LABYRINTH – “In The Vanishing Echoes Of Goodbye” (2025)

The recent additions in the LABYRINTH discography, combined with the fortunate fact that VISION DIVINE also released good music last year, created only positive expectations from “In The Vanishing…”. Apart from Matt Peruzzi who joined the band in 2019, the rest line up is stable for the last ten years creating the perfect conditions for what ended up as the creation of great Progressive Power album.

The record consists of ten tracks of full duration with no interludes, intros or outros. Musically it is a rich canvas that encompasses all trademarks of the band, from fast and heavy songs to ballads and everything in the between. Many can claim that but the Italians can boast that they do it good which ends as the main strength of this release, everything is crafted with care. I would pick the heaviest approach of ‘Heading for nowhere’ anytime, but at the same time I couldn’t take the slower and more melodic segments of ‘The healing’ out of my mind which I view as a huge win.

What makes listening to the album such a pleasant experience is how adventurous and imaginative every song is. There are no borders like a strictly ballad track, something may start slow and the speed will catch up later. ‘Inhuman race’ gives you the impression that it will be an instrumental but it isn’t, with the good part being that I wouldn’t mind if it that was the case. It all ends up on how those musicians know exactly what notes your ears want to listen and play exactly that without limiting themselves.

While there is noone lacking in the performance department I want to give a separate accolade to vocalist Roberto Tiranti for his enthusiastic and rich singing. He is very expressive using all arrows that his quiver possesses be it screams, at times is theatrical or emotional, while always reminding you that he is a Metal vocalist and let’s not forget how colorful many of the vocal lines are. One of the best vocal iterations I have encountered recently.

“In The Vanishing…” is a work that oozes seriousness and professionalism, a record that you will want to spin if you want to listen to one hour of quality melodic Metal music. I believe we are all familiar with the band’s magnum opus “Return to heaven denied”, if not drop everything, listen to it and thank me later. The new album is not for the people who wait such grandeur to be repeated. It is exactly the kind of music that we want from the creators of that album almost 30 years later. Without compromises, we do not have a band that is a shell of their former past, we have a group of musicians that teach how they can preserve and enrich their musical legacy with a head up high.

90/100

Pavlos Pavlakis

100: Godsent

90s: Excellent

80s: Very good

70s: Good

60s: Enjoyable

50s: Uninspired

40s: Bad

0s -30s: Unlistenable