Thresholds

I was told in the "The Key" review that after their debut, the Nocturnus lineup started to show some serious scratches. Well, "Thresholds" is the first (but surprisingly not the last) confirmation. Bassist Jeff Estes was eliminated, and guitarists Sean McNenney and Mike Davis and keyboardist Louis Panzer began to do whatever it took to ensure that Mike Browning - the main founder of Nocturnus - ceased to be part of the band and lost the rights to the band name. It didn't work out as if the three of them wished it, and so far, on "Thresholds", only his vocal duties have been taken away from him. These were then taken over by the new vocalist Dan Izzo in the band, and despite numerous tensions and generally not very interesting atmosphere, the Americans managed to record this lp in 10 days!

At that time...there was nothing else but to wish each band such discs when they had personal problems! Musically and conceptually, "Thresholds" is a continuation of the themes from "The Key", and at the same time death metal even more interesting and with a much greater momentum. The step forward is visible on this album, for example, in terms of guitars, the use of keyboards (they reached the pinnacle in "Aquatica", perfectly imitating the "water" atmosphere), the drums parts (in "Gridzone" there are even classic blasts!) or bolder bass (Chris Anderson recorded sessions during sessions) - which is mostly what theoretically did not need to change. Well, Dan Izzo himself - even though he happens to sing on one exhale - is generally quite interesting and introduces a certain freshness against the background of - after all, very good - Browning's vocals from the previous album. In a short: everything should qualify "Thresholds" for the maximum score. Well, yes...but not really!

The biggest problem with "Thresholds" is its poor sound - especially the drums. With such complex tracks as "Climate Controller" or "Subterranean Infiltrator", you can even say at the beginning that the music has completely lost its legibility! Heh, the only thing left to do is to be glad that with subsequent auditions, "Thresholds" is only perceived better and that you can convince yourself of this production. With such gems as "Tribal Vodoun" (great "tribal" atmosphere!), "Arctic Crypt", "Alter Reality" or the above-mentioned, there could be no other option. The music on this album is such an excellent show of genius and unconventional approach to death metal on the part of Nocturnus that it's impossible to underestimate it. There was only not enough solid production for the whole this genius.

Originally on: https://subiektywnymetal.blogspot.com/2021/07/nocturnus-thresholds-1992.html