''Thresholds'' is the second full-length studio album from

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...

band

Nocturnus Nocturnus, currently Nocturnus AD, is an American death metal band formed in Tampa, Florida, in 1987 by the drummer/vocalist Mike Browning (formerly of Morbid Angel). They were known for their science-fiction themed lyrics and use of keyboards, b ...

. It was released in 1992 by

Earache Records Earache Records is a British independent record label, music publisher and management company founded by Digby Pearson in 1985, based in Nottingham, England, with offices in London and New York. The label helped to pioneer extreme metal by rel ...

. ''Thresholds'' continued the experimental sound created on the first album and the line-up was expanded to a six-piece with the addition of vocalist Dan Izzo, allowing Mike Browning to concentrate solely on drums. Lyrical topics range from Earth's climate and global warming ("Climate Controller"), primitive religions ("Tribal Vodoun"), underwater species ("Aquatica") and

extraterrestrial life Extraterrestrial life, colloquially referred to as alien life, is life that may occur outside Earth and which did not originate on Earth. No extraterrestrial life has yet been conclusively detected, although efforts are underway. Such life might ...

("Gridzone"). The production of ''Thresholds'' is considerably more polished than that of ''The Key''. The music is also more complex and mature, with there being numerous breakdowns and tempo changes in every song. The band's musicianship has also advanced with each member exhibiting a new level of preciseness and technicality, with complex riffing and melodic solos. Dan Izzo's vocals are much deeper and clearer than Browning's and have been compared to the vocals of

Max Cavalera Massimiliano Antonio "Max" Cavalera (; born August 4, 1969) is a Brazilian musician. He co-founded the heavy metal band Sepultura in 1984 with his brother Igor Cavalera, and was the band's lead singer and rhythm guitarist until his departure i ...

Sepultura Sepultura (, "grave")Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 17. is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte. Formed in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera,Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 16. the band was a major force in the groove metal, thra ...

. "Alter Reality" was released as a single and featured a music video that received substantial airplay on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's ''

Headbangers Ball ''Headbangers Ball'' is a music television program that consisted of heavy metal music videos airing on MTV and its global affiliates. The show began on MTV on April 18, 1987, playing heavy metal music videos from both well-known and more obs ...

''. "Arctic Crypt" and "Climate Controller" also became notable fan favorites. This was the last Nocturnus release to feature founding member Mike Browning, who was forcibly ejected shortly after its release. The remaining band members subsequently trademarked the Nocturnus name, preventing Browning from performing under the band's name or any of their music.

Track listing

Credits

* Dan Izzo -

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

* Mike Davis -

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

* Sean McNenney -

* Chris Anderson -

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

* Louis Panzer -

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

Mike Browning Michael George Browning (born May 26, 1964) is an American heavy metal drummer and vocalist. Life and career Browning started to play drums at 13 years old. His main influences are Black Sabbath, Slayer, Angel Witch, Mercyful Fate, and Cel ...

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

* Recorded in December, 1991 at

Morrisound Recording Morrisound Recording (also Morrisound Studios) is an audio recording facility in Tampa, Florida, United States, owned and operated by brothers Jim and Tom Morris. Since its opening in 1981, Morrisound has been responsible for the popularization o ...

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

, USA * Produced by Tom Morris and Nocturnus

References

External links

Earache Records album entryDiscogs album entryEncyclopaedia Metallum album entryNocturnus fan site
{{Authority control 1992 albums Nocturnus albums Earache Records albums Albums recorded at Morrisound Recording