Labyrinth
Sons Of Thunder
Metal Blade
Toe to toe with contemporaneous countrymen Rhapsody, Labyrinth are the foremost leaders of the Italian power metal scene, a style that•s big in Europe but only attracting a cult following here on these American shores • oh, and absolutely huge in Germany and Japan (go figure). Sons Of Thunder, the exquisitely dressed n• tressed sextet•s latest platter o• power, finds Labyrinth pretty much staying the course, galloping and prancing quite princely to a mildly-marketable/supremely-specific sound, pristinely produced and enviably executed • not quite as happy-happy/joy-joy as their Helloweenie contemporaries, but equally grandiose, pompous, just plain overblown as their aforementioned neighbors. Like all previous Labyrinths, there•s bound to be a •concept• being explored here, but seriously • why? Throwing •objectivity• • and, consequently, professionalism • to the wind, then, I can confidently say Sons Of Thunder•s a Labyrinth I won•t be digging through any time soon.
Metal Blade, 2828 Cochran St., PMB 302, Simi Valley, CA 93065-2793, http://www.metalblade.com
