| CD REVIEW Beyond The Labyrinth |
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Band : Beyond The Labyrinth So…there we have it! BTL’s new studio album is a fact, and again (like the 2005 album Signs – review posted 18/07/2006) released through the band’s own label Incommunicado. True to their DIY ethics, the band has offered the album for sale at several shops, and at the moment it is available through several Metal Zone outlets in Belgium (Antwerpen, Brugge, Kortrijk, Leuven, Namur, and Vosselaar) and Holland (Dordrecht, Eindhoven, and Tilburg), as well as Aalst’s Feedback Mission II, Antwerpen’s De Rots, Brussel’s Metrophone, and Torhout’s Top Disc…where lovers of Classic Rock-with-a-difference (you’ll find elements of ‘70s Progressive, AOR, NWoBHM, Goth, and Symphonic as well) can get themselves this very nice digipak edition of the album. Anyone unable to get to any of these shops might try to get his/ her copy direct from the band (contact through their website www.beyond-the-labyrinth.com or www.myspace.com/beyondthelabyrinth), but if you’re into digital downloads you’ll be happy to know that the complete album should be available at iTunes from Dec. 27 on (the Time To Fly single was – or should’ve been – made available on Dec. 8, and the Signs album was also put on the download site on Nov. 20). So, what additional info could I give you, having already reviewed the “raw” demo tapes for the album (review posted 06/08/2008) and the single (posted 11/12/2008)? Well, you woùld be surprised…like there’s the fact that the cover for this album was already finished in 2001 by Soilwork keyboardist Carlos Del Olmo (because main BTL man Geert Fieuw had expected the album to be “ready soon” even back then!). More details about the guest appearances: Henry Meeuws (of Medea repute) played the 2nd guitar solo on the track “Pure Sabotage” (one of the new songs, which sees Geert reacting off his frustrations about the then seeming demise of the band as he knew it; the title being a pun of Geert’s after bassist Gerry “Kenryg” Verstreken – whom is also active in Imperia, Angel, and Crÿi – mentioned the track sounded like pure Savatage), Manic Movement guitarist Fréderic Ost plays the 2nd guitar solo on balladesque album closer “No Place For A Dreamer”, composer Kirill Pokrovsky added piano play to the album’s title track, and one Kirsten Fernandez Suarez (according to my research she would be a co-worker of Het Nieuwsblad, and is also a young politician in the boys’ home town of Ninove) brought any female backing vocals you might find (includes, or so at least it is mentioned in the info I’ve got, most of the “Oohs” and “Aahs”) on the album. If you haven’t picked up on the band’s music yet (it is be reasonable to asume you might’ve overlooked the recent reviews, and have had your curiousity aroused by the fact that this same band is posted for the 3rd time in such a relatively short period), check out the band’s MySpace. What more could I say about the music itself? I mean, beyond the fact that new listening sessions have only convinced me that the demo versions of the songs indeed needed véry little corrections, if any…I can only repeat that the album actually grows on one with every aditional session it is given! Really, it is one of those rare records one never grows even slightly bored of, as one might discover a new little detail each time…well, at least that’s the effect the material had on me, anyway! I have to say I found the cover artwork to be slightly darker than I’d expected, but the mood it conveys actually fits quite well with the general atmosphere of the music. In a way, it was unfair to have me do this review over again, because an other person’s appreciation of the band’s music might’ve given the reader a different insight into this fine Belgian band’s music. As things stand, the repeat factor has only worked on me to appreciate the album even more than the first time…hence the increased rating! 92/100 Tony. |