Jeez.....
why the fuck has no one even mentioned this album yet??? What the fuck is wrong with you people?
Return To Heaven Denied Pt. II is no slouch by any means. What we have here is a very melodic effort with exactly the same flavor as its magnificent predecessor. The album is very consistent(more so than Pt. I), featuring lots of really cool melodic passages and interludes. Some of it is actually proggier than the first album, especially the first track.
Rob Tyrant never sounded better and the production I would say is even crisper, cleaner, and clearer than the first RTHD.
The only thing the album lacks is a real standout track like "Falling Rain" or "Heaven Denied", but the more I listen to this record, the more I like it. I already have a few favorites; namely "Like Shadows In The Dark" and the title track. I actually like every song.
Labyrinth to me have just about every bit the melodic potential of Symphony X, which is rare. They just don't have the musical prowess or use the crazy time signatures that we all love so much. But that's perfectly okay. Labyrinth have continued to demonstrate why they are my favorite power metal band and I hope they continue on this stride.
RETURN TO HEAVEN DENIED - 5 Stars out of 5 Stars
RETURN TO HEAVEN DENIED PT. II - 4 Stars out of 5 Stars
In short, RTHD2 is NO Operation Mindcrime II and is more than a worthy follow up.
