_ _______ _ ...:... _ _______ _ ___ / .:::::::::::. \ ___ | / .. (:::::::::::::) .. \ | | . .:::::.`:::::::::::'.:::::. . | | .::.. `:::.::':::`::.:::' ..::. | _ _______ | .::' ::::':::::`:::: `::. | _______ _ \\ | | :: `' ::':`:: `' :: | | // \ | | `:. .::' . `::. .:' | | / . | | .::::::..::::' ... `::::..::::::. | | . | | `:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::' | | .... | | `:' `::::: :: :: :::::' `:' | | .... | ' | : `. ': :: :: :: :: :` .' : | ` | |.....: . .......: :: :: :: :: : ...... . : ....| . ...................: : :: :: :: :: : : ................. . _____________:_____________ _____________:_____________ _ ___\` __ /_\` _______/_\` __ _/_\` /___ _ // __ / (/ ___/ (/ _ (/ /_______/\ _ _ /_________ ___________ ______/\ _ ______________/\__/_ _ \\\\\_________\__/\_________\__/\_____/\_____/\____________/ /// - -\-\-----------\__/----------\__/-------\_____/---------------/-/- - - -------------------: : :. ..:: :: . :------------------ - : : :......: :: :` ': :: : .....: : : ___ _ | | : ` ' : | | _ ___ _\---------- : | -------- : B E R C : -------- | : ----------/_ /_\ . : . ..:.. ..:.. . : . /_\ /// . . : : . . \\\ /: :\ /:: Artist :: Labyrinth ::\ :: Album :: In the Vanishing Echoes of Goodbye :: :: Year :: 2025 :: :: __ _ _ __ :: -:--\\-----------------------------------------------------------------//--:- :: \ / :: :: . Genre :: Metal Source :: CD . :: :: Label :: Shinigami Records R.date :: 2025-03-21 :: _::__ Cat.nr. :: 3E565 S.date :: 2025-01-24 __::_ ::// \\:: ::/---------------------------------------------------------------------\:: :: :: /: Encoder :: LAME 3.100 -V0 :\ ..: Bitrate :: avg. 269kbps :.. . Quality :: 44.1 kHz/Joint Stereo . . Size :: 116.93MB . . . __ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __ .\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////. +/ -\------- | | ----\ tracklist /---- | | -------/- \+ /: . : : . :\ /:: ::\ :: 1. Welcome Twilight 5:45 :: :: 2. Accept the Changes 7:23 :: :: 3. Out of Place 5:02 :: :: 4. At the Rainbow's End 5:10 :: :: 5. The Right Side of This World 4:31 :: :: 6. The Healing 6:41 :: :: 7. Heading for Nowhere 4:47 :: :: 8. Mass Distraction 4:38 :: :: 9. To the Son I Never Had 6:02 :: :: 10. Inhuman Race 7:42 :: :: :: :: :: :: ------- :: .. >> 57:41 .. __ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __ .\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////. +/ -\------- | | ----\ release notes /---- | | -------/- \+ /: . : : . :\ /:: ::\ :: :: :: IÆve been a pretty big fan of LabyrinthÆs musical direction :: :: since the 2016 lineup reformation, and would argue the last :: :: couple of albums easily rank among their finest. Architecture :: :: of a God was definitely a curveball on release, but a welcome :: :: one; it presented a sleeker, more modern version of the band, :: :: one less geared towards speed and instead taking a more spacey, :: :: atmospheric approach emphasizing their prog side. Welcome to :: :: the Absurd Circus was then effectively the inverse; it brought :: :: that blazing power metal goodness back to the forefront with a :: :: modern twist, but with the caveat of downplaying much of the :: :: softer, more mellow material which helped this band stand out :: :: from the pack in the first place. For my money, the optimal :: :: album in this mold would be one standing somewhere in the :: :: middle of these two. That position is precisely where In the :: :: Vanishing Echoes of Goodbye lands. And more than that, it :: :: positively towers over both. Despite being significantly more :: :: prog-oriented than æCircusÆ, this album manages to ratchet up :: :: the intensity of the riff work even further. ItÆs easily the :: :: most ferocious and technically impressive album of LabyrinthÆs :: :: career, and - IÆm just going to come right out and say it - :: :: quite possibly their best. :: :: :: :: Yes, I love Return to Heaven Denied as much as the next guy :: :: (itÆs one of the few albums I own on vinyl for a reason), but :: :: IÆll be damned if this one isnÆt possessed of that same magic, :: :: despite a different stylistic approach. The virtuosic playing, :: :: the intricate yet perfectly paced song arrangements, the :: :: wonderful balladry only this band can pull off so well, and :: :: TirantiÆs majestic vocals soaring over top have all seldom come :: :: together so perfectly in the 27 years since. And holy hell is :: :: it unrelenting. :: :: :: :: Right from the start, the opening one-two punch of ôWelcome :: :: Twilightö and ôAccept the Changesö serves up a devastating :: :: statement of intent. The only thing possibly more dizzying than :: :: Thorsen and CantarelliÆs ripping guitar work might be the :: :: intertwining meters and rhythmic twists and turns sprinkled :: :: throughout. Such is emblematic of the songwriting rule-of-thumb :: :: at work here: keep it fresh, keep it focused, and keep the :: :: momentum rolling. Case in point, ôAt the RainbowÆs Endö, where :: :: Labyrinth elect to divide the power and prog metal elements :: :: across both halves of the composition. As a result, it very :: :: nearly turns into another song entirely by the halfway point :: :: without missing a beat, maintaining