Interview with Nick Midson

November 2000

So Nick, how's the recording for the new album "Hypothetical" coming along?

Well I'm in the middle of recording my rhythm tracks at the moment and it's going fairly well, although we are starting to run short of time! Karl recorded his rhythm guitar stuff first and it's quite interesting adapting my playing style a bit so that everything wedges together properly. We normally do four rhythm guitar tracks (2 each between me and Karl) to get a nice chunky riff sound. From what I've heard so far, I think this is going to be the best sounding Threshold album ever. 

So how did you put together your demos for the album? 

Well I have a basic setup at home, just a drum machine and a four track. I use it mostly for recording riffs I like and trying to piece them together into songs. I give most of this output to Rich and Karl, who are far better than me at constructing songs and knowing which bits sound good and where they should fit into a song. In the future I hope to get more out of it and also possibly use the computer to create more ambitious demos. 

You haven't played live since last year, how was the Clone tour for you? 

Oxford! We had a tour bus to ourselves which was really nice, with more space and no arguments over what videos to watch! I think it was Iron Maiden's bus or someone like that. Sharing a bus with other bands is often really good fun, but sometimes personalities can creep in a bit, mentioning no names. The other two bands on the tour, Pain of Salvation and Eldritch, were really nice chaps and were a pleasure to be on the road with. I understand from Clive Nolan (Arena) that Daniel from PoS injured his hand on their last tour, so best wishes to him for a speedy recovery. Of course, the best part of touring is playing live and once again we were knocked out by the reception we got from the people that turned up to see us (about five and one dog!) 

What sort of preparation do you go through for a tour like that? 

The main preparation is making sure I've got enough pants and socks! There are precious few venues where you're able to wash clothes, so you need to make sure you have enough 'spares' just in case! Johanne, on the other hand, is a clothes 'minimalist' and somehow he always finds somewhere to wash his stuff. He's a very organised bloke and his bunk on the tour bus is always the neatest! Our musical preparation basically involves rehearsing with the band at a studio in Windsor, possibly one or two times a week in the two months or so leading up to the tour and then every day for a week before we set off. This is usually when Mac turns up to rehearse as well. He lives in Germany so it's difficult to get us all together for a longer period of time.

So how was Mac on his first tour with you? 

Completely unpredictable! I have no idea what he's up to. He's a total nutter and I'm never sure whether he's going to sneak up behind me and boot me up the arse or try to do one of his famous headstands. It makes playing live more interesting though, as he is the consummate front man, and he really injects passion and vigour into our live shows, which is something we've not had really with our previous singers. 

So what sort of music do you think was responsible for helping craft the Threshold sound? 

I've always liked rock music, starting really with Deep Purple. I remember borrowing 'Deepest Purple' from the library, not being able to afford tapes in those days, and I was totally hooked. Then I got into loads of 80s metal, I still have tons of LPs by the likes of Ratt, Icon, Motley Crue etc. in a cupboard under the stairs, but I have to say my favourite band of all time is Led Zeppelin. Absolutely top-notch stuff and I never tire of listening to them. I really like the Tea Party as well, I suppose because they sound like a very Zep-influenced band. I don't know how the Threshold style came about, I suppose it's just an evolution of our different musical styles and tastes. Karl and myself are into similar stuff, John loves the Beatles and Genesis, and Rich is into a lot of prog metal as well as some pop stuff like Prince. It's all stirred together in a big pot and out comes the sound of Threshold! 

So how do you see Threshold's future now that you've moved labels? 

We've known the guys from Inside Out for years so signing with them was great. They're a very clued up and intelligent organisation and Thomas Waber has certainly bought our type of music to a much wider audience, so we have a lot to thank him for. I think it's going to be a very fruitful partnership and a great way for us to head into the 21st century. Plus hopefully Matt can buy us some beers next time we see him and let me know what old Gentle Giant bootleg he's listening to now! 

One final question Nick, talking of the 21st century, where do you see progressive metal going over the next few years? 

I'm not sure what will happen to this genre. It's certainly become incredibly popular now and there are a plethora of bands delivering this type of sound. I think Pain of Salvation must be a hot tip as they definitely have their own sound, and of course Dream Theater are always going to produce excellent albums. I just hope that people will continue to listen to it and still remember Threshold amongst all the other bands out there!