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BEYOND THE LABYRINTH
(BELGIUM)
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CHAPTER III: STORIES
(2011)
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LABEL:
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GENRE:
PROGRESSIVE METAL
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TAGS:
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"Close to threshold, this album has beautiful melodies but lacks nuances to really interest."
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3/5
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The Belgians of Beyond The Labyrinth are back with a new album naturally entitled Chapter III: Stories. If the two previous albums seemed to oscillate between a British-inspired progressive rock and a melodic metal with AOR flavours, the third album seems to have found its way by abandoning most of the elements that made it a progressive metal band.
If the references to Arena and Pendragon have practically disappeared in this Chapter III, it is clearly the British of Threshold who are jumping to their ears. Throughout this well-stocked record, the Belgians opt for relatively short compositions that focus their development on a very classical structure. Unlike the English Threshold there are few progressive elements in the music of Beyond The Labyrinth, but the melodies and especially the voice of Jo De Boeck are irremediably reminiscent of the gimmicks of Karl Groom's band.
We often let ourselves be carried away by the well crafted choruses of the combo and by the very square sequences of verses and choruses. It must be said that Beyond The Labyrinth knows how to bring melody to its songs. The only problem, and it alone justify the notation, is that we almost never get out of the well-oiled pattern found in the twelve compositions on the disc, leading to a certain boring. Jo De Boeck's voice applies to the same registers, over and over again, Geert Fieuw's guitar always borrows the same scales and is irremediably wrapped in the same sounds. Only the two songs "Stories Waiting To Be Told" and "The Peter Principle" dare to stand out with acoustic guitar and changing tempos. For a progressive hard disk, these gaps are unfortunately crippling.
Many progressive hard rock bands simply show their technical ability without worrying about melodies. Beyond The Labyrinth takes the countermeasure and shows real compositional qualities without looking at the finishes. With a little variety, a few more instrumental and rhythmic ideas and a hint of risk-taking the result could be much better. - Official website
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TRACK LISTING:
01. The Girl With The X-Ray Eyes-04:45
02. Where Kindred Spirits Meet-05:08
03. Hidden Agenda-03:33
04. Oceans Apart-04:47
05. Fear's The Killer-04:26
06. The Darkest Page-06:39
07. Saturation Point-03:32
08. Stories Waiting To Be Told-06:22
09. Raise The Horns-04:17
10. Hypersensitive-05:06
11. The Peter Principle-04:33
12. Strength-06:28
LINEUP:
Geert Fieuw: Guitares
Gerry "Krenryg" Verstreken : Basse
Jo De Boeck: Chant
Michael Lodder : Batterie / percussions
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READERS
3/5 (1 view(s))
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STAFF:
3/5 (1 view(s))
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