cohesion by virtue of the :: :: final chorus alone. And yet, one song it remains, and an :: :: incredibly well written one at that. Or how about the extended :: :: instrumental intro to ôInhuman Raceö? From tranquil clean :: :: guitar to a driving metallic march replete with SmirnoffÆs :: :: trademark cyber synth flourishes, and then with a single :: :: off-kilter guitar riff to bridge the gap, weÆre sucked straight :: :: through the wormhole. The tempo ratchets up seamlessly, :: :: revealing the intro for what it really was: a prelude to one :: :: final round of high-speed ass kicking. Truly brilliant song :: :: craftsmanship on display here. :: :: :: :: Did I mention this album is intense? Because I really donÆt :: :: think I can emphasize that point well enough. I suppose :: :: ôHeading for Nowhereö might suffice. A barn burner that sounds :: :: like a souped-up version of ôSave Meö from Sons of Thunder with :: :: full-on thrash metal riffs thrown in? Oh yes, please. :: :: Meanwhile, ôThe Right Side of This Worldö and ôMass :: :: Distractionö both opt for more deliberate, classic metal riff :: :: sets that still hit every bit as hard, capped off with two of :: :: the catchiest refrains of the album. And hell, even the three :: :: ballads on here all manage to show some balls before the end. :: :: :: :: ôOut of Placeö is probably the most typical at a glance. :: :: TirantiÆs suave, debonair vocal phrasing wraps itself over the :: :: verses loosely yet elegantly as ever, culminating in a chorus :: :: to rival Journey at their most melodically potent. But that :: :: double-time bridge after the second one, however brief, makes :: :: all the difference. Unexpected, yet seamless, and exactly the :: :: punch the song needed. ôThe Healingö on the other hand reminds :: :: me more than a little of Greek power/prog contemporaries :: :: Sunburst. It more or less functions as a masterclass in :: :: LabyrinthÆs penchant for modulation, whether rhythmic or :: :: melodic. That meter change in the middle is sure to turn some :: :: heads, but how about the fact that each chorus repetition is in :: :: a completely different key? Complexity made to sound so simple, :: :: once again. But the real crown jewel of the entire affair has :: :: to be ôTo the Son I Never Hadö. IÆm just saying, if anyone out :: :: there is putting together a list of the top 10 prog metal :: :: ballads ever, this one had better be included. The music alone :: :: is enough to earn it a spot, but the poignant message and :: :: TirantiÆs impassioned delivery are what seal the deal in the :: :: end. :: :: :: :: Lyrically, this album continues with the sociopolitical slant :: :: the band started exploring on the previous album. Regardless of :: :: oneÆs stance on the myriad issues being tackled here, I for one :: :: appreciate the band leaning into more mature territory like :: :: this, especially in a time where too many other power metal :: :: acts have fallen into the trap of embracing silliness for the :: :: sake of it. The only point where the messaging gets a little :: :: too heavy-handed is near the end of ôInhuman Raceö, where they :: :: felt the need to shoehorn in a news report about the Ukraine :: :: war. Besides cocking up the flow, making explicit mention of a :: :: modern conflict in this manner is tantamount to putting an :: :: expiration date on the song (which might already be looming on :: :: the horizon where this one is concerned). IÆd say itÆs :: :: generally a good idea to let lyrics stay open to interpretation :: :: in these sorts of cases, so that the songÆs impact might better :: :: stand the test of time. When thatÆs the most significant :: :: misstep across nearly an hour of music however, you know youÆve :: :: got a winner on your hands. Not even an ill-placed cover song :: :: in the middle this time around. :: :: :: :: In conclusion, beyond being an easy contender for album of the :: :: year, In the Vanishing Echoes of Goodbye is a bona-fide modern :: :: classic, and a new benchmark for the progressive power metal :: :: scene. IÆve given it roughly a dozen spins since its release, :: :: and itÆs yet to lose an ounce of its splendor. The only :: :: question left is how the band are ever going to top this one, :: :: or if theyÆll even try, for that matter; Tiranti has gone on :: :: record recently saying theyÆve more or less treated each of the :: :: previous few albums as if it might be the last. And so, if this :: :: indeed ends up being the final full length to come out of :: :: LabyrinthÆs storied career, then I can confidently say they :: :: stuck the landing in a way most bands could only dream of. :: :: :: :: . _ _ . :: \: :. \\ ___________ . ___________ // .: :/ __\____ :: ____ ___\ _ / BERC : 2025 \ _ /___ ____ :: ____/__ \\\f3! :: \\\ __ _/_________i_________\ /___/ /// :: cRO/// \ :: :\-\___________\_ ___ / _ _/___________/-/: :: / :: | . . _ _ _/ __/ . \_ _ _ . . | :: : :::::::: | | \\\\\/ _______\____|\ \///// | | :::::::: : :: | | -\-\/____/-------------\____\/-/- | | :: :: | | \ :|: / | | :: : : | . ` ::: ' . | : : . . | : ::: : | . . | :::....:::....::: | : ::::::::::::::::: : . :::''``:::''``::: . : ::: : . ::: . .:. :