XXV is the new and fifth album from Belgian rock band Beyond The Labyrinth. The CD was issued in December of 2021, followed by a digital release in February. The album’s title is to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the band. And tho’ Beyond The Labyrinth debuted in 1997 with a 3-track EP, their first full album didn’t come until 2005.

I am not familiar with the band’s earlier releases, but can tell a lot of ’70s and ’80s influences, from prog, to hard rock, to AOR. You get plenty of synths, some heavy guitars, some cool keyboard intros. “Louder Than Thunder” has a bit of a Judas Priest feel to it, but the ’80s synths bring it back from being ‘metal’ , more like AOR / hard rock. “Dedicated To Sir J / Rush Rush Rush” has a lengthy and slow organ intro that would sit nicely on a Deep Purple album, and the song is an upbeat rocker, with some synths and backing vox, kinda making it more like modern Uriah Heep. The ballad “In Camera” is more synth driven, with a cool guitar break, and you get more of Journey feel to it. Best tracks come in the 2nd half of this set (for me) being “This Is How We Roll”, “Improve, Enhance”, and “Long Way Home”, all should appeal to fans of Journey, Toto, Saga…

*Check out the band’s website to hear the album and ordering links below.

Filip Lemmens (Vocals)
Geert Fieuw (Guitars, Backing Vocals)
Dominic Heynderickx (Bass)
Eddy Scheire (Keyboards, Backing Vocals)
Michel Lodder (Drums and Loops)

Tracklist:

1 – Altitude For Energy

2 – Louder Than Thunder

3 – Invisible Battle Scars

4 – Nothing Comes For Free

5 – Dedicated To Sir J./Rush Rush Rush

6 – Falcon Eye

7 – In Camera

8 – This Is How We Roll

9 – Improve, Enhance

10 – Up There In The Sky

11 – Rise Above

12 – Long Way Home

Bonus tracks:

13 – Healer (2021 version)

14 – Wings (2021 version)

*Silver Edition comes with bonus live DVD and CD compilation.

More about this band can be found at:
https://www.facebook.com/Beyond.The.Labyrinth
http://www.beyond-the-labyrinth.com/
https://www.youtube.com/c/BeyondTheLabyrinth
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3hek3bMIJj9uNel9BQVeIV
https://music.apple.com/be/artist/beyond-the-labyrinth/293629513
https://www.deezer.com/us/artist/3164251
https://listen.tidal.com/artist/7410546