On The Threshold Of Eternity is melodic, progressive rock, boarding on pop. The layered harmonies, both vocal and instrumental, give this a commercial feel, but the excellent rhythm section keeps bringing it back to progressive territory. Both the key signatures and vocals give this album an overtly "happy" feel. There really isn't any edge to this CD, which is my biggest negative. Every CD needs it's moments that snarl and growl. Ajalon doesn't contain a nasty streak at all.

Highlights of On The Threshold Of Eternity are the instrumental opener "Anthem Of The Seventh Day" and the bass/keyboard interaction on "What Kind Of Love". Overall Ajalon provide us a pleasant, almost saccharine sweet, offering that will appeal to any fan of Cryptic Vision or Neil Morse. Let's hope that the next offering will have the band flex their muscles a little more. Turn the other cheek is a fine motto to live by, but maybe not to compose music by.

In a conversation with Neal Morse, I asked if he was on the verge of inventing a new genre called 'Christian progressive rock'.  He pointed out that his bass player Randy George already had an excellent Christian prog band called Ajalon. On the Threshold Of Eternity is Ajalon's second album, and along with luminaries like Rick Wakeman and Phil Keaggy, Morse is a contributing artist to this very strong body of work.

Now before you go too far you have to understand that this is a Christian album.  If that turns you off, that's fine. But if you're open to the overtly religious theme, or if you can simply appreciate the music for its own sake, there's a good deal of high quality music on this record. Some tracks have an approachable prog-AOR quality to them and are led by the vocals.  But in the instrumental opening track "Anthem Of The Seventh Day" and particularly in the 16-minute title track, we have good quality modern American prog in the vein of Spock's Beard. It isn't necessarily the most complex music you'll hear, and these tracks lean toward a neo / symphonic style with a full sound, lots of 'tron-like sampled sounds, and compelling guitar solos from George and Keaggy.

According to the band, 'Ajalon' takes its name from the Bible's Book of Joshua and means "grace in the midst of the fire".  My research, however, suggests that it is 
actually a town and valley originally assigned to the tribe of Dan, called the 'place of deer' - and has come to mean 'strength', as in the strength of a stag.  Regardless of biblical history, this is a three-piece outfit with all three members sharing writing credits. Randy George is an accomplished guitarist, keyboard player and bassist, yet the bass player on this album is Wil Henderson who also penned most lyrics and sang most of the songs.  Rick Wakeman took Ajalon under his wing, and their 1996 debut album was the first non-Wakeman album on his Hope label, which he runs from the Isle of Man. High praise indeed.

"What Kind of Love", with it's brilliant but somewhat out-of-place Rick Wakeman Minimoog solo, is an anthemic piece of neo-prog with a sunny, feel-good ambience.  Opening track "Anthem Of The Seventh Day" is a rich 4-minute symphonic rock instrumental featuring Wil Henderson's Irish Whistles that give it a Celtic atmosphere similar to fellow Christian proggers Iona.  But the 16-minute epic is the crown jewel of this record.  The song is largely instrumental, and the vocals feature Henderson and Neal Morse in a duet - with Henderson playing a man who has lost his way, and Morse as the voice of God.  There are huge musical and lyrical similarities to Morse's song "Cradle To The Grave" on his One album. Despite the big differences between the melodic pop songs and the symphonic prog tracks, the common threads here are the upbeat tone, the high standard of musicianship and the remarkably crisp production.

The final track on the album is a cover of the Moody Blues song "You And Me", which should - frankly - have been left off entirely.  The album ought to end with the wonderful wall of sound at the end of "On The Threshold Of Eternity" ringing in your ears.