Labyrinth - No Limits
Underground Symphony
Techno Power Metal
13 songs (59'29)
Release year: 1996
Labyrinth, Underground Symphony
Reviewed by Ben
Archive review

In my opinion Labyrinth have always been the underdogs of the Power Metal scene. They have always had a shockingly fresh sound to them that traces its roots all the way to this, their debut album No Limits. With this album Labyrinth successfully merged electronic technoesque sounds with Melodic Power Metal. Return to Heaven Denied was the perfect blend of the two styles but for some reason the electronic aspects were cast aside for the confusing Sons of Thunder cd. I’m glad now that they have returned with the Labyrinth cd, because this unique sound has always been a large part of the appeal for the band. Anyways, this is where it began and not with current vocalist Roberto Tiranti either I might add. For No Limits the vocals were provided by a Mr. Joe Terry, some readers might know him better as Fabio Lione.

The overall atmosphere seems very dark, not dark as in evil, but an overall sense of sadness permeates throughout the album. It seems as though the band is playing in a black and empty space floating throughout the stars, it may just be me but that is what goes through my mind when I listen to No Limits. Guitar solos are not as flashy as they would be on later releases, there is a stronger concentration of heaviness and electronics than there would be again. Mortal Sin sets the tone right away. A slow melancholy intro builds up into small morose sounding guitar lead before giving way into a quirky keyboard spot and some aggressive singing by Lione / Terry. Midnight Resistance and Dreamland are more traditional metal tunes, while Dreamland even has some 80’s styled synth passages. Piece of Time is a short and spacey song with some catchy verses. Following Piece of Time the next several tracks all retain the electro feel strongly, the instrumental Vertigo is techno, plain and simple. A personal favorite is The Right Sign, I just really love the electronic aspect of this album and this song.

Listening to this album all the way through you begin to notice the differences in the structure of the songs here than on say, Return to Heaven Denied. Here they revolve around a mid paced tempo and there aren’t that many flashy solos as one would expect from an Italian Power Metal band. There aren’t any sugar sweet happy land melodies either, the guitar tone is raw and dirty, and the vocals have a reverb effect which adds to that whole sad and spacey feel to the album. Labyrinth’s beginning may come as a shock to some readers who have only heard Sons of Thunder or Return… as this is definitely a unique and different side of the band. No Limits gets high points just for being so damn original, fans of something new and different should give No Limits a shot. This album was even re-issued recently on Rising Works Records with two bonus tracks so this should make it easier to track down.

Killing Songs :
Mortal Sin, Piece of Time, Vertigo, In the Shade, and The Right Sign
Ben quoted 80 / 100
Other albums by Labyrinth that we have reviewed:
Labyrinth - Welcome To The Absurd Circus reviewed by Ben and quoted 84 / 100
Labyrinth - Return To Heaven Denied Part II reviewed by Ben and quoted 82 / 100
Labyrinth - Architecture Of A God reviewed by Ben and quoted 85 / 100
Labyrinth - 6 Days To Nowhere reviewed by Ben and quoted 57 / 100
Labyrinth - Freeman reviewed by Ben and quoted 90 / 100
To see all 9 reviews click here
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