Return to Heaven Denied

Romantic isn't the first word you think of when it comes to metal. Yet it's exactly the first adjective that comes to mind when describing Labÿrinth's sophomore album 'Return To Heaven Denied'. That doesn't mean the record is full of shallow love songs. Okay, it's not extremely heavy, but there's plenty of fast, intricate riffing going on to please the fans of more progressive metal styles and the celestial melodies should enchant those who love the more melodic side of power metal. To me, the album has yet to lose the appeal it had around its release almost two decades ago.

When 'Return To Heaven Denied' was released, power metal did go through some sort of underground revival sorely needed to counteract the tough guy posturing of hardcore and nu-metal, but even within the relatively lightweight Italian scene, the atmosphere on 'Return To Heaven Denied' is unique. The production helps; guitarists Olaf Thörsen and Anders Cantarelli lay down some impressive chops - and their acoustics shimmer! - but they never overpower the rest. Even when Frank Rublotta's drums roll at full speed, they blend in. Roberto Tiranti's voice is expressive enough to fit an Italo pop record, but also powerful enough for metal.

If the last paragraph didn't clarify the sound well enough, everything I have just described is present in opening track 'Moonlight'. And while many things happen within that song, it retains this smooth flow that makes it feel like one song. Of course such a great chorus works wonders, but the guitar and keyboard melodies are equally impressive. And just check out that subtle tempo change after the choruses: simply brilliant. 'New Horizons' and 'Time After Time' follow a similar formula, while 'Lady Lost In Time' and 'Thunder' highlight the speedier side of the Italian sextet.

Of course there are ballads on a record with a romantic atmosphere. And they're quite good too. 'The Night Of Dreams' balances on the line between beautiful and kitschy, but 'Heaven Denied' has an incredible build-up and 'Falling Rain' is simply breathtaking with its desperate atmosphere and stunning guitar solos. 'State Of Grace' combines both extremes into a melodic, elegant and utterly beautiful song which could have been a minor radio hit at the time. It's catchy enough to have been one. Of further notability is the cover of 'Feel', originally by German techno trance collective Cenith X, which works better as a metal instrumental than it maybe should have.

At the time, Labÿrnth's type of melodic and somewhat romantic power metal was called "gay" or "chicks' metal" by the fans of downtuned modern metal that I somehow surrounded myself with and admittedly, I can see why the female metal crowd would like this, but the fact is: I love it too. The atmosphere is there to carry you away beyond - to quote 'Moonlight' - the ivory gates of dreamland, but the album also carries enough merits from a musicality viewpoint. While Labÿrinth spent the majority of this century's first decade in a sizeable identity crisis, not many bands get to release even one record this good. With such a perfect album cover.

Recommended tracks: 'Moonlight', 'State Of Grace', 'New Horizons', 'Falling Rain'

Originally written for my Kevy Metal weblog

When I was a teenager I had a profound interest in the genre of power metal. I thought power metal had complicated song structures and guitar riffs that never would never get old along with beautiful singing and guitar virtuosos. Albeit, it would not take a long time to realize that power metal is cheesy and pretentious. I sold most of the power metal CDs I had, or just put them to the side where they would then collect dust.

One band that I have always admired was a band called Labyrinth with their 1998 release “Return to Heaven Denied.” This album has a vibe that is from beyond this world that puts you into a state of grace. There is an ambiance, affection and potent aura in this album. Everything in this album flows smoothly from the first track to the last. There are reoccurring song structures with gorgeous melodies. Rob Tyrant has the greatest power metal voice; it suits the mellow music so well; Moonlight, the Night of Dreams, Heaven Denied and Falling Rain. Rob is also at the upper echelon at complementing the speed and aggression shown in some songs; New Horizons, Thunder and Time and after Time.

The keyboarding in most power metal is atrocious. It can sound inadequate and choppy, especially when it is over the guitars, or if they are too redundant with it. Labyrinth’s keyboard player Andrew McPauls knows when to play the keyboard in a solo manner, like in the song “Lady Lost in Time” when to accompany the guitar, by creating more warm melodies like in State of Grace and when to just shown aggression; i.e. “Thunder.”

