Customer Reviews

Labyrinth

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Die hard fans of Juno Reactor will not be upset with this album. It has all the elements of the classical Juno Reactor sound and musical style. Then they threw in some really fun new twists: a lot of flamenco-style guitars, orchestral and even some choral integration. The ability to keep your established sound while adding something new and interesting to the music is something so few bands can do after an album or two, Juno Reactor is to be highly commended for their acomplishment in this album.

I personally find much of the music on this disc to be some of the best modern electronic fusion with traditional styles of music since Enigma III: Le Roi est Mort, Vive le Roi. If you like that disc you'll appreciate Labyrinth as well. It has a feel similar to some of the more recent works by Delerium. On the other hand, if you like any other Juno Reactor, you'll probably still like this album.

Some of the content on this disc sounds to have been influenced by Don Davis, the composer of the score to the Matrix with whom Juno Reactor worked for the soundtracks to those films. This includes tracks other than just Mona Lisa Overdrive (which I might add is a great track). I have no complaints about that however.

Overall this is a good disc for fans of classical Juno Reactor, and a good disc to give a chance to even if you haven't like them in the past because it has so much new.

I suppose if I had never heard Shango, I probably would have rated this latest effort from Juno Reactor as a 4, but Ben Watkins and company set a really high standard of complex musical synthesis that is hard to surpass.

"Conquistador" adds some nice arcosanti-sounding bells (part I) and interesting sounding backwards percussion (part II) to a laid back spanish guitar piece that echos "Pistolero," but otherwise adds nothing sonically to the superior efforts in Shango. "Mona Lisa Overdrive" is nowhere near as compelling a composition as "Masters of the Universe"... And so on...; I'm not adverse to recycling musical thematic ideas if the resulting songs are at least as good as the originals, but many of the tracks on Labyrinth fall short.

There were a few departures worth mentioning; "Giant" attempts to add rock drums to a generally uninspired composition and fails badly; "War Dogs" fares considerably better by using rock drumming to augment JR's usual polyrhythm mayhem.

"Zwara" was much more along the lines of what I hoped for in Labyrinth; drawing in ever more stylistic elements into a great groove -- all kinds of fun. "Navras" and the tense almost creepy ebb-and-flow buildup of "Mutant Message" were also very good extensions of the JR sonic universe...

So with about 50% of Labyrinth breaking new ground or at least tilling the soil well, I cast my vote with the reviewers that gave this outing a 3.5. The better moments here are exceptional and are well worth the purchase.

Having been a fan of JR since Transmissions, I've witnessed their sound evolove album after album. In context of all their albums, this is tied for second with Beyond the Infinite. My personal favorite is Bible of Dreams. Anyway, after hearing Hotaka awhile ago, I had a pretty good picture of what to expect from this album...a mix between Hotaka and Shango (which I'm not much of a fan of) with a dash of the stuff from the Matrix series thrown in. Onto the track by track breakdown:

Conquistador I - 8/10 - A nice intro with great Spanish guitar style a la Pistolero, but not nearly as jazzed up. Chimes and female vocals also add to the track well.

Conquistador II - 3/10 - Starts out strong with a pretty good beat, but in comes that tribal voice (or whatever you want to call it) that I hated in Shango. Ruined the song for me.

Giant - 5/10 - Very chaotic sound which I'm mostly indifferent to. Feels like JR just threw everything together in this song.

Wardogs - 10/10 - My personal favorite on the album with a great style to it including a fantastic mix of guitar and other stringed instrument sounds and great vocal samples.

Mona Lisa Overdrive - 9/10 - Rehash of one of their songs from the Matrix Trilogy. Reminds me more of their older style than their newer stuff. Good addition to the album.

Zwara - 9/10 - Another hard hitting song which brings back the taiko drumming machine of Gocoo for a good solid song. I found the woman repeating Zwara annoying after awhile however.

Mutant Message - 8/10 - Starts like a slower song, but alternates between calming and exhilarating. Well done.

Angels and Men - 7/10 - A beautiful and peaceful song. Well crafted and quite enchanting, but not my cup of tea.

Navras - 9/10 - The second of Matrix songs. This is one knock your socks off hit of epic proportions. I found it quite enjoyable in its over the top style.

