Chapters from Beyond The Labyrinth

Based of out Belgium, Beyond The Labyrinth presents an adventurous combination of classic and progressive hard rock, giving their fans a true musical adventure that is wondrous to behold.  Chapter III: Stories is the third grand magnum opus, recently unleashed by Incommunicado / Twilight Vertrieb Records.  They recently opened for the mighty Pagan’s Mind and there’s even a connection to the great Asia on one of their songs.  Here is a recent interview we conducted with one of the BTL members to find out more about this compelling entity ready to take on the world – stamping their own chapter into the world of hard rock and roll.  The grand Stories are about to commence…  

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Beyond The Labyrinth, and how long the band has been together.
Hi Ken and readers of Highwire Daze Online!!  My name is Jo De Boeck and I am the lead vocalist for the Belgian band Beyond The Labyrinth. The band was founded in 1996 by guitar player Geert Fieuw and I’ve been with the band for 11 years.

Like many other bands, we’ve struggled through some line-up changes in the past and at certain points in time Beyond The Labyrinth has operated as a ‘project’. I’m not going to bore you with all of that, most important is that we just released our 3rd album “Chapter III: Stories” on May 13th ! Last weekend we not only had our CD-release concert, the fans were able to give our new guitar player, Mark Wenkin, a warm welcome too!

Where is the band based out of and what is your local music scene like there?
We have our headquarters (rehearsal room/studio) in Dilbeek, a little village near Brussels, located in the Flemish speaking part of Belgium. Belgium being a very tiny country, the local music scene is rather small and it’s a matter of positioning yourself on a European scale.

Belgian mainstream radio stations -and media in general- don’t pay much attention to classic, melodic, symphonic or progressive rock or metal…unfortunately. But we’re blessed to have a couple nice venues, festivals, magazines and radio stations who do a huge effort!

As I just mentioned, almost every Belgian band that plays ‘heavier’ music is forced to expand its horizon straight away. That’s exactly why you’ll find our music on iTunes, we have our YouTube channel and we try to stay in touch with the fans through Facebook. Having worldwide distribution (Twilight/Germany) for the new album will open some doors for sure too!!!

Is there any concept behind the CD title Chapter III – Stories and what did we miss in the first two Chapters?
The concept of the new album lies behind the songs.  We wanted to create it using the idea of a storybook, containing 12 true stories waiting to be discovered. Each song has its own value, meaning and unique feel. And I think we can say we did succeed cause listening to “Chapter III: Stories” feels like a ride on a roller coaster – some songs are sweet and romantic, some are harsh, grim and cold…

In 2005 we released our debut album called ‘Signs’. It received good reviews and we were fortunate to have a few awesome guests like Daniel Flores (Mind’s Eye), Marcel Coenen (Sun Caged) and Richard West (Threshold). On the album you’ll find songs like ‘In Flanders Fields’ and ‘Tomorrow is gone’, songs that became essentials in our setlist.

Castles in the Sand was released in 2008 and is a concept album Geert had been working on for over a decade. All though it’s a story you need to discover yourself, it’s about the never ending struggle of the dreamer that lives in each one of us. About finding the balance between the life you live and the dreams you chase…

Where do you get the ideas for some of your lyrics? Please select two songs from Chapter III – Stories and what inspired you to write the lyrics.
Most of the lyrics were written by Geert, except for ‘Oceans Apart’. It’s a song I wrote for my wife and describes what it was like to really have an ‘ocean’ between us, about surviving the time we had to wait before she could join me in Belgium… By the way, she was born and raised in Chicago ;o) If you’re looking for a rock ballad with great melodies and feel, this one will instantly stick.

Also on the album is a song called ‘Where kindred spirits meet’. Based on a bass riff Gerry came up with during a jam session, it inspired Geert and made him grab his keyboard straight away. The song is about when someone passes away, most religions believe that the person transcends to a different stage, an afterlife. Even considering it from a mere scientific point of view, one has to wonder where the deceased person’s energy has gone to – the principle of conservation of energy still seems to apply in the global universe. ‘Where kindred spirits meet’ is a journey into the metaphysical, an ode to those who have left us – and a message that they will not be forgotten.

What is a live Beyond The Labyrinth show like for those of us who have yet to see you play?
At the upcoming shows our main focus is to promote the new album of course! But that does not mean we forget the two previous albums. We always aim for a balanced setlist, a perfect blend of songs from the 3 albums.

A new fan can expect to see five passionate musicians, putting heart and soul into a journey through the Beyond The Labyrinth discography, no bullshit – just the band, the fans, and the music.

You did some shows in support of Pagan’s Mind. How did you wind up on the shows and have you ever opened for them before?
How Geert was able to arrange these gigs is even a secret to me ;o) Through out the years we built up our own database and network. While it remains hard work to do your own management, when the opportunity arises to support a band like Pagan’s Mind, its what keeps you going!

This is the first time we played with Pagan’s Mind. The shows rocked, it was a blast to share the stage with such an awesome band. In addition to seeing our faithful crowd, our music was well received by Pagan’s Mind fans.

Who are some of the other bands you have opened for in the past, and what was the experience like?
Next to bands like Pain of Salvation and Riverside, we did some gigs with Threshold and we have supported the legendary Uriah Heep in Antwerp (Belgium). It was an amazing time! Not only do we consider it an honor to have played with these bands but we‘ve learned a lot about life on the road and what its like to work with real pro’s. For example, the guys from Threshold – it was really impressive to witness such a well-oiled team (band + crew) preparing everything for the show. They were really the most down to earth and friendly guys around!

If this is Gerry, what has it been like working with Helena Michaelsen and Imperia and would Imperia and Beyond The Labyrinth ever want to do some shows or tour together?
I’ll ask Gerry to send you an email ;o) As far as touring together, we’ve never discussed the subject, but as for many things in life, never say never…

Has Beyond The Labyrinth ever played here in the States or plan to do so in the future?
It sounds very tempting for us, as a European band, to be able to play gigs in the States. In reality, financially it’s not easy to fork out that amount of money and everyone having time off from their day job. That is unless an organizer or booking agency out there can come up with an offer we can’t refuse ;o)

As for now there are no American dates on our agenda, but if the right opportunity comes along we’d be very excited to book the flights !

How did Asia lead singer John Payne become involved with your song From Eternity and did you get to meet him and score free Asia concert tickets?
I was contacted one day by American keyboard player, Lisa LaRue, who was working on a new album – Lisa LaRue Project 2K9 – “World Class” featuring the participation of musicians from around the world. Lisa proposed to do a remake of Beyond The Labyrinth’s song “For Eternity”. As the project progressed she announced John would be contributing some extra backing vocals for the recording. Being a huge Asia, and especially a John Payne fan, it was like a dream come true!

Thanks to modern technology we’ve never met in person and I still order my tickets like anyone else ;o) The biggest compliment and satisfaction is having one of our original songs re-recorded by an established artist like Lisa and one of our all time heroes contributing some great vocals on it.

What’s up next for Beyond The Labyrinth?
We have quite some gigs in Europe on our agenda and at the moment it’s full focus on promoting the new album. Later this year we hope to dive into the rehearsal room again and start writing some new tracks for a 4th album.

Any final words of wisdom?
No words of wisdom but we do hope that everyone who has read this interview is curious to discover our music. Beyond The Labyrinth will probably remain hard to categorize but due to our vast musical influences we appeal to a wide audience of classic rock, AOR and symphonic or progressive rock/metal.

(Interview by Kenneth Morton)

Beyond The Labyrinth Official Homepage