The album begins with guitars alternate picking to create a clean song, within in seconds the band shows a progressive side and shows us the pleasant melodies that will be present in the whole album. When Rob Tyrant enters with his blissful voice, you will then begin realize this band is not cheesy or pretentious. Check out 2:01; Rob and the band create a beautiful sound that transitions well in to the aggressive 2nd verse. This song features an excellent bombastic chorus that gets more epic every time it is sung. The next song “New Horizons” has an ambiance feel from the keyboardist. It begins slowly, with chords and notes being rung out, before the band shows their speed with fast palm mutes. The vocals, guitars, keyboards are on a rampage, but wait then the beautiful pre-chorus comes, where the guitars and singing are mellow, but does not get dry. The choruses in this song are epitome of power metal, but are small compared to the other choruses in this killer album. The last part of the song the guitarists of Olaf Thorson and Anders Rain play a cool guitar riff with blistering solos.

"The Night of Dreams” is one of the weaker songs on the album, but is another memorable song with another chorus that has sing along lyrics and guitars that buzz together very well. “The Night of Dreams” and “Lady Lost in Time” feature a love aura, but it diminishes fast when the guitars come in. “Lady Lost in Time” opens up with a beautiful piano selection and great ballad singing, with waves crashing on the beach. No worries, though after about one minute the band plays their infamous progressive power metal. The lyrics in the song are interesting and built the way for a chorus that is monumental. The postlude solo with the melodies builds the way for the final chorus.

"State of Grace” is one of the best songs on this album. It opens up with more solo singing, with guitars coming in playing gloomy and bluesy guitar riffs. The keyboards after the first chorus and having the melodies under the pre-chorus were both phenomenal ideas. “Heaven Denied” is another mellow song with a great contra-petulant vocal melodies and guitar melodies that put you at ease. It amazes me how many guitar melodies this album has and how it never gets dull when a new one is heard. The solo is one of the best on the album and the band definitely terminates the song well with more beautiful singing melodies.

"Thunder” is by far my favorite song on the album. Everyone plays their instruments as if they were coming to life. Not a very technical song, but the verses raise the chorus to be monumental. I especially like the nose-bend on the guitars during the chorus and the post melodies after the chorus with the hammer-ons and pull offs. The guitar solos are quick and fast and pave the way for the final chorus. The final chorus initially only has the vocals with drum toms. Then you hear sounds of planes soaring in the sky and the whole band joins back in, for the most memorable part of the album. Check out the drumming and guitar strumming on the last chorus. Oh and did I mention, how unbelievable the singing in this song is?

The next song is “Feel, Legend B Remix” this is an instrumental with guitar and keyboard melodies. It reminds me of something off of their first album pending it has a techno/heavy metal vibe to it. The bridge shows ambience and creates a relaxing atmosphere. This song is above average, but does not have anything out of the ordinary. “Time and after Time” is your typical power metal song. However, it features an excellent bridge with contra-petulant vocal harmonies.

"Falling Rain” is the ballad song on the album. It is another well played song. All of the best aspects of this album are noted in this song; beautiful guitar and vocal melodies, gentle guitar solos and great chord selections during the chorus. The solos on this song are the best on the album, they are jovial before the band sings the final chorus and ends the song with low tuned dual guitars.

The last song is 7 minutes and concludes the album. The semblance in this song is bluesy, ambient and has a space-feel to it. I really can’t describe to it, but I would suggest looking at the album picture, with the gorgeous purple color, with the abstracted surroundings. The song ends with the same way they started the album with the clean guitar picking. The best song to end the album and yes another epic chorus!

