Labyrinth - Sons of Thunder

Where did it go wrong? The team of guitarist Olaf Thorsen (who seemed to have used up all his ideas on the Vision Divine album in 1999), and vocalist Rob Tyrant seem to have run out of creative steam, despite the fact their first instance of working together on "Return to Heaven Denied" had resulted in a way above average album housing some fantastic songs. Alot has happened since then, including Tyrant departing not only the band, but the metal music business in general, before being inticed to resume his postion as head voice of Labyrinth. The main problem plaguing "Sons of Thunder" is simple. It switches between annoying and boring, quite effortlessly at that. The double bass drumming is what bothers me the most, it pounds into the head with seemingly the same tempo throughout each song. The songwriting itself seems shoddy and uninspired, regurgitating basic power metal structures, with a few flourishes, but not enough to rescue the generic mess from being just that... generic. Lyrically, it fares no better than "RTHD", which was saved by much superior writing than here, and seems a little worse, on a level with a children's storybook. The production is too hollow, there's not enough punch to the overall feel and the drums dominate over all, drowning guitar and vocals alike, and since the songs are repetitive to the point of inducing insanity, this mix does nothing but add to the irritating factor of the disc as a whole.

1.] Chapter One - A taste of the repetitious mess that is to come. It's the worst of "RTHD" regurgitated in a handy little doggy bag just awaiting to be taken home and reingested.
2.] Kathryn - One of the better songs on the album, with some improvisational sounding jazzy parts, and a decent chorus with Tyrant ringing out the song title in a high pitched falsetto. The guitar solo is nothing to sniff at with zippy electric bursts. However, it suffers from repetitiveness, especially in the main rhythm riff that is repeated into infinity and the fact the chorus is what takes up more than half the time the song remains playing.
3.] Sons of Thunder - Not too different from "Chapter One". More drum banging, same style vocal lines, Tyrant really isn't putting too much effort into his performance, and opts to paint by the numbers and get the job done instead, which comes off as sounding cold and uninteresting.
4.] Elegy - The first few seconds oddly sounds like the band Elegy but that is put to rest after those really annoying drums kick in. It carries on in the same fashion as the previous track. Not much to say other than that.
5.] Behind the Mask - Here we go again. The guitars are varied a little, sounding like they are recorded in a garage with a 'blurring' sound that does little for the tune itself. Tyrant is still in the same range, and that accursed drumming is so freakin' irritating I came close to pulling chunks of my hair out. Yes, it's that bad.
6.] Touch the Rainbow - Songs that feature the word 'rainbow' in the title are usually good and luckily we are 'treated' to a fairly decent tune here. Progressive touches in the vein of Leviathan, and a chorus that feels a bit like something in an Axel Rudi Pell/Yngwie song. The guitar lingers like ocean waves against sandy shores and crying out dolphin-like before the power riffing kicks in (with the mind numbing drums) in a bridge that would have been benefitial to the song if it had been left crumpled in a trash dump somewhere. If "Sons of Thunder" as a whole had continued along this pathway instead of the typical run-of-the mill poundings seen on the previous five tracks, then Labyrinth would not be in the sad state they are held in the eyes of the fans as they are today.
7.] Rage of the King - Surpisingly similiar to "Behind the Mask" and all the others. That double bass drumming and lightning fast riffing became boring after the first track, and is still used in plentiful supply here. There are a handful of moments that almost save the song, such as a quick, but satisfying solo by Thorsen but as soon as that drumming kicks in again it all falls into the gutter. Another throwaway track.
8.] Save Me - Slightly changed from it's "Timeless Crime" version, lightning fast and reeking with the stench of low production. Still decent, but its placement comes at a bad time. After hearing basically this same kind of drumming through the entire disc so far, it ends up being yet another nerve wracking tune, and sadly, I was glad when it was finally over.
9. ] Love - A ballad that neither has the touching sentiments of "RTHD" bonus, "Falling Rain" or the woeful heartstopping quality of "No Limits" ballad, "Time Has Come". It has all the elements necessary for a ballad-esque song: piano, check, soft vocals, check, a little acoustic lapping, that too, but none carry a melody that is catchy to the ear. The piano is meandering and useless, the acoustic is cold and Tyrant is going through the paces again, but would sound much better without the cheesy backup vocals which sound displaced from the rest of the song. Sterile and passionless, despite its lyrical theme.
10.] I Feel You - Starting with promise, but when the drums startup the annoyance begins again fresh after the little reprieve that was "Love". There are some cool riffs here in the bridge, but the bridge pretty much 'sucks', as Tyrant's vocals are whiney and buried far behind the drumming assault. Lyrically and musically repetitive, this could have been an awesome track, if heavily reworked, but 'what ifs' do not amount to much, unfortunately for Labyrinth.

"Sons of Thunder" is without a doubt one of the biggest disappoints of the year. The band's Fabio Lione voiced debut "No Limits" was an original masterpiece of a progressive metal album, and innovative in its approach and use of techno influences to enhance the soundscape presented. To hear Labyrinth come down from its pedestal then and even on the slow growing favorite, "RTHD", where they were often mentioned in the same breath as Stratovarius, Symphony X and other blockbuster prog/power metal bands, to this extremely generic disc that is more in league with other Italian flops such as Highlord, Secret Sphere and a plethora of other speed/prog bands no one has ever heard of than the big guns they were previously measured against. Tyrant hasn't lost his voice although he sounds more often as bored as the listener instead of the deep soaring quality that gave such life to "RTHD", Olaf isn't missing his touch but his solos are shoddily composed, but the ball was definitely dropped in songwriting and production (although "RTHD" did not boast the greatest sound either) and has thus ruined a disc that had obvious potential judging by past material leading up to it. The band has talent, they just failed to tap into it this go around and we can only hope for better next time.
Rating: 4.5
(poor production and songwriting backed by shoddy performances)
Review By Alanna Evans
- thinks the music sucks but the cover is really awesome
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