THRESHOLD
Questions asked by Jon Wilde, added to Rock Realms Wednesday 25th March 2009.
Threshold are the UK's, and one of the World's, top progressive metal acts. They released their most recent album, Dead Reckoning, to tumultuous critical acclaim in 2007 and have just announced a number of tour dates across Northern Europe and the UK.
We thought it was about time we caught up with them to see what else was happening in the Threshold world.
Keyboardist and songwriter Richard West answers questions on the band's behalf.
Hi Richard, thanks for taking a moment to answer these questions for the Rock Realms Interrogation section. How is life treating you at present?
Richard: Very well thanks.
Who were the biggest influences, both for you and Threshold as a whole?
Richard: My favourite bands growing up were Queen and Genesis, that’s where I discovered that music could go beyond the three minute radio format. But I followed the singles charts too, back in the early eighties synthesizers were becoming commonplace in pop music with the new romantic movement, and it was all about finding your own unique sound rather than trying to sound like every other song on the radio. So when it comes to keyboards I was more influenced by Gary Numan or Duran Duran’s Nick Rhodes than by more traditional rock keyboard players. Although you won’t hear much of those influences in early Threshold albums, because the band already knew the sound they wanted so I tried to fit in with that. When Threshold started out they were playing covers by Ratt, Testament, Led Zeppelin and Van Halen, but their bassist Jon Jeary was also into progressive bands like Yes, Rush and Pink Floyd. So when they wrote their first album it’s sound was a sum of those parts, and I was just brought in to add some final keyboards to the recordings.
Threshold has been going for over twenty years now. Scary?
Richard: A little I guess, but I feel more comfortable with myself than I did back then, so I don’t miss those early days too much. I wasn’t with them for the first 4 years while they were playing local pubs and paying their dues, so in some ways even now I feel a bit like the new boy compared to guitarist Karl Groom who’s been there all the way through.
You were there from the very first album in ‘93. Did you think you’d still be pumping out music as good as Dead Reckoning all these years later?
Richard: No, I thought it was just a session job at the start. I was busy with a rock band called Mercy Train and I thought that was going to be the band that got somewhere. In 1992 we were in the middle of making the Mercy Train album and we’d started doing a few local gigs. Then off the back of touring with Karl in a prog rock band called Shadowland, he asked me to play on the Threshold album. I guess one thing led to another, but it was several years before I got used to the fact that I’d joined a prog metal band.
Along with Karl (Groom), you tend to write all the Threshold music. Is the process ongoing, or do you specifically sit down and write an album as a standalone entity?
Richard: We specifically sit down to write the album at the time. Obviously there are some ideas that come up between albums and they get noted down and are sometimes included, but generally the writing comes at a specific point in time. I think that way we get a more coherent album because it reflects our mindset at the time of writing, both for the music and the lyrics. Between albums we normally get involved in other recording projects outside of Threshold, and that helps expand our horizons musically so when we come back to Threshold we’ve got new ways of approaching the writing process. It’s the same lyrically, you learn from life and then you have something new to talk about, so an album’s lyrics become a snapshot of who you are and what you’re going through at the time.
Where do songs like ‘Pilot In The Sky Of Dreams’ come from? There’s a real majestic vibe going on there!
Richard: I was just really enjoying the writing process for that one, to be honest I wasn’t sure it would even be on the album because we were going for a heavier vibe overall. I’d put together some chord progressions and riffs that really excited me, and it turned into a composition that I just kept going back to over a number of months until it was done, all the while not being sure if we’d want to use it. Lyrically it’s all about meeting your creator and learning to walk with him, so it’s a big theme for a big song and that probably brought an extra sparkle of majesty to the composition.
What would you say is your favourite Threshold track?
Richard: Well the newest stuff sounds freshest to me, that’s how it always is for me, so I guess songs like Slipstream and Pilot In The Sky Of Dreams are my favourites at the moment. The older stuff has its own special value. Songs like Sanity’s End are classic tracks, and they also carry all the nostalgia of joining the band and doing our first European tour.
