Return to Heaven Denied

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!