Labÿrinth
Architecture of a God

So, we are once more heading into the labÿrinth, a place that could be described as architecture by a god. It is seven years since we last had the chance to hear them, and it is their ninth album in a career stretching more than twenty years back. They returned to form after being approached by Frontiers who wanted them to make something new and in the end they ended up with what they describe as milestone for the band, a band that has some good stuff on their CV.

It is all about power metal, with a hint of the progressive stuff. A well-produced album with very good vocals and plenty of energy, the energy is certainly not a problem for these Italians from Tuscany. The album is not very varied and it is quite long with a playing time well over an hour, which can be considered a bit of a problem. Another slight issue has to be the fact that the band themselves sounds just like they did last time I heard them, they have not really evolved an iota despite having had plenty of time to do so. So one can be forgiven for not seeing the point of this album.

The album is pretty good, I like the energy and all of that and it has some high points in the song department as well. I think especially the second track Still Alive makes a strong impression. But the album does tend to feel a bit repetitive and it also feels a bit uncreative, like a band repeating themselves – the Iron Maiden syndrome of copying their own work and renaming it for the next iteration of the same story. So, there are some strong highlight but also some tired stuff making this a somewhat average album in the end.

In the end I think fans of Labÿrinth will like this album as it offers the same as they have done for the past decade at least. I wouldn’t describe it as an album that stands out, perhaps they have lost themselves somewhat in the maze of power metal expressions meaning that Labÿrinths comeback is a good but not really a very impressive album.

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