What’s it like recording albums in Surrey, UK? Living there myself, I have to say it isn’t the most inspiring place musically!
Richard: Well I guess it’s sometimes more inspiring to write in a place with bigger scenery and fresher air, but Surrey’s pretty cool. I moved here about twenty years ago so I’ve got used to it now! To be honest, once you start writing the music fills your head and it doesn’t really matter where you are.
This is Damian Wilson’s 3rd stint as lead singer with the band. He must like it with the rest of you...
Richard: Yes, he seems very happy to be back. He’s doing a good job for us.
Does Damian still sing in theatrical stage productions (like Les Miserables) when he gets chance? Have to say it’s not an image you necessarily associate with a member of a progressive metal act!
Richard: He played the role of Jean Valjean in Les Miserables about ten years ago, but that’s the only one as far as I know. Since then he’s been more involved in the prog rock world, working with people like Rick Wakeman and Arjen Lucassen. I didn’t see him in Les Miserables but I can imagine he’d do a good job, he’s got good stage presence.
I’ve checked out some of Damian’s recent live Threshold gigs on YouTube. He’s got a fantastic set of pipes on him... and previous vocalist Mac wasn’t the worst singer either! How do you think the two guys compare tonally?
Richard: They’re both very different, Mac had more growl in his tone whereas Damian’s sound is much cleaner. They’re both such powerful voices though, they work really well within the Threshold sound.
You are playing a number of gigs in the UK and Europe in May. Looking forward to it?
Richard: Yes, it’s always been good being on the road but the Dead Reckoning dates have been my favourite shows of all. The whole band is so nice to be with, both on and off stage, so I’m really looking forward to the next shows.
Any plans to add more dates in the UK later in the year? Every time you play live I always seem to be busy – this time I’m off on my honeymoon!
Richard: OK we’ll forgive you this time, you’ve got quite a good excuse. I hope it all goes well for you. I don’t know when our next UK shows will be, but hopefully they won’t coincide with your wedding anniversary!
Are there any plans in the pipeline for a new album?
Richard: We don’t have a date for starting a new studio album yet, but we’re just putting the finishing touches on a collection of Threshold rarities to release direct to our fans. It includes one or two unreleased songs nobody outside the band knew existed. Over the years there’s been stuff that never got past the demo stage for one reason or another, so we’ve gone back to the studio to complete some of those works. It’s a bit like having new bonus tracks for old albums. So we’ve had Damian back in the studio and also our old vocalist Glynn Morgan who I hadn’t seen for years. It was really good to work with them both again. We should be releasing it later on this year.
You’ve worked with some other well-known bands too (like Dragonforce). Are there any other projects you’ve got on the go that you’d like to talk about?
Richard: No, I’m not producing anybody else at the moment. The last one I did was Power Quest, I flew over to Italy to work with them which was pretty cool. Good food, good company, good times.
We talked to Derek Sherinian (former keyboard player with Dream Theater) a while back. He said he quite fancied the idea of designing a signature keyboard model. Does that idea appeal to you?
Richard: That would be awesome, there have always been things I’ve wanted to be able to modify on the keyboards I’ve used, both externally and internally. They’re not so easily customised as guitars though, so I’m not sure how much you could do beyond a cosmetic makeover. But even that would be cool, just to have all the casings done in my preferred shade of black..!
What are you up to once you’ve finished this interview?
Richard: At the moment we’re just putting the finishing touches on the Threshold tracks. It’s something we thought of doing about a year ago, so I’m really looking forward to finally seeing and hearing the finished product.
Thank you for your time sir.
Richard: Thanks Jon, it was a pleasure.
A mountain of gratitude to Richard for his time. Don't forget to check out the Threshold back catalogue and catch them live if you can... and make sure you keep an eye open for the new 'rarities' release!
