Sons of Thunder

Sometimes metal albums with their lyrics and aesthetics can be so cheesy that they are good. Sadly, this is not the case with Labÿrinth's "Sons of Thunder".
While some metal artists like King Diamond can tell a story that could be fit for movie or book adaption, "Sons of Thunder" reminds one of those cheesy romantic novels aimed at old ladies with a soft spot for princesses and royal drama.

Originally mixed by Neil Kernon at Village Productions and totally remixed by Alfredo Capello and Labyrinth and Jungle Sound Station, one can only wonder what happened between those two mixing sessions. One of the main weak points of this album are how the vocals are mixed. Little to none reverb and delay: they appear as extremely flat soundwise which is a sad thing considering that "Rob Tyrant" is a solid singer fit for this style of music.

Like the vocals, the whole soundscape of the album lacks depth, everything is audible, and while the performance of the band is solid technically: it makes the whole album sound like some sort of hastened studio session or radio session rather than carefully planned bombastic album to carry on an epic love tragedy themed power metal story.

Unmemorable, generic and cheesy are the adjectives that come to mind when listening "Sons of Thunder", it still does have some occasional saving moments like when the band slows down to sing ballads, especially apparent on songs like "Love". Sadly, these songs have less to do with metal and more with one of those 80s hard rock love songs. Perhaps the biggest downfall of this album is the guitar driven songs of Labÿrinth without much of any keyboard layers or orchestration added: while the occassional keyboard solos shine through to compete with the shredding guitar leads, they are more of a background instrument like bass that just sort of blends with all the boringness.

Sons of Thunder has not aged well. These type of power metal albums were more than common from mid 90s to early 2000s: and this album is one of those that rightly deserves to be forgotten.

Labyrinth’s follow up to its highly acclaimed 2nd album “Return to Heaven Denied” with this rather interesting piece of historical fiction set to music. Although musically this album has very little in common with the Baroque dances common during the reign of Louis XIV, it is quite an interesting listen and gives insights into the minds of the band’s principle composers, exposing an optimistic view of the power of love and how it can alter the nature of an ordinarily dark character.

Although this album is even more musically and technically ambitious than its predecessor, it suffers a bit in the production department. The overwhelming presence of the keyboards and the vocals occasionally dwarfs the guitars, Anders’ lead tracks are a bit too high end while Olaf’s are not loud enough at times, the bass and the drums have a hard time piercing through the wall of sound at various moments, and Mats’ drum tracks do not have the thunderous presence that they had before. Although it doesn’t rank as being poorly produced, it is inferior to the clean and crisp sound that made “Return to Heaven Denied” a truly amazing listen.

The songs on here showcase the same sense of variety and progression as was present before. “Chapter One” has a heavily Fates Warning influenced intro riff, followed by a lot of blazing speed and technical prowess that would make Dream Theater proud. “Kathryn” has a solid bass intro courtesy of Chris Breeze, followed by a charming and melodic mid-tempo metal track. “Sons of Thunder” and “Save Me” both break the speed of sound, the former having the edge with technical displays by the keyboard, the latter in terms of hooks and varied sections. “Rage of the King” showcases some amazing vocal work, including the most gut wrenching banshee wail I’ve ever heard out of Rob Tyrant. “Touch the Rainbow” has some excellent Maiden inspired metal riffs, while “I Feel You” contains a lot of the interesting progressive devices similar to the similarly titled “Feel” from the last release.

Other than some flaws in the production, the only complaint I have about this album is the diminished presence of Olaf in the mix. I don’t know if this was a foreshadowing of his involvement with Vision Divine as eventually leading to him leaving, but it hurts the album because he is the strongest musician in this group, not to mention one of the principle songwriters. Sadly afterwards Labyrinth would try to keep its unique brand of Power/Prog alive as a 5 piece, and they were never able to recapture the magic present on this album or the last.

To all fans of Power and Progressive Metal, this is a good listen, although it is a slight step down from the magnum opus that swept Italy with almost the same amount of power as Rhapsody’s debut did. If you like Fates Warning, Dream Theater, Yngwie Malmsteen, Freedom Call, or Queensryche then this album will treat you well. I listen to it occasionally, though my massive and growing archives of metal CDs doesn’t allow it the frequent play that others may come to give it.

Labyrinth is one of those great Italian power metal bands that they will blow you away. If you have to ask me about them, I'd say they're a much better band than Rhapsody. Thanks to this site, it helped me to notice this amazing band and I got this album like six months ago. I think this is a good album to start listening to this band.

Enough background, it is time to talk about the music. First of all, the vocalist, Roberto Tiranti a.k.a Rob Tyrant, is a fucking great vocalist that gives amazing atmosphere as the music goes along. The keyboardist is very fast and he is technical on the instrument to create great melody into the music. The guitarists are fucking amazing, and it flows with the music and the solos are quick but very melodic and emotional. Drums are fine and the bass are full. The production is superb and you can hear every instrument clearly. As for the lyrics, I think the songs are connected together to create some kind of a concept album. I don't know if the band created the story or the band read the story and they are trying to tell it musically, but there some kind of connection. I think it's about this Louis the fourteenth is the king of Versailles and he is doing a party. During the party, a gift was brought by the ruler of Venice and it was a portrait of his daughter Kathryn. Louis fell in love and etc...