Overall, this is yet another solid album from JR, but it just doesn't have the same listening effect as their previous albums, particularly Bible of Dreams. Labyrinth is an album that shouldn't be passed up, but if you're just starting in on JR, then think about getting Bible of Dreams first to set the mood.

=)

All I have to say about this album is that in many instances it is exactly what I wanted "Civilization" to be like from FLA. Such as the song "Mutant Message," that is now one of my favorite songs ever in that genre. I mean seriously, Ben Watkins created the perfect industrial ambience song ever. The rest of the album is great too. However there is one thing I don't like about well, two. A.) being that giant (no offense Ben if you read this) is not very good. And in my opinion the vocals from Taz should have been left out and the song reworked to compensate. Secondly, B.); is "Navras". While a beautiful song, it should have been remixed with the awesome synth. work that he did and more beats and more of an electronic sound. I mean seriously do not get me wrong about Navras I love that song, it is just that I all ready have it from the soundtrack and I was anxious to hear something new and energized. I love the new version of "Mona Lisa Overdrive" and I frequently catch myself driving a little to fast while listening to it! Also "Conquistador Part 1/2" are awesome; a perfect portrayal of the Aztecs seeing Cortez as a god and someone who will bring peace (Pt. 1). And then in a stroke of absolute annihilation began to destroy their beautiful empire (Pt. 2). All I can say about this album is that it is really a great thing to listen to while playing games (i.e. Halo2 and Star wars Battle Front). And fro a final note if you have a 5.1 - 7.1 sound system from your computer make sure you have a M-audio Revolution, it makes it an awesome experience

Comparing Labyrinth to Juno Reactor's previous albums is pretty impossible since the band's style changes so drastically between each CD. Transmissions and Beyond the Infinite were pure trance albums and Bible of Dreams has since been the turning point in their style, incorporating trance, rock break beat, and tribal elements into a genre can't be defined. Shango is definitely their greatest achievement, but I can't help but prefer Labyrinth because of it's irresistible cinematic quality. There's heavy usage of strings and female voices, and a good balance of blood-pumping dance songs and slower, mellow tracks.
Conquistador begins perfectly with a cinematic atmosphere reminescent of the opening title of a war movie, and Edwardo Neibla's guitar skills are undeniably awesome. The Latin lyrics also add a cool aspect to the album as a whole. Hopefully I can get them translated sometime soon. I wonder what happened to Steve Stevens from Pistolero and Hotaka though. I should also mention that the main reason this album's style is so drastic is because quite a few members, including band cofounder Mike Maguire, are missing. This is most likely temporary since Watkins spends anywhere between a month and several years on each song. Hopefully we'll see the likes of Stevens, Maguire, and Alex Paterson on the band's next release.
Amazingly there isn't a single track on this CD that I did not like, which is amazing because I didn't like half the tracks on Bible of Dreams, and Hule Lam was...downright questionable. The worst song on this CD was Conquistador 2, and even that's a pretty good song, which says a lot about the overall quality of Labyrinth. Zwara is an amazing sonic experience with a bassline that'll start pumping your blood for you. Giant is menacing, heavily dramatic, and has some catchy rock elements. War Dogs is an orchestral piece that still manages to stay fast paced with ethnic vocals that enhance the atmosphere and a magical guitar sound that makes the song one of my all time Juno favorites. Mona Lisa Overdrive is rewritten in a style reminiscent of the last two songs from Shango. Thankfully, Navras was left untouched. Mutant message is another dark, brooding bass track in the footsteps of Komit and Insects, and sounds like it would belong in a vampire movie. The piano also adds a beautiful atmosphere to the song that echoes endlessly until the synth lines catch up.
Angels and Men is probably one of the best songs Juno Reactor has ever made, despite being so soft and low-key, but that's one of the aspects that makes the song so enjoyable. The saturated guitar is gorgeous and complements Taz Alexander's gorgeous voice perfectly. Hauntingly beautiful, gently paced, and complete with a human soul that puts all other electronic music to shame, this is definitely my personal favorite. From start to finish this album is an amazing trip well worth your hard-earned cash. It starts with an inviting whisper , soars beyond expectations, and ends with a hell of a bang, just the way an album should.

