Cinos Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 Well, I just got this album, and it's GOLD I tell you. Pure gold. This rivals the most epic classics with good results! Conquistador part II is mindblowing fantastic... it makes me start to do dancing moves even when I'm just sitting by my computer... omfg. More details later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaman of sound Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 truly amazing masterpiece.... but i steel think that "Bible of Dreams" is the best Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pedro Posted April 2, 2005 Share Posted April 2, 2005 Good heavens! I find this album absolutely awful. I am competely astonished at the rave reviews. The album starts off poorly and it does not get much better. When the childish mock-devil voices (oo-la-la.....so scary!) started in Conquistador 2 I could not help shaking my head. I suppose this type of song is okay in a heavy metal concert for the kids who listen to it. Other songs offer little improvement. Mutant Messenger begins harmlessly before a 'tired' chorus comes in, the kiddie-devil wordings appear once again and then not even the 5th grade short piano melody saves the day. Have a listen to songs like 'Giant', to see a full demonstration of Juno Reactor's complete lack of musical ideas. Crap for dancing. Crap for home listening. This type of music flatters to deceive. It all seems very grand and imposing at first hearing, but it is ultimately vacous and boring. It may be different from most psy trance releases - but does not make it innovative or indeed good quality. I suppose the insular nature of psy trance allows albums like these to get away from being murdered by critics and fans alike. Juno Reactor had already shown some signs of senility in some of the songs in Shango ('Pistolero' for example with its ha-ha Spanish influences). Do not fool yourselves. This CD is utter rubbish and does not compare with their older efforts such as Beyond the Infinite (which was grand!). I am obviously the minority and as such most of you will disagree. However, I would urge you to listen to the CDs (most of you do anyway) before purchasing. Don't be swayed by the 'masterpiece' labeling going on in this thread and buy it without reviewing it yourself. Pedro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinos Posted April 2, 2005 Share Posted April 2, 2005 NOT innovative? This album combines tribal, psy and orchestral with stunning results. It shows signs of a musical genius rivaling that of the old classical producers. Like C II, where every tribal grunt complements the other, and boosts the song to incredible levels, where the drums conjure up some sort of primeval atmosphere that simply forces your body to move along... Or like Zwara, which emulates some age-old ceremony, with people going deeper and deeper into trance. The vocals are just first-class. And Navras... words are not reqiured. This album is one of the best I've ever heard. Just buy and don't listen to those who can't understand it. Previously I also said: (though I can agree that war dogs & giant are a bit dull ) But now they have grown on me and I like both. Good heavens! I find this album absolutely awful. I am competely astonished at the rave reviews. The album starts off poorly and it does not get much better. When the childish mock-devil voices (oo-la-la.....so scary!) started in Conquistador 2 I could not help shaking my head. I suppose this type of song is okay in a heavy metal concert for the kids who listen to it. Other songs offer little improvement. Mutant Messenger begins harmlessly before a 'tired' chorus comes in, the kiddie-devil wordings appear once again and then not even the 5th grade short piano melody saves the day. Have a listen to songs like 'Giant', to see a full demonstration of Juno Reactor's complete lack of musical ideas. Crap for dancing. Crap for home listening. This type of music flatters to deceive. It all seems very grand and imposing at first hearing, but it is ultimately vacous and boring. It may be different from most psy trance releases - but does not make it innovative or indeed good quality. I suppose the insular nature of psy trance allows albums like these to get away from being murdered by critics and fans alike. Juno Reactor had already shown some signs of senility in some of the songs in Shango ('Pistolero' for example with its ha-ha Spanish influences). Do not fool yourselves. This CD is utter rubbish and does not compare with their older efforts such as Beyond the Infinite (which was grand!). I am obviously the minority and as such most of you will disagree. However, I would urge you to listen to the CDs (most of you do anyway) before purchasing. Don't be swayed by the 'masterpiece' labeling going on in this thread and buy it without reviewing it yourself. Pedro 239461[/snapback] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pedro Posted April 3, 2005 Share Posted April 3, 2005 NOT innovative? This album combines tribal, psy and orchestral with stunning results. It shows signs of a musical genius rivaling that of the old classical producers. 