About the tracks, the album kicks in with "Chapter One", and it begins with a small dialogue "Find her, for she is the true meaning of life" then the song starts building up. It becomes heavier with a small opener guitar lead. The vocals are amazing, and the great transition from high pitching to clean vocals. This song is amazing, because the way it changes the tempo from fast to slow is great and the vocals gives a beautiful chilly atmosphere. Great opener!

Next, "Kathryn" starts with a bass prelude then the guitar riff kicks in. The story continues from the previous song and this song is outstanding. The chorus is so passionate and Tyrant fades his voice in a beautiful harmony whenever he mentions the name Kathryn. This is very romantic. The guitar solo is awesome.

The title track is a normal song, but it is there to complete the story. This is not a bad song but it is like the weakest. The guitar solo is nice though.

"Elegy" is a much better song than Sons Of Thunder, and the melody is very entertaining and the guitar riffs are amazing. The keyboards are fucking blistering in this track.

"Behind The Mask" is my personal favorite track on the album. It begins with a fast drumming opener and the riffs climbs in. The bridge has an amazing guitar lead and Tyrant is singing to excite the mood and the chorus is so fucking catchy. The chorus has this thing that I cannot describe it that'll make you so hooked on the song. The guitar/keyboard solo in the middle is amazing with great melody. The lyrics in this song are so damn amazing in the story.

"Touch The Rainbow" is a fun track to listen to. The opener riff is so happy along with the keyboards and the vocals are quiet but chilly. This is such a colorful song, and especially in the chorus. The leads are so atmospheric. This is another great song to listen to.

"Rage Of The King" features some amazing keyboard techniques and it proves that Andrew McPauls is outstanding player on the instrument. Everything else is great here.

"Save Us" is a good song but it is like the least song I concentrate on. I think it is good like the others.

"Love" is a piano based ballad. The vocals are amazing that'll make any girl melt and the emotions are high.

Finally, "I Feel You" is an outstanding closure and it fits perfectly as the end.

All in all, the lyrics are very romantic and the music helps to increase the atmosphere. I hope the newest record will be a good album, but this is an amazing band and this is a good start to listen to the band. This is so far my first Labyrinth record and it is very good.

P.S. This would be a perfect Valentine's gift for your girlfriend especially if her name is Kathryn ;).

This is a great album in every respect. Its also much heavier and more progressive than the previous few Labyrinth albums. The production is a bit rough around the edges..I dont know how they actually managed to do that.. However, there is still the same elements of power, technicallity, and beautiful music that Labyrinth are known for.
Starting things off is:

1. Chapter 1: This is an excellent opener with beautiful and catchy passages found throughout and not to mention some awesome rhythm and leads!! Not to mention that about 4 minutes into this song is yet another piece of intricate beautiful music that few bands can pull off so well. 9 of 10

2. Kathryn: This song starts off with a pretty cool little bass line and quickly goes into a nice opening riff. Some great singing and hooks are to be found here, and all topped off with superb musicianship!! This is one of the songs that stays in your head. 10 of 10

3. Sons of Thunder: The title track..in this case is not a standout nor anything super special. But nonetheless, theres still some very good riffage here and an exceptional chorus. Theres also an awesome solo to be found here.. so yeah, its still a good song, just not one of the best on the album. 7 of 10

4. Elegy: wow!! This song starts off and just grabs your attention and doesn't let go. Once again what we have here is great vocals from Rob Tyrant and some great melodic passages throughout and all topped off with some good keyboard interludes and galloping double bass. 8 of 10

5. Behind the Mask: This one starts off with a nice little drum fill and after an minute or so we're taken right into one AWESOME chorus thats full of power and is catchy as hell. Overall this is a pretty heavy song and is one of the standouts on the album. 9 of 10

6. Touch the Rainbow: this is such a magnificant song in every way. It begins very melodic and calm and then stays mid-paced with yet another relaxing solo in the midst of it. This is another song that tends to stick in your head. 7 of 10

7. Rage of the King: this one starts out with an interesting keyboard passage over some melodic riffing and then soon goes into some great singing and has a very very good chorus. As with most of the songs the structure is not at all the typical song structure of power metal, but everything still works out perfectly! This song is full of power and PRECISION. 8 of 10

8. Save Me: this is a re-recorded version of the song which appeared on the Timeless Crime EP. Its quite a bit different, however I liked the other version better. This version is just as fast as the original but is more progressive sounding, but still maintains all the power and virtousity of the original version. So, its STILL a great song!! 9 of 10

9. Love: once again..WOW!! Love is such as beautiful ballad, obviously made special by the godly vocals of Rob Tyrant. Some great lyrics are to be heard here, and there is alot feeling put into the song. Not much else to say other than that its just a great and beautiful piano ballad, sure to have one wanting to hear it again and again! 10 of 10

10. I Feel You: yup, this is a good one!! Its quite different sounding from the others but it has one of the catchiest choruses and has some of the best passages on the album. Once again, a great song thats catchy as all hell played in the Labyrinth fashion of power and precision! 10 of 10

There you have it...
If you like your metal played with skill and technicallity look no further than this album. Not only that, Labyrinth obviously have some of the most talented musicians there is and they have the songwriting skills to back it up. The only thing is that this album is harder to get into than their other albums due to the fact that its quite a bit more progressive than before. And because of the fact that they don't really follow the typical power metal song structure formula means that this will definately take time to grow on the listener. Chances are you probably will have trouble remembering the names of the songs because they aren't ambigously repeated again and again in every song, but because of the awesome melodies and hook lines this album should be one to stay in the regular rotation of many a power/progressive metal fan. This is good, but its no Return to Heaven Denied.