The style of Juno Reactor underwent a somewhat drastic change with "Bible of Dreams". Ambient techno gave way to full-on tributes to various forms of "organic" music, with a little techno at the ready. But here, in the latest addition to the Juno discography, the guys just don't seem to be trying as hard. Compared to "Bible" and "Shango", the efforts heard here seem rather cartoonish. Let's not ignore the fact that two of the songs on this disc were actually reused from their earlier work in the "Matrix" films. It's like when a guy digs up a really good essay he wrote a while ago, touches it up a little, and submits it for a separate assignment. I mean, the two songs in question are pretty good, but it's still a little weird. Let's also remember that this is the shortest Juno Reactor album I've ever come across. Four of the songs are less than six minutes long. Does that sound like Juno to you? Even if a song's bad, I can appreciate them for making it long. Generally, this album didn't sit as well with me as did the others.
Well, I guess I should start at the beginning.

1) Conquistador, Part 1 - 3/5. A quiet beginning. Some female voices sing a ballad or lullaby amongst a soft guitar tune. For the most part, it's pretty calm, but it gradually builds to a climax (albeit a climax that's only a little louder than the rest). In the last minute, some faint percussion pops up. It grows more and more intense, filling the listener with anticipation as to what's about to happen, before it suddenly takes us to...

2) Conquistador, Part 2 - 4/5. Like the "Nitrogen" duo in "Shango", I'm kinda lost on why the guys gave these songs the same name...although I can understand this better than "Nitrogen". I think they're trying to tell a story with these two. Despite the buildup at the end of "Part 1", the transition to this feels rather abrupt. It's got the Mexican, but say bye-bye to the ballad/lullaby; that's been replaced by dark, heavy, techno-ish rock (or rock-ish techno). They've also brought back the throat voice that's familiar to anyone who's listened to "Badimo", spouting some really crazy-sounding lyrics. Very crazy. You'll laugh. Then cry, 'cuz it's over so soon. Or cheer if you hated it.

3) Giant - 2/5. I can barely endure this piece of work. Or should we say, lack of work. I'm theorizing that Watkins and crew just got lazy and slapped this thing together simply to keep up their nine-song pattern. I don't mind repetition if there's a really good tune involved, and here...well, one out of two ain't bad. Oh, wait a sec, it is. There's a synth-like tune that kinda sounds like farting if you listen for it, and it goes on and on and on, before we get some lyric that sounds like "inside", although it's most likely not English. That's all; farting, "inside", farting, "inside", farting, "inside", all culminating in a big steaming pile of poop. Ick.

4) War Dogs - 3/5. Better. A throwback to the Middle Eastern style. To my knowledge, we've got men's chanting mixed in with woodwind, guitars, the usual synth wave, and craziness abound. The actual sound is hard to put into words, so it's better just to end it here. Not too hot about it nonetheless.

5) Mona Lisa Overdrive - 4/5. What you see here is a remix of the famous "highway chase" music from "The Matrix Reloaded". If you've already seen that movie, I won't bother describing the main tune for you. If you haven't...then you don't deserve the satisfaction! Anyway, they've added in some chanting, since that's what they do, and shortened the whole thing to four minutes and forty-five seconds. Now, this irks me; the original mix was over ten minutes long, and it ruled. What irks me even more is that this isn't as varied as the other version. It's got that great techno melody that any "Matrix" geek should recognize, but that's about it. It's like: percussion --> melody --> percussion --> melody --> chanting --> percussion --> et cetera. It doesn't even have an impressive end. By itself, it's still one of the better on this album, but I can never listen to it without thinking back to the highway chase.

6) Zwara - 3/5. I THINK this is supposed to have an Indian feel to it. It's really just techno coupled with Indian chanting, though, with a little rapping (!!!) midway through. Don't worry; it's Indian rapping (like that'll calm you down). Well, the tune's actually really cool, but what brings this song down is the end. At the approximate 4:45 mark, the chanting female gets a solo, and she really goes berserk. I don't know; maybe she's supposed to sound like she's having an orgasm, but either way, it's really off-putting. However, if you want to hear something REALLY ridiculous, wait until 5:35. The song just gets hilarious at that point. You'll wet your pants, either from laughing or freaking out.

