BEYOND THE LABYRINTH – XXV (2022)
Celebrating their 25th band anniversary BEYOND THE LABYRINTH are about to release their fifth studio album named ”XXV”. This Belgium based 5-piece is a group of accomplished rock musicians with various backgrounds ranging from mainstream rock & pop, AOR and progressive / pomp rock.
”XXV” has that classic Beyond The Labyrinth sound, pristine and clear. In the digipak liner notes there’s a sentence; “Contains ’80s synths sounds”. And they deliver.
Within their easily accessible listening experience where one can hear all the subtleties, variations and different vocal styles and phrasings of lead singer Filip Lemmens, we find a thing we like so much from Beyond The Labyrinth; their Pomp AOR touches. Think Saga, Asia, some Boston, Roadmaster…
The core theme of flying and the sky is the red line that goes thru the album – despite a few songs including the at current inevitable Covid-19 song on every album; “Improve, Enhance”.
Highlights are hard to name since this album is all the way excellent but I would choose the slower ‘Invisible Battle Scars’ and ‘Altitude For Energy’; finally synth dominated ‘Dedicated To Sir J./Rush Rush Rush’ with a lot of drive.
Compared to previous albums, the songs on ”XXV” are shorter and more to the point. This album will bring up a lot of classic 80s rock bands memories to you – their ‘warning’ in theliner notes is not just bluffing. This CD-version album contains 14 songs (+ two re-works from the past) and is extremely well produced and mixed.
In the sold musicianship you will recognize the long history of the band, the massive (live) experience from hundreds of gigs with well known and respected acts like Uriah Heep, Y&T, Doro and many more – all of them are greatly skilled.
”XXV” is a very enjoyable classic sounding CD – highly recommended for fans of Saga, Asia, Boston, Kayak and many other classics with synths into the mix.
01 – Altitude For Energy
02 – Louder Than Thunder
03 – Invisible Battle Scars
04 – Nothing Comes For Free
05 – Dedicated To Sir J./Rush Rush Rush
06 – Falcon Eye
07 – In Camera
08 – This Is How We Roll
09 – Improve, Enhance
10 – Up There In The Sky
11 – Rise Above
12 – Long Way Home
13 – Healer (2021 version)
14 – Wings (2021 version)
Filip Lemmens – Vocals
Geert Fieuw – Guitars, Backing Vocals
Dominic Heynderickx – Bass
Eddy Scheire – Keyboards, Backing Vocals
Michel Lodder – Drums
Pre order:
www.metal-fun-shop-and-more.com/product/6107669/beyond-the-labyrinth-xxv-digi-cd
