It took more than eleven years of writing and recording before Castles In The Sand, the second album of the Belgium band Beyond The Labyrinth, saw the light of day. I am not familiar with Signs, their first effort. The band is made up by Jo De Boeck (vocals), Geert Fieuw (guitars, keyboards), Danny Focke (keyboards), Gerry Verstreken (bass) and Bruno Goedhuys (drums). We can describe the music on this album as a mix of power rock and progressive metal. The question is, did I like it? There are several reasons for saying no. Let me mention at least two. First, lead singer Jo De Boeck has a terrible accent and second, most of the songs are very predictable. Eight out of twelve songs begin with a piano or synthesizer. After a minute or so, the double drums roll in, a guitar solo from Geert Fieuw and in the end a kind of climax. The only exception is the ballad For Eternity. Although there is nothing wrong with the sound production of the album, I missed the symphonic elements and technical virtuosity. Beyond the Labyrinth chose to keep it simple. Well, if you like simple hard rock music than Castles In The Sand is ok, but unfortunately not for me. For prog rock, I prefer a higher standard though. **+ Cor Smeets (edited by Peter Willemsen) Where to buy? |
