LABYRINTH 6 DAYS TO NOWHERE 2007 / Scarlet Records It.-Uk.


Labyrinth's sixth L.P. properly entitled "6 Days to Nowhere" is with out a doubt the most progressive record of their career since the band's inception and their consequent album, 1996's "No Limits".

Andrea Cantarelli is now the only surviving former member, since bass player Cristiano Bertocchi also opted out to reunite with another ex member of Labyrinth, Olaf Thorsen on Vision Divine.
Roberto Tiranti now on Bass and vocals of course with "Maestro" of Percussion Mattia Stancioiu on Drums are back along with keyboard wizard Andrea de Paoli, and guitar virtuoso Pier Gonella(also known for his own project entitled "Odyssea".

This is then a different band and hardly the one it was before or the one which would be basically the upbeat background for both of Vision Divine greatest albums, the1999's band homonym's and 2001' Send Me Angel, both fronted by the great Fabio Leone on vocals. Despite contributions between both ensembles in past glories both bands seam to get away from each other's styles more and more on each new release, and on this one "The Mazers" are getting away with it again.
In past days it wasn't easy to abruptly reach the top, there wasn't a plan behind it and it was hard as it is hard today for any starting Progressive act to simply "make it" over night.

It was through times like this when the Italian Symphonic-Power-Progressive Metal made a huge impact changing the face of it. It was around1996 when Domine, Highlord, Rhapsody, Labyrinth, Athena, Secret Sphere, Shadows of Steel among others where starting to give birth to a new breed of Heavy Music, a new forged sound which would have put behind all the years in silence of such Genre.

Today things are changing, the planet is basically fucked up by selfishness and on this record the messages in the lyrics are simple, direct and raw as the music itself reflecting straightly all this issues supporting the basics for each of the songs contents written by Tiranti.

Since 2001's Labyrinth has been trying new stuff, for bad or good this last term is what characterizes and reflects their work, always heavy, mystery halos surrounding everything and this time with a perfect sound. Not in vain the album was finally mixed at Abbey Road in London, so it doesn't come as surprise a "Beatles" song covered on it, I'm talking about no other than the obscure "Come Together" which has a lot more of obscurity added to it on Labyrinth's version.

The video for the song "Lost", track number three on "6 Days", which was launched on the internet as promotion to their new effort left people thinking that perhaps Labyrinth where back in a completely different format, yet the mold is quite similar to what they're been doing. Changes are there but they are not too obvious, and once again we are in front of a great album that combines ingredients from the last two.

Classic Labyrinth on songs like "Crossroads", "Mother Hearth" and "Waiting Tomorrow" full of quiet passages mixed with hooking choruses and there is the more aggressive yet no so explicit, guitar solos on a very experimental manner, approaching expressionism at times, the guitar work on this album is excellent too, brilliant and again sets Labyrinth apart from the rest of their partners in the Heavy Prog mold.

The maturity of the band is natural, there would be no point in repeating the same formula contained on most of the self called Power-Metal Bands Records. Instead the band offers a bit of everything contained on their previous two albums Labyrinth(2003) and Freeman(2005). There is some fast heavy songs like the aforementioned Lost, also a few short speed tracks like Rusty Nail and Wolves' N' Lambs are among the more progressive and technical ones.

There is no point on comparing the material the group brought in past records with their new approach, long gone are the Symphonic anthems of such mighty albums like Sons of Thunder(2001), again this is a great work which brings upfront their unique blended style still with hints of speed and power but written in their own tentative words. I hope the band will continue with the mix of Death Speed Metal and acoustic guitars.

"Piece of Time" 2007's version of the song sung by Fabio Leone back on their debut is included here interpreted by Tiranti and even though it doesn't match its predecessor's, it’s a great track to finish the record with.

Rodrigo Trupp

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