Labyrinth
Freeman

Guys, this is the Labyrinth I like... yes indeed, the Italian sextet has given proof of great maturity with the follow-up to the excellent album "Labyrinth" of 2003 (in my opinion slightly better than this one), definitively abandoning the power metal cliché which they adhered to for a long time, especially in the first two albums (still good, especially "Return To Heaven Denied").

This "Freeman" is an excellent product, in which the band reprises the formula of the previous album, enriching it with bursts of new sounds and more articulated structures, presenting different genres of metal, transitioning through thrash, power (but nothing similar to their old records) and the most classic heavy. The album consists of ten very beautiful tracks, where the great vocal melodies and the interventions of keyboards and guitars are excellently crafted. Not that the rhythmic part (also curated by Mat Stancioiu and Cristiano Bertocchi, excellent musicians) leaves something to be desired, but perhaps it is the most tied to already heard metal, thus the least evident. The singing of Roberto Tiranti is once again astonishing, my fellow citizen (whom I have the pleasure and fortune to know personally) has once more demonstrated a superb technique and a majestic song interpretation. Those of you who have had the chance to hear him live can only agree. The arrangements are very well crafted, great work here was done by Andrea De Paoli (the great Mac, I know him too =) ), who certainly didn't lack imagination, the splendid techno interlude in "Freeman", but also from the performance of the two guitarists, the founder Andrea Cantarelli and the newest member of the group, Pier Gonella. I like all the tracks, perhaps the least brilliant in my opinion is "Dive In Open Waters", the most linked to the power sounds. But it's just a small flaw, because Labyrinth proposes a mix of traditional songs, but revised and corrected in a modern key, which therefore result in being very current and enjoyable. The opening track "L.Y.A.F.H." (Light Years Away From Here) is beautiful, with its decidedly thrash riff and its melodies it also approaches progressive (and it's not the only one).
Also really beautiful is the DVD that the group decided to give with the album, in which the video of "L.Y.A.F.H." is included and numerous pieces from the old albums played live during their tours in England and Japan, as well as some fun footage from the recording session.

In essence, excellent work from every point of view, this new style of Labyrinth impressed me a lot. Recommended even to the most skeptical.