Labyrinth is everything that I’ve come to identify as being musically superb, balancing out the consonant melodic tendencies of 70s Progressive Rock, the unconventional song structures of Fates Warning, the speed and aggressiveness of Painkiller era Judas Priest, and the musical flair of Malmsteen. At the time, fielding a 6 person metal band was considered unheard of, especially having two accomplished lead guitarists along with a keyboardist with a highly commanding presence. But where some would see this as an overcrowded line-up, it came to be the combination needed to put them over the top.

The guitar soloing approach to this band is a slightly more technically oriented version of the Maiden/Priest approach to dueling guitar solos. Olaf Thorsen is a rather interesting hybrid of a Malmsteen oriented shredder and a Dave Gilmour oriented expression player. A glowing example of his latter trait can be observed on the memorable solo to “Die for Freedom”, while his technician solos can be observed on pretty much every fast track on here. Anders Rain has his share of sweep picking moments, but the overall tone of his guitar is a bit high ended and tends to rely on simpler motives.

Rob Tyrant’s has an exceptional range, although his true strength is in his upper tenor register, where he essentially sounds like Ray Adler’s long lost identical twin. His interpretation of the various melodies is high reminiscent of what can be heard on both “No Exit” and “Perfect Symmetry”. Chris Breeze’s bass playing is probably the most subdued element on here, but he showcases his own abilities as a soloist just before Olaf kicks off his brilliant display on “Die for Freedom”. Frank Andiver’s (Mat Stancioiu is photographed but didn’t play on this album) is extremely fast and precise, outdoing his impressive feats on this band’s debut “No Limits”. Andrea de Paoli utilizes his keys to create a wide variety of atmospheric textures, although one shouldn’t discount his abilities as a technician either.

Although the album itself is lyrically quite abstract, musically it flows like a concept album, opening and closing with the same idea and flowing like a vivid dream sequence. “Moonlight” and “Lady Lost in Time” are among the most memorable for their choruses and speed. “The Night of Dreams” and “State of Grace” are a bit slower and draw heavily from early 90s Fates Warning, the latter sounding almost close enough to be interchangeable with some tracks on “Inside Out”. “Heaven Denied” and “New Horizons” are probably the most original and progressive songs on here, meshing a lot of Pink Floyd influences in the keyboard department with some amazing drum and guitar work. “Falling Rain” is the lone ballad of the bunch, but makes exceptional use of Rob’s powerful yet squeaky clean voice. “Time after Time” has some erratic changes in it, starting off like a fast rock song, then jumping back and forth from a speed metal song and a mid-tempo rocker.

The highlights of this album draw upon all of the strengths of the band. Technical flair and speed come into play heavily on “Thunder”, which wins hands down for the best dueling guitar solo section, definitely a crowd pleaser. “Feel” utilizes the bands affection for keyboard and guitar effects that would be unheard of in the metal genre were it not for bands such as Queensryche and Dream Theater. “Die for Freedom” showcases the band at its longest and most intricate moment in terms of composing. The song brings back several themes from earlier tracks, but its own identity is well established in a series of new sections, the pinnacle of which is the hyper fast and melodically driven chorus.

Labyrinth's “Return to Heaven Denied” showcases a finely tuned machine that gives attention to all elements involved. It is a sound that can find a home with traditional metal and prog. metal fans whom are disillusioned with the new direction Fates Warning took in the later 90s, as well as with power and speed metal fans. It is melodic, light sounding, and will probably not appeal to people who like their music harsh and morose. I am proud to recommend this album, the pinnacle of Labyrinth’s career thus far. It stands tall as one of the finest achievements of the Power/Prog. genre of metal, a genre that marries speed and technical excellence to a defiance of conventions in songwriting.

Later submitted to (www.metal-observer.com) on July 9, 2013.

Note: This review is based on a review I wrote for epinions.com over 3 years ago. I'm not plagiarizing anyone but my younger self.

I used to be really into power metal. I loved how the music is melodic and triumphant and requires good musicianship. Lately, I've noticed how stagnant the genre has become, but "Return to Heavon Denied" by Labÿrinth sticks out.

