus 2nd disc containing 3 music tracks (an edit of "Phenomenon", and 2 new additional tracks totaling approximately 14 minutes), and a multimedia section for your PC (with a band documentary; in the studio/diary, personnel/bios, screen saver, backstage, and weblink). Included with the disc is an 18-page booklet containing song titles/credits/times, song lyrics, band photos, production notes from Groom/West on each track, and thank you's. Even track numbers written by Groom/Jeary; odd track numbers written by West. Recorded at Thin Ice Studios, Surrey, England (March - June 2002). Label - InsideOut.

COMMENTS: Though I own several Threshold discs, I've never been a hugely over-the-top rabid Threshold fan. "Hypothetical" (2001) was my 1st purchase years ago and is still probably the sentimental favorite. However, I firmly believe this "Critical Mass" double-disc edition is their most accomplished release. Polished, slick, mature (all aspects of the band firing on all cylinders)... and simply some great writing. I love the double guitar attack. Threshold fits nicely in the family of prog metal bands. I hear similarities to Dream Theater, Enchant, Fates Warning, etc... and if you're into this genre of music - I see that as a compliment. Similarities, but never clones of any other band. Groom and Midson's guitar work is what intrigues me the most here. James' drumming is solid, even if he is the band's 3rd drummer. West's keyboards are stunning - he is a tier 1 player. Mac's vocals are good, though limited in my opinion. I read a review in a music magazine years ago where one of the writers compared Mac to Meatloaf (the "Bat Out Of Hell" Meatloaf)... and that always stuck with me. Mac can handle the heavy tunes, but I feel he really shines on the slower songs... he may be at his best on the soft ending of the title track. As for the music - the disc opens with one of my all-time favorite Threshold tunes, the fast paced "Phenomenon". Track 2 ("Choices") has some great lead guitar work. "Falling Away" slows the pace down and is my 2nd favorite song on the disc... heavy on melody and West's atmospheric keyboards (as is the song "Avalon"). Seven of the eight tracks fit nicely into the 5-8 minute range. The album closer - the title track "Critical Mass : Parts 1/2/3" - is a lengthy listen at over 13 minutes... it's the album opus and a climactic ending - full of ups and downs, blistering guitar work, great keyboards and intricate drums. The limited edition 2-cd set is worth looking for as the 2 bonus tracks ("Do Unto Them" and "New Beginning") are outstanding, and the multimedia section is informative. If you're a fan of the band, you probably all ready own this album. If you're just learning about Threshold, "Critical Mass" is a great place to start (5 stars).