Threshold - Wounded Land

My quest for good progressive metal continues... I picked up Threshold's 1993 debut album, Wounded Land, recently and, I must say, it is good. More than good, actually, it's damn good. Wounded Land is bombastic, epic, moody, progressive and dark and that combination is a good start. The guitars are powerful, the synthesizer is very prominent and the singer is excellent. I do have personal problems with the lyrics, they are extremely "weenie greenie" in nature and I don't go in for that left-wing, tree-huggin' nonsense. That being said, I can ignore the environmentalist slant to most of the lyrics and enjoy this album because the music, vocals and vocal melodies more than makeup for the wimp-laden lyrics. Threshold calls themselves "the United Kingdom's Dream Theater" but, unlike Dream Theater, Threshold doesn't indulge in technical silliness and musical masturbation (at least not on Wounded Land) and this is a huge plus...

1.] "Consume to Live" - This song starts off with some creepy sound effects and then we are treated to a heavy guitar and a keyboard pulling off some really cool Middle-eastern sounds. The vocalist, Damian Wilson, has a very good voice, his vocals are on the high end of the scale but he never leaves his natural range. And for you instrumental fans, there is a long, well-done instrumental at the end of this excellent tune.
2.] "Days of Dearth" - The opening of this song is very similar to the opening of Shadow Gallery's "Cliffhanger" (from the album Carved in Stone). This is a heavy, complex song that rolls along nicely. It's very dark and almost has a doom metal edge to it. This is a great, pounding tune.
3.] "Sanity's End" - The beginning of this song is a bit rigid but this changes and the melody becomes more pleasing as it goes along. The keyboards take on an organ sound, very grand and sweeping and it reminds me of some of Europe's or Ayreon's stuff. Really, the comparison to Ayreon is a good one because even the subject matter of the song reminds me of the Final Experimemt, Ayreon's debut album. This is an excellent tune.
4.] "Paradox" - More prominent keyboards are present on this song, similar to Ayreon or Dream Theater. "Paradox" is a bit lighter than the previous three songs but I wouldn't call it light, it's still heavy but the bass and keyboards dominate this one. Another excellent song.
5.] "Surface to Air" - Here we begin with soft piano and vocals...is this a ballad? Do we have a sappy tune here? Nope, this song fools you at the first as it is one of the heavier tunes on Wounded Land. Great tune with exceptional, catchy guitar work in places. More prominent keyboard work fills this song, too.
6. "Mother Earth" - This song is very heavy...chugga-chugga heavy, though the keyboards are still very prominent. Good tune...this album never disappoints.
7. "Siege of Baghdad" - Another heavy tune with a Middle-eastern melody, this time played by the guitar. This is dark, powerful tune that will definitely get your attention. One of my favorites.
8. "Keep It With Mine" - Okay, after the first seven tracks give us heavy, complex, dark and epic songs we get this rather short but beautiful, introspective tune that fittingly closes this excellent album.