Originally written by Ross Main.
Canadian born, internet bred, Threat Signal are a wrestling entrance theme version of Scar Symmetry, who are back with their second album Vigilance.
Continuing to punt their drilling Meshuggah-lite breakdowns and sellable choruses; their gin-like production is dry and clear, unfortunately losing a bit of the sustain and bulk needed to make this album rumble like it should. Re-enforcements of layered vocals and Soundtrack to Your Escape synth are often called upon to fill the ear drums, or at least give an extra dimension over a soulless and attention-seeking take on a Shadows Fall style of busy guitar riffing. See this as a testament to the fanatically tight instrumental chops or see it as a dig at the overshot quest for perfection, but Vigilance does sounds like it was made on a computer running some spanking new guitar sampling software.
Only Howard’s vocals remain unprogammable, as I’m relatively sure he can’t help sound like a carbon copy of Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington when his voice is clean. Old news I know, but it’s distracting. His dirty-verse throat resembles a bit of Pat Lachman, flicking the Howard Jones screams at the tail end of a phrase, whilst there are some nice Pasi Koskinen style vocal contributions from bassist Pat Kavanagh, particularly on “Another Source of Light”.
Despite pulling in the musical skill, the groove, the melody and all the hooks that should at least make this a nice little number you pull out when your elitist metal friends aren’t looking, it is a little hard work to stay interested. Don’t you hate it when 2 + 2 = 5? Songs like “Hate Machine” fly for the tenth time without leaving the slightest impression, then “Severed” follows and its just the same, then blah, then blah blah, then oh I thought that chorus had been, then eugh… another similarly tempoed, identically structured track leading another into the depths of infinity, blanking your brain of the few decent flagship tracks they threw in at the beginning.
This might have roused many a boner ten years ago, and with quite a few dirty nu metal secrets in my own CD collection, that remain hidden from a number of my heavy metal acquaintances, I thought I’d get a guilty hit from Threat Signal. But two months of trying to enjoy this only to be reminded of so many other bands and vocalists that I’d rather be listening to has come to an end – I don’t have any space for this and I can’t see how many others would.