7) Mutant Message - 4/5. "Greetings. We come in peace...NOT!" Up until now, every song here was a mix of Juno Reactor and a chosen style. "Conquistador" was Juno + Mexican, "War Dogs" was Juno + Middle Eastern, and "Giant" was Juno + poop, but "Mutant Message" is seemingly Juno + nothing else. Not a bad thing, actually. A strange alien-sounding voice is followed by the standard choir humming. We soon shift to a rather un-Juno-sounding piano melody. It all sounds very harmless for a while, and that's when they getcha. I will go no further. But I will be very distrustful of UFOs. Why? 'Cuz I'm a weirdo.

8) Angels and Men - 1/5. It sucks.

9) Navras - 4/5. Unlike "Mona Lisa", this hasn't been "remixed" from its alter ego in the "Matrix" trilogy; it's 100% the exact same as it was heard in the end credits for "The Matrix Revolutions". A HUGE choir shouts out Sanskrit quotes taken from the Upanishads. After this, we hear something that I think is piano. Really dark, heavy piano. Listening to this, you'd think it was Armageddon. Then, we go to the usual techno synth (boy, I'm typing those two words a lot) with the usual chanting. The middle is very quiet, reminiscent of the boring "Solaris". This song fortunately ends the same way it started; it's really a musical palindrome. After the quiet break, the piano again, the techno synth again, and the very last part is comprised of only the chanting. "Labyrinth" may not be up to par with their previous work, but at least it has an ending worthy of Juno Reactor's great name. I'm talkin' to you, "Shango".

If you're hoping to purchase this because you watched the Matrix films, and know the soundtracks by heart, don't bother getting this album.

"Navras" is EXACTLY the same as the one on the Matrix Revolutions soundtrack, "Juno vs Don Davis". Also, "Mona Lisa Overdrive" is almost the same except it's shorter and has some vocals - only about 20 seconds worth.

The other songs on this album ARE unique, in their own right, but not as good as Bible of Dreams or Shango.

I make it sound like this album isn't worth getting, but it is - if you know of Juno Reactor and can appreciate their style. Usually you will find 4 or 5 songs that you REALLY enjoy listening to and just play those. For me, it has to be "Conquistador I and II, Navras, Mutant Message" and "Angels and Men".

I think that Juno Reactor has turned a different corner now, after working with Don Davis, and the tracks are more fast-paced, synthezised and somewhat theatrical. After saying that though, there seems to be an interesting latin guitar theme heard in "Conquistador I" and "Angels and Men". It reminds me of JR's interests in Middle Eastern and Indian themes, like Shango's "Solaris", "Song for Ancestors" and perhaps even "Hotaka".

Having Juno Reactor is really about waiting for key elements in a song that strike shivers up your spine or inject you wth adrenaline. "Navras" is somewhat like that and so is "Conquistador II", but I found that these key elements didn't stand out as much, like the slow build-up to an excellent percussion solo in "Conga Fury", or a synthesized reverberating ghostly sound as in "Jardin de Cecil" or the guitar solo in "Swamp Thing".

Also, if you're expecting more of Gocoo, the drums aren't as prevalent in the songs as they are in Bible or Shango. In fact, "Zwara" is the only song in which you can identify some tribal percussion, but it's very faint.

If you've never listened to Juno Reactor before, don't start off with this album. Try listening to Bible of Dreams first!

Why does the industrial scene love trance so much? Is it a shared affinity for huge synths and four-on-the-floor beats? Or is there a parallel sense of tribalism, just dressed in different clothes? Whatever the reason, Juno Reactor has been key in bridging the gap between industrial and trance. "Labyrinth" has its share of uptempo floorfillers, such as "Mona Lisa Overdrive" and "Navras," both featured in "The Matrix Reloaded." However, explorations into slower bpm's are more interesting, blending electronic sounds with vocals, strings, piano, live drumming, and even Spanish-style acoustic guitar. The synthesis is fluid and natural, making for rich listening from start to finish.