Labÿrinth is a 6-piece Italian power metal band that greatly resembles other European metal bands. They have everything you need to be in a successful band: 2 great guitarists, a drummer with refined double-kicking skills, a singer whose range enters the stratosphere, and a bassist and keyboardist for harmonic support. But what makes Labÿrinth different than other bands of this genre? It's the emotion in their songs. The lyrics are not about killing dragons and winning wars. Most are poetic and even *gasp* love songs.

The album opens up with "Moonlight," which has a driving power chord riff with double bass and soaring vocals. It's really nothing different at first. Rob Tyrant's voice is very smooth and he hits the notes well and there is even a nice harmonized chorus. But, there is surprises in this song. The interlude contains classical elements and even singing that resembles that of an American boyband. It's very smooth and melodic at times. The guitar solo is simply amazing. It isn't just crazy random note shredding; there are phrases and very accurate sweep arpeggios along with beautiful melodies. This is a perfect example of an excellent power metal song.

The next track, "New Horizons" starts out with a keyboard for a very modern feel. The keyboard is the main element in the beginning while the guitar provides rhythm. The verse is a little predictable; fast picking, double bass, soaring vocals. But, that doesn't make it bad. The use of clean guitars and using the word "love" is a nice touch. The classical interlude is definitely another plus. I love when metal bands randomly throw in a (synthesized) violin section in a song.

Now the more emotional songs start with the third track, "The Night of Dreams." The beginning and chorus vocals very much resembles a boyband, while the guitar redeems it to the metal status. The use of high vocals may bother some people at first, but after time one will notice it fits the song very well.

"Lady Lost in Time" starts with a beautiful piano section with emotional vocals, like that of a ballad. After the first minute the heavy guitar kicks in to totally change the song, when the beginning is then repeated heavy-style for the chorus in the song. That's definitely a very nice touch. The diminished arpeggio runs always get my attention too.

"State of Grace" is another song that starts with vocals that sound like a boyband playing metal. That seems like a theme on this album, but it doesn't get old. They use different keyboard sounds on each song and different structure with the guitars that separate. It's true that the fast-picking power chords is old, but it seems they understand it and only use it when appropriate. This one has beautiful harmonized guitar parts, too.

The next track, "Heaven Denied" again sounds like a boyband. It seems like this album gets mellower as it goes on, but that is not a complaint, because they do it with great accuracy and emotion. There are very nice guitar parts in this piece when the chorus kicks in. It's emotional metal, something that seems to be very rare. The ending reminds me again of Ameican pop music.

"Thunder" totally breaks the trend of doing mellow songs. It's an all-out fast-picking double-bassing power metal killer. It's a generic, fast, power metal song with a catchy chorus and shredding guitars. 'Nough said.

The eighth track is "Feel [Legend B. Remix]." It's an instrumental and mostly rhythm guitar and keyboard based.

"Time After Time" is another great power metal song. The rhythm guitar is more interesting than the previous songs. The structure is much like the rest; verse, bridge in half time, then chorus; but there are always surprises. There is even a mellow interlude.

"Falling Rain" is simply a beautiful song. There is an entirely-acoustic version on a single or Japanese import. It's a nice typical ballad featuring the singer and beautiful chord structure and chorus. There are also nice electric guitar solos and melodies.

The last track, "Die For Freedom" has such an interesting feel to it. It has a different structure as the other songs and it's also about 7 minutes long. I love how the double bass gradually kicks in, then drops out after the verse when they play the intro again. There is another melodic interlude with a bass solo. It ends similar to how "Moonlight" started.

This CD is excellent because of its use of emotion with metal. Yes, every power metal band does similar riffs, but so what? It's not plagiarism and it just sounds good!

I must admit, that back a few years ago when I first heard Labyrinth, I was really amazed by their talent and at that time I hadn't heard a band that was more technical, complex, and FAST!! Needless to say, I knew that I needed to have their albums. Now on the review:

Return to Heaven Denied is the album that (should have) solidified Labyrinth's place as one of the great metal bands of the 90's and now into the 2000's. It is apparent that they really had honed their craft by the time they did Return...

