
Stairway to heaven
-- Beyond The Labyrinth --
02/09/2019
Stijn Daneels

Album genres:
■ | heavy metal |
■ | Hard Rock |
Album artists:
■ | Geert Fieuw | Guitars, backing vocals |
■ | Sjoerd Bruyneel | Keyboards, backing vocals |
■ | Michel Lodder | Drums |
■ | Filip Lemmens | Vocals |
■ | Wilftried Kiekens | Bass, backing vocals |
Review
written by Stijn "Metal Shredder" Daneels.
[METAL SHREDDER REPORTING]
My first
encounter with Beyond The Labyrinth dates back to early 2017 when my friends at
Hard Life Promotion had sent me the band’s ambitious and awesome fourth album “The
Art of Resilience” (my review of that masterpiece: http://belgianmetalshredder.be/reviews/66). During that year’s Christmas
holidays I eventually met the band in Ghent during a beautiful end of year show
where I shredded them personally (the resulting interview: http://belgianmetalshredder.be/interviews/93). And now Beyond the Labyrinth have
released their first EP and of course Hard Life Promotion was quick to send it
over to me. My shredder heart is pumping already!
[SHREDDING BASICS]
“Brand New
Start” is the first EP release from the Belgian classic hard rock band Beyond the
Labyrinth after releasing 4 consecutive full lengths between 2005 and 2017. The
EP is released through Dutch record label Freya Records and consists of 4
tracks for a solid 18 minutes of playtime. Compared to their earlier releases,
Beyond the Labyrinth now goes for a more streamlined and highly melodic hard
rock style while still retaining their usual sense of melody, cinematic keyboard
tunes and catchy vocals. The EP only has one new song (which is the title
track) as well as 3 songs from earlier releases, which are the 1997 written
song “Shine,” the fan-favorite “In Flanders Fields” from the 2005 album “Signs”
and finally the track “Salve Mater” from their latest album “The Art of
Resilience” from 2017.
Of those 3
vintage tracks it’s “Shine” that has seen the biggest transformation. While the
original was a pretty bare-bones song (although Geert did a sweet job with the
vocals), this new version is faster-paced and puts much more emphasis on the
keyboards, creating a more energetic experience, which I believe had always
been Geert’s intention with that particular song back when he had written it 22
years ago. “In Flanders Fields,” now has gentle raindrop sound effects added to
the mix (further adding to the song’s already brooding atmosphere) as well as
much more emotional vocals and finally the horror-themed “Salve Mater” also features
improved vocals (more moaning and therefore better suitable to this song’s
macabre feel), more powerful sounding organs and a couple of additional samples
to bring the dark mental asylum setting even further to life.
However,
the biggest change compared to the band’s earlier material is the inclusion of frontman
Filip Lemmens. Filip is best known for his work with bands like Double Diamond
and FireForce and I was pleased and interested when he was revealed as Beyond
the Labyrinth’s new full-time singer. As always Filip brings his signature high-pitched
notes to the table, but compared to his earlier bands his vocals is now slightly
slower and much more soothing, like a father figure consoling his children. The
operatic rock style of Beyond the Labyrinth fits very well with Filip’s equally
operatic vocals and I’m very curious to hear what magic he and his new music
colleagues will be conjuring in the near future.
[SHREDDING VISION]
Like the EP’s
title hints at “Brand New Start” is all about learning from the triumphs and
mistakes made in the past and looking positively towards the future. And to
that end, the EP’s cover art shows a metallic blue tunnel with a bright white
light at the end and Beyond the Labyrinth’s signature triangle emblem in the
middle. Sure, it looks like a tunnel, but it could also be the interior of an
x-ray scanner or a sun tanning bed, a hallway of the Death Star from Star Wars
or a rolling stairway to heaven. Who knows, you may see something else in it.
[SHARPEST SHREDS & BLUNTEST BLADES]
Certainly
the EP’s title track, “Brand New Start” is a fast, upbeat and badass song. With
its heavy use of keyboards combined with the joyful guitar riffs and
motivational lyrics this is certainly a tune to sing and dance along to! It has
a huge Deep Purple vibe and me being a huge Deep Purple fan I was instantly
hooked and I also had the honor of seeing the band revealing this epic track
live at the Metal for Angels festival in late 2018!
The EP’s
only “flaw” (in my opinion) is that only 1 out of its 4 tracks is an original tune.
Personally I would’ve loved to have a couple additional original songs, but
then again, having those 3 classic Beyond The Labyrinth’s songs rerecorded with
the new line-up, style and vocals do give those old tunes a different and
refreshing feel. That being said…
[SHREDDER’S SCORECARD]
8 heavenly
stairways out of 10. While Beyond the Labyrinth’s first EP doesn’t offer much
in terms of original material, I’m very pleased with both the old and new stuff
they’ve (re)released here. “Brand New Start” serves as a fresh new take of
classic BTL stuff for die-hard fans and as a splendid introduction for
newcomers! A brand new start indeed! Here’s the title track, 100% mobile
friendly!