I have listened to Juno Reactor over the years and have all their albums... Their last, Shango... was somewhat disappointing... a few great tracks but nothing stellar. Labyrinth is a superb new direction for J.R. Its core is a heavy use of a theatrical tone and lots of operatic vocals.
The result is truly sublime. While not perfect, on the second listen it has risen to number two on my J.R. favorites list... just slightly behind their groundbreaking Transmissions.
Its hard to single out which tracks I enjoy the most.... but I will say that Conquistador 1 and Angels and Men are hauntingly beautiful. There is a fair bit of recycling of samples from J.R.s previous works but all is forgiven when Labyrinth is taken as a whole. The bottom line is that Labyrinth is intricate, creative, and refreshing. It will definitely transport you to other cinematic realms.
Bravo J.R!!! Well done indeed.

Review:
After a long wait Juno Reactor comes back to strut their stuff and release a new album. Their signature sound is subtly intact, but mostly this album provides many new elements to the JR style. A lot of live instrumentation is use, yet the compositional use of these instruments are done in a very electronic way, (i.e. precise timing and accurate bpm delays). While this album is very good, many goa purists may complain about the frequent use of live instruments (me include, I complaint a lot actually, but whatcha gonna do).

Track 1: This opens up the album in a very mellow and melodic way. This is extremely well done and contains some awesome melodic guitar rifts, similar to Pistolero, but a lot more alive then Steve Stevens rifts. Subtle synths scrape the background with psychedelic noise a long side beautiful vocals. This track is very ambient but towards the end drums build up and you know something is coming, which leads into...
Track 2: ...a fully on Juno Reactor style trance, blasting you with massive drums and thick bass lines. It is a very fast paced track, yet it is all done in triplets giving it a sort of bouncy feel, a rhythmic choice they have done before (Conga Fury, Swamp Thing, Hule Lam). The African style drumming is intense and very engaging; this is one great track.
Track 3: Giant is probably the weakest of all the other tracks here. It does contain a very interesting bass line, but things seem to repeat way too much, and the acoustic drumming really should have been electronic, because in my opinion it would have sound a lot more powerful, but by no means is the live drumming bad, it is very good drumming. Anyway, I don't really like this track.
Track 4: This track is pretty cool; it is in a time signature of 3/4 and it gives it different vibe then the rest. The use of guitars and other instrumentations are cool, and that is about it. It is a cool track to listen every now, nothing perfect.
Track 5: This track is a remix of a track that appeared on the second Matrix movie. It is a lot better and a lot shorter (which I didn't really like at all, if it could have been at least 3 mins longer). Vocals and orchestral elements are very nicely done, and the bass line is extremely cool. The 4/4 kick keeps my head bouncing through the whole track, but it should have been longer.
Track 6: This is probably my second favorite track; it is almost like you're inside the mind of a psychotic hunter. The 4/4 kick is pretty high energy and the tribal drum really adds to the sound. Melodies are dark and quick. Vocal shots and chants are all welcome in this intense track.
Track 7: Although very interesting, I wish the strings could have taken a break from this piece; they are nice but over used. The slow pace keeps this mellow, but the bass and kick keep the power laden with in the subtleness. This track has a very industrial feel to it, and for some reason reminds me of Kraftwerk (don't ask me, I have no clue why). This track eventually progressive into a full on powerhouse. Heavy synths and very fast drums over slow acoustic drums create a very interesting effect.
Track 8: This is a slow ambient piece that is similar to Song for Ancestors. The guitar loop in the background is playing a major melody, yet all the other melodic elements are in minor. It confuses the hell out of me but my girlfriend insists that it is correct, (she has perfect pitch so it's hard to argue with that). The samples and textures are nice and the drums are slow and cool. This track is very nice, but bores me to often. It is a great track but it's just not for me.
Track 9: Very epic and some people will love this track to pieces, while others, like me, will think this track tries to be to many things at once. It was in the third Matrix movie and was played at its credits.

Pros: Conquistador part 1 & 2 are really good and are worth getting the album just based on those two tracks.

Cons: New style may confuse some people that are hard fans of JR, and the album is too short, the shortest JR album ever.

For me the new style was disapointing, but for those new to electronic music should start with this.