'Moonlight' --starts off the album off with a clean guitar intro that slowly fades in with a riff that then builds up some really fast drumming and leads. Featuring a very catchy chorus and the unbelievable vocal talents of singer Rob Tyrant, this song is the perfect way to start their album! 9.0 of 10

'New Horizons' is a very nice speedy song with a cool riff. Its not one of the better tracks on the album though and probably the weakest IMO. 5.5 of 10

'The Night of Dreams' -one of my favorite songs on the album is this one, that starts off slow and remains mid-paced throughout. Its a change of pace from the faster songs and it has some great guitar work, it almost makes me cry its so beautiful!! . I especially love the lyrics and the vocals in this one, its such an amazing song. A great ballad-type song. 10 of 10

'Lady Lost In Time' -listening to the beginning of this song will make you wonder how Rob Tyrant is able to sing the way he does and hit those notes that he does. To tell you the truth, there is VERY few singers that have the range that Rob has. Lady Lost In Time starts off like its going to be a piano ballad, but then breaks away from that and gets really fast, and has some great leads in here and a super great solo. 10 of 10

'State of Grace' -an amazing song with a cool intro, and perfect guitar playing by Olaf Thorsen and Anders Rain. Its such an emotional sounding song with a chorus that will want to stay in your head! 8.5 of 10

'Heaven Denied' -starts off slow with some amazing guitar playing and singing. It really has a mid period Fates Warning vibe to it because it stays pretty mid paced and relaxing, and so very relaxing it is, especially with the guitar solo..I really love this song!! 9.5 of 10

'Thunder' -I'd say as far as power metal goes, this song is the fastest and most technical on the album. Thunder, with its awesome chorus, and searing leads will truly make you bang your head. In my opinion, just this song is miles ahead of what most other power metal bands are doing as far as power metal goes. Great singing, superb guitar playing, and really quick drums and double bass makes this so very friggin' awesome! Not too many guitar players have galloping guitar leads as quick as Olaf Thorsen. Just give it a listen and you should agree! 10 of 10

'Feel (Legend B. Remix)' -this song here is an instrumental that basically shows off how fast and technical Labyrinth can be, its cool, but nothing super special. 7.0 of 10

'Time After Time' -all I can say is WOW!! Time After Time quickly starts off with a riff very reminescent of Iron Maiden, and then slightly changes its direction with an equally fast chorus. This song amazes me with its time changes and perfect musicianship...but wait thats not all. Just when you think its going to keep getting yet even faster after an awesome keyboard passage....it slows down alot into what is ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THINGS YOU'LL EVER HEAR!!! I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT, Rob Tyrant's range is excellent, and not many singers can match him!!! Then Time After Time speeds back up with a keyboard solo then a guitar solo, and retains its ass-kicking ways! 10 of 10

'Falling Rain' -what we have here is what alot of bands fail to do so wonderfully, and thats writing great ballads...and although this song you may not consider a full ballad and although the newer remake version on 'Timeless Crime' I think is better...you still will appreciate the talent and power put into this song. Its so very beautiful and gets my vote as one of the best metal ballads of all time! Its lyrics and soothing guitars is just about enough to make you want to cry. "Deep in my heart, I would like to find a place for love..." The lyrics are so poignant and passionate...not a whole lot of ballads compare to this!! 10 of 10

'Die For Freedom' OK here we have the closing song on the cd, which is also the second weakest song on the CD, BUT that doesn't mean that its bad. Its actually quite different sounding from the rest of the songs. Rob sings alot different in this one, it almost doesn't sound like him at the part right before the chorus (is it even really? I have no idea for sure!) but its still not a filler by any means. 6.5 of 10

OK, I will admit that I didn't really care for this album that much at first, but now I really appreciate it. Yes, its power metal, but its got a progressive twist to it ala Fates Warning....and thats why it took several listens to get into it. But anyway, its a great metal album. Labyrinth (along with Skylark) are the best metal that Italy has to offer!!!