Labyrinth is one of those bands that doesn’t need an introduction. They quickly became one of the kings in Powermetal in the late 90’s – early 2000’s. They were founded all the way back in 1991 in Tuscany, Italy. They have been through some lineup changes but this lineup is stronger than ever! On the lead vocals we have Roberto Tiranti, Olaf Thorsen & Andrea Cantarelli are both lead guitarists, Nik Mazzuccuni is the bass player, on the keyboard we have Oleg Smirnoff and on the drums we have John Macaluso. If this isn’t the perfect lineup then I don’t know what is, they complete each other like no one else can. They started out with their EP ‘Midnight Resistance’, after this they released 2 more EP’s we know as ‘Piece Of Time’ & ‘Timeless Crime’. In 1998 the band released their signature album called ‘Return To Heaven Denied’. This album moved the whole Italian metal scene and also created a big push for the band’s career. Up to this date it’s still classified as a classic piece of work in the genre. They released more albums after that such as ‘No Limits’, ‘Sons Of Thunder’, ‘Labyrinth’, ‘Freeman’, ‘6 Days To Nowhere’ and ‘Return to Heaven Denied Pt. II: A Midnight Autumn’s Dream’. ‘Sons Of Thunder’ for example is a concept album written about King Louis XIV’s obsession with a woman named Kathryn. Last year the band members received a call from Frontiers asking the founding members Cantarelli and Thorsen to discuss with Roberto the possibilities of a return to form comeback from the band. After a lot of talking the band finally agreed to make an album and also make a special appearance at the first annual Frontiers Metal Festival, where they performed the album ‘Return To Heaven Denied’ for a future home video release. This year they finally released a new album, ‘Architecture Of A God’. The supreme quality of the album doesn’t come as a surprise to me. It’s beautifully written and it only makes you want more. And to make it even better it’s mixed by DGM’s Simone Mularoni and labeled by Frontiers Records s.r.l.
The intro song of the album “Bullets’’ is just like their older work one of the best songs on the album. It shoots you right into a different world. The keyboard in this song is leading alongside of the guitar work. When the impressive guitar solo kicks in the song gets a total rebirth. After that the keyboard gets a chance to shine and it damn well takes the opening. It creates a feeling like the guitar is battling the keyboard and we are there to witness it in total glory.
”A New Dream” is one of those feel good songs. It just gleams of happiness. It’s hard to decide what is the most important part, the soul touching lyrics or the incredibly sharp guitar work. Whilst the lyrics are getting rid of all your negative thoughts the guitar is waiting to replace it with happy and warm feelings you have never felt before.
After listening to the album multiple times there was 1 song that instantly stood out to me. It’s the song “Childern”. It’s a cover on the old classic ”Childern” from Robert Miles which we all know and love. The song has divergent layers and that’s the power of the song. First you have the keyboard doing it’s work and after some seconds the drum starts as well. When the guitar kicks in nothing can hold the song back. In the middle it starts to break down but before you know it the song is already back on top to kick your ass. We all know the moment where 1 song is stuck in your head, well this is one of them but this time around it’s nothing more but pleasing
Labyrinth at Frontiers Metal Festival 2016
The general feeling of this album is almost indescribable. The vocals fit perfectly with the fine guitar and drum work while the keyboard is adding that little extra to finish the job. The album goes from fast riffs that reach incredible high to melodic and slow numbers that are face melting. Talking about ”Architecture of a God” makes me want to listen to the album over and over again. It’s almost addictive in a way. Whatever you are going through this album will solve, maybe not solve the problem in real life but it will give you that extra power and will to make it happen! There are a few albums I know that have healing powers and this is for sure one of them if not the very best.
