Band: Beyond the Labyrinth
Album: Chapter III - Stories
Released: 2011 by Incommunicado Records
Genre: Progressive Rock / Progressive Metal / Melodic Rock / Rock Opera
Band Members:
Jo De Boeck - Vocals
Geert Fieuw – Guitars, Keyboards
Gerry Verstreken – Bass
Michel Lodder – Drums, Percussion
01. The Girl With The X-Ray Eyes
02. Where Kindred Spirits Meet
03. Hidden Agenda
04. Oceans Apart
05. Fear's The Killer
06. The Darkest Page
07. Saturation Point
08. Stories Waiting To Be Told
09. Raise The Horns
10. Hypersensitive
11. The Peter Principle
12. Strength
http://www.classicrockforums.com/forum/f9/beyond-labyrinth-official-thread-2572/
The Band
I discovered Beyond the Labyrinth about 4 years ago and have been absolutely mesmerized by the band’s music ever since. Beyond the Labyrinth, a band from Belgium, has a vast array of music styles, some of which falls along the lines of classic AOR, but also has a lot of progressive rock influence with some hard edge metal tossed into the mix. The vocalist has amazing vocal range, there are excellent harmonies, and the orchestration of all the songs is very impressive. Geert is the music visionary of the band; he definitely has an ear for not only the classical sound of melodic hard rock, but the intricate layered sounds of progressive rock and the hard licks of metal, and he combines all these styles into one passionate album: Chapter III – Stories.
The Album
Chapter III - Stories is the 3rd studio album by Beyond the Labyrinth. The majority of the tracks were released individually as A & B side singles as each composition was completed. Once all 12 tracks were recorded, the full album was released. Each track on the album tells a story, but the album is not a concept album. The songs are arranged with a nice flow, which kept me interested from start to finish. None of the songs take on that overdone quality that some prog albums can have. Instead, each song will take you through many twists and turns, a full musical story. Quite a few of the songs take on a symphonic quality, yet many of the songs touch on the thrones of power metal. The listener will witness a melodic journey filled with inspiring solos, captivating keyboards, atmospheric rhythm, and a vocalist who is a sound chameleon.
The album opens with “The Girl With the X-Ray Eyes”, which is a song that shows immediately that Beyond the Labyrinth is a band that is out to please the listener, and invites you to open and savor each story contained in the album. There are a couple absolutely gorgeous ballads on this album, my favorite of which is “Ocean’s Apart”, although “Stories Waiting to be Told” is just as impressive. You will definitely see an AOR 80’s flashback in “Raise the Horns”, a cleverly hidden gem on the album. Some heaviness can be heard in the songs “Hidden Agenda” and "Fear's the Killer", no doubt the two heaviest songs on the album. “Strength” ends the album with a song very reminiscent of something you would hear from Queen, an excellent closer to a very melodic album.
The Girl With The X-Ray Eyes
Hidden Agenda
Ocean's Apart
Fear’s The Killer
The Peter Principle
My rating for overall listening pleasure 4/5.
Album: Chapter III - Stories
Released: 2011 by Incommunicado Records
Genre: Progressive Rock / Progressive Metal / Melodic Rock / Rock Opera
Band Members:
Jo De Boeck - Vocals
Geert Fieuw – Guitars, Keyboards
Gerry Verstreken – Bass
Michel Lodder – Drums, Percussion
01. The Girl With The X-Ray Eyes
02. Where Kindred Spirits Meet
03. Hidden Agenda
04. Oceans Apart
05. Fear's The Killer
06. The Darkest Page
07. Saturation Point
08. Stories Waiting To Be Told
09. Raise The Horns
10. Hypersensitive
11. The Peter Principle
12. Strength
http://www.classicrockforums.com/forum/f9/beyond-labyrinth-official-thread-2572/
The Band
I discovered Beyond the Labyrinth about 4 years ago and have been absolutely mesmerized by the band’s music ever since. Beyond the Labyrinth, a band from Belgium, has a vast array of music styles, some of which falls along the lines of classic AOR, but also has a lot of progressive rock influence with some hard edge metal tossed into the mix. The vocalist has amazing vocal range, there are excellent harmonies, and the orchestration of all the songs is very impressive. Geert is the music visionary of the band; he definitely has an ear for not only the classical sound of melodic hard rock, but the intricate layered sounds of progressive rock and the hard licks of metal, and he combines all these styles into one passionate album: Chapter III – Stories.
The Album
Chapter III - Stories is the 3rd studio album by Beyond the Labyrinth. The majority of the tracks were released individually as A & B side singles as each composition was completed. Once all 12 tracks were recorded, the full album was released. Each track on the album tells a story, but the album is not a concept album. The songs are arranged with a nice flow, which kept me interested from start to finish. None of the songs take on that overdone quality that some prog albums can have. Instead, each song will take you through many twists and turns, a full musical story. Quite a few of the songs take on a symphonic quality, yet many of the songs touch on the thrones of power metal. The listener will witness a melodic journey filled with inspiring solos, captivating keyboards, atmospheric rhythm, and a vocalist who is a sound chameleon.
The album opens with “The Girl With the X-Ray Eyes”, which is a song that shows immediately that Beyond the Labyrinth is a band that is out to please the listener, and invites you to open and savor each story contained in the album. There are a couple absolutely gorgeous ballads on this album, my favorite of which is “Ocean’s Apart”, although “Stories Waiting to be Told” is just as impressive. You will definitely see an AOR 80’s flashback in “Raise the Horns”, a cleverly hidden gem on the album. Some heaviness can be heard in the songs “Hidden Agenda” and "Fear's the Killer", no doubt the two heaviest songs on the album. “Strength” ends the album with a song very reminiscent of something you would hear from Queen, an excellent closer to a very melodic album.
The Girl With The X-Ray Eyes
Hidden Agenda
Ocean's Apart
Fear’s The Killer
The Peter Principle
My rating for overall listening pleasure 4/5.
