Beyond the Labyrinth – Chapter III – Stories (2011)

Hailing from Belgium, today we have a very solid Heavy Metal band with the name of “Beyond the Labyrinth”. While this band might not be familiar to a lot of people, they have been around the scene since 1996 and you can tell by the quality of music presented in the 12 tracks in “Chapter III – Stories”. Being the band’s third full-length release, “Chapter II – Stories” features tracks that range from power ballads, hard rocking anthems and even some mellow Heavy/Progressive Metal pieces.

Opening with “The Girl with the X-Ray Eyes”, the band quickly sets the pace for this release by crafting a very catchy and emotional song. This song reminds us of soundtrack songs for 90’s movies. With a bit of a more current sound, “Where Kindred Spirits Meet” has a nice Progressive/Heavy Metal feel to it and the keyboards sound very good in this song. The first power ballad comes under the name of “Oceans Apart”, in this song the guitar work is quite nice and the vocal performance of Jo De Boeck is very emotional. The drumming sounds a bit funky, but the song it-self is very good.

In a more experimental fashion (and somewhat similar to Jon Oliva’s stuff) we have “The Darkest Page”. Having this song in the middle of the album allows this release to keep flowing into unexplored territories and keep its freshness. The next emotional joyride is provided by “Saturation Point”. This song delivers a nice pace and very catchy vocals. The bass guitar is also very enjoyable in such track. Going into the Heavy Metal anthem area we have “Raise the Horns”. The song structure feels very uplifting and the chorus section is very interesting since you would expect it to be faster paced due to the traditional Heavy Metal riffing in this song.

If you are looking for a more progressive sound, “The Peter Principle” delivers a good dose of intricate guitar elements and very ethereal keyboards. “Strength” is the closing track of the release, and it is a very well crafted emotional song with powerful riffs, nice piano melody and highly emotional vocals.

Overall, we can instantly hear that Beyond the Labyrinth has been making music for quite a while and has an incredible level of maturity for it. Every instrument in this release is perfectly crafted and all songs are very nicely put together. From lush keyboards, powerful riffs, catchy solos, and amazing vocals, this band has it all. If you are looking for a powerful and diverse album that features Heavy/Progressive and even Hard Rock music, look no further and pick up “Chapter III – Stories”.

Release: May 13th, 2011

Country: Belgium