An unbelievable debut from a prog metal band
Murat Batmaz | Istanbul, Turkey | 09/07/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Wounded Land is the British prog metal band Threshold's debut album released in 1993. And what a debut! It is not too common for us progheads to find a debut release that blow us away. I'm actually one of the Threshold fans that got into the band with Clone, Hypothetical and Critical Mass. However I did know that Damian Wilson was the original singer of the band and I happen to be a great fan of his work in Ayreon, Star One and Landmarq. His contribution on Lucassen's projects Ayreon and Star One are particularly to my liking. So after listening to the recent Threshold releases for over a year I felt it was time to pick up the Wilson-era stuff and I'm glad I did. I am so very impressed by Wounded Land. It is an amazing album from songwriting to the lyrics to Wilson's vocals to the production and the guys' talents on their instruments. The guitarist Karl Groom particularly shines here and the rhythm section is absolutely superb. Because the band has two guitarists the music can be really heavy compared to the majority of the bands out there, which is a great thing. The bassist was obviously given a lot of room to showcase his talents and the drummer is doing a great job complementing him. The keyboardist is very versatile too, he goes from an Arabic/Middle Eastern sound (check out the opening song "Consumed To Live") to ambient sound creating an excellent atmosphere.
Lyrically the album deals with social issues such as deforestation, unemployment, anti-capitalism, the Gulf War and its effects (especially the song "Siege of Baghdah"). The CD also has a nice surprise if you pop it into your CD-ROM drive explaining where exactly the term 'Wounded Land' came from.
I recommend it to everyone who has never heard of Threshold before. Clone was the first album from them that I got and I must admit it took some time to click. If I'd gone for Wounded Land, I'd have completed my Threshold catalog earlier."
Not the Threshold I'm used to, but not bad either
Justin Gaines | Northern Virginia | 03/08/2008
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Originally released in 1993, Wounded Land was the debut album by British progressive metal band Threshold. I first heard Threshold in 2002, just after Critical Mass was released, and worked my way backwards to this album. Wounded Land is quite a departure from those later efforts.
The things I love most about Threshold's style are absent from this album - Mac's vocals and Richard West's amazing keyboards. I know West did play on this album, but he doesn't have as prominent a role, especially in terms of songwriting, and that makes a huge difference.
Wounded Land is still a very solid progressive metal album, particularly considering it was the band's first release. And let's face it; quality progressive metal albums were few and far between in 1993. The album stands out for its quality songwriting and intelligent lyrics, which take an unflinching look at the day's major issues, including the environment and the first Gulf War. It's also musically a very impressive album with a progressive style that never strays too far into technical self-indulgence. I'm not a fan of Damian Wilson's vocals, but he does a decent enough job here.
I'll confess to absolutely hating this album when I first heard it. It definitely grows on you after a few spins, but there's something in my mind that prevents me from thinking of it as a "real" Threshold album.
NOTE: The 2001 Special Edition release of Wounded Land features digitally remastered sound, the bonus track Intervention (which pre-dated the album), and a host of multimedia extras. At this point, the Special Edition is a lot easier to track down than the original version, so if you haven't already purchased Wounded Land, this is the version to get."
Track Listings (8) - Disc #1