239471[/snapback] Sorry, mate, but the music is laughable. Just how difficult do you think it is to add the 'orchestral' bits to the psy a la Juno Reactor. It is pretentious and misguided. As I said in my previous post, it flatters to deceive. This type of music is overblown, silly and ineffective, only fooling those whose music taste have not fully developed and broadened. This superfluous adding of orchestra bit reminds me of those 1970s rock groups who used to engage in that type of attempts in order to prove that they were 'superior' musicians. Some groups, such as ELP, made a career of destroying classical music pieces, other would have live concerts with orchestras to make their point, etc, etc. Some of you people really do need to get out and listen to more different types of music before getting on this board and starting the sing the virtues of this CD. Or perhaps you are just being true to your love of heavy metal. Yesterday I went by one of my favourite record shops in London, Sister Ray in Soho, and I noticed that they placed Labyrinth in the heavy metal section. Not in the psy trance where you could find some of the other Juno output. I apologise for sounding so harsh but I really have to counter what I see as a sea of undeserved praise for an album that I see as an affront to good taste. In short, I find this album (1) infantile (2) pretentious and ultimately (3) boring. Just like those heavy metal albums that I am beginning to suspect a good percentage of the people on this board love... Pedro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinos Posted April 3, 2005 Share Posted April 3, 2005 I hate metal. But this album isn't NEAR metal. You're just confused. And besides, complaining about metal is not going to get you anywhere, it obviously has musical qualities as well, I just don't like it. I mean this verrry far from metal. This is pretentious, yes, but Juno manage to pull it off. Infantile my ass. I can't be arsed to continue this discussion. You're very much alone with that opinion. And I really don't think you're the one who's correct on this matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Time_Trap Posted April 3, 2005 Share Posted April 3, 2005 infantile ? NAVRAS is one of the best tracks everrrrr ... trippy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Towelie Posted April 3, 2005 Share Posted April 3, 2005 damn boring and overrated album and whole artist .. thats my opinion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonflier Posted April 6, 2005 Share Posted April 6, 2005 Listened to this album again recently, and I must say I am more and more impressed. Great album, up there among his best. Best album of 2004 for me without any doubt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indred Cold Posted June 11, 2005 Share Posted June 11, 2005 Just bought this yesterday & I must say I'm surprised how much I like it. The 2 songs from the Matrix are awesome. The only songs I don't really like are angels & man & the 1st half of conquitsador. I also think bible of dreams is better. 8/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Cocco Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 Juno Reactor - Labyrinth was one of the very best albums of 2004. Dark, light, imaginative, different, unique, thrilling, innovative, daring. Hopefully we won't have to wait another 5-7 years for them to release another main album! And they deserve more marketing attention (regarding their main albums) then they seem to get! B+ 2004 was such a great year for this music!! It's been all downhill from there, to date. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Posted January 6, 2006 Share Posted January 6, 2006 I find Labyrinth superb, maybe not my favourite Juno Reactor album but certainly their most accomplished. It's dark, powerful, at times almost religious, and fuses the best aspects from various styles to produce a soul-felt album. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ormion Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 It's not bad but definately commercial music IMO. 7/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qa2pir Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 I'm in my first listen, and it's very variable, jumping from ambient to dance floor chaos to weirditude to ultimate hydroblasting ethno-metal, back to dancefloor again and then down in the sewer to meet some weird mutants, then up to the surface for i superjointing abrahamic climaxe! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cosmogenesis Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 damn boring and overrated album and whole artist .. thats my opinion 239843[/snapback] I totally agree with you. Overrated album. I'm surprising that some people like it! Even if there is some good tracks, this album can't be compared with Shango or Bible of Dreams. I'm really disappointing about this album. It sounds more like cinematic "matrix" productions than a psychedelic release. The great psychedelic time of "Transmissions" album has definitely passed away! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chatnik aka alien Posted February 25, 2006 Share Posted February 25, 2006 Oh my i have this album.It's very very awsome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bahamut Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 Hmm well, I still like 2 or 3 tracks very much, same goes for the rest of their albums... they all have 2 or 3 very strong tracks, a couple of average tracks and some weaker ones. So I can't say I rate this lower than the other albums. It's just my specific taste.. Still a shame they made a mess of the mona lisa remix. The original version rocks and is one of my favorite JR tracks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frontier Psychiatrist Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 I'll have to agree this time with Otto Matta and to conclude that this is a brutal and over compressed album. Aside several brilliant tunes like Conquistadors Part 1 and Angels and Men (that was brutally raped by X-Dream later) the whole album holds you by the throat and doesn't let you breath for a second. After Shango that was IMHO their (his) best effort to date he fell into the Hollywood trap and released what can't be described other as Audial torture. My ears bled. 5/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 Point taken, but surely it's worth having for the beautiful Conquistadors Part 1 and Angels and Men. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abasio Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 I must admit I'm surprised at so many of the negative comments on this album! I really like this & it is my most played Juno Reactor album. The flow is a bit random going from slow to mental to really slow to insane but track for track it's really really good. My favourite JR album to date! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleepingzombie Posted March 16, 2007 Share Posted March 16, 2007 Liked very much track #1, with its film-style landscapes and pathos. Disliked #2 , even if the concept of the track is ok ("punk" vocals on a trip/hop base), maybe the riff didn't catch me enough. Disliked #3 and #4 : acoustic drums and string pads , original concept in a goa environment, but too much similar to any caothic production you can find on some demo-tapes released by "alternative" metal bands ... Unconditional love for #5 and #9 : these two tracks alone are worth the price of the cd, even if you have been not lobotomized by Matrix. Dislike melody of #6, but very good produced track. Like much #7 and #8. Surprised by this sudden chill-out with femal vocals, "flamenco" guitars and very melancholic and "out-of mind" mood. Rate . Experimental (even if not every result is good), amazing atmosphere, two of the best tracks ever released with a 4/4 kick, and a great chill out interleave . Really worth buying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goa Bill Posted March 17, 2007 Share Posted March 17, 2007 Point taken, but surely it's worth having for the beautiful Conquistadors Part 1 and Angels and Men.Yep, those are amazing tunes. Still can't listen to it from beginning to the end without getting a headache. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kai-Q Posted August 28, 2007 Share Posted August 28, 2007 After a Long time I got yesterday the CD, I listened it and I must say I'm a little bit dissapointed from this album. It is a little bit boring. I don't like the flameco parts in some songs and sounds for me more like cinematic "Matrix" productions than a psychedelic release too. In Zwara I don't like this very often shoutet word: Zwara Zwaara Zwaaaaraaa. This stresst me, get on my nerves. As a whole is for my taste includes this CD too much female voices (they whining to much). I don't know, but somehow I think people like Mike Maguire, Stephane Holweck, Johann Bley and Paul Jackson are missing in Juno Reactor. This CD is not bad, but it is not good too. It is simply, from all JR albums, the weakest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Matta Posted September 1, 2007 Share Posted September 1, 2007 Huh. Somehow my review went missing. Damn censors. Anyway, crap album. Really bad. Hollywood cheese factory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Cocco Posted September 9, 2007 Share Posted September 9, 2007 JUNO REACTOR - LABYRINTH 2004 *Updated* September 2007 1 - Conquistador 1 (6:02) - B+ 2 - Conquistador 2 (5:06) - B+ 3 - Giant (4:00) - B- 4 - War Dogs (5:00) - B+ 5 - Mona Lisa Overdrive (4:45) - A 6 - Zwara (6:35) - A- 7 - Mutant Message (6:10) - B+ 8 - Angels And Men (7:07) - B 9 - Navras (9:06) - A First came Transmissions in 1993, an album totally beyond and underrated in its time. A- Luciana arrived in 1995. An extended, experimental, dark ambient piece that really tests the listeners patience. It's around 1 hour long. There are no beats or melodies or breaks. I did not enjoy this underrated self-titled album track but it's definitey artistic and unique. Love it, hate it, or admire it. You decide. Rating N/A Beyond the Infinite released around 1995. It is to this day a killer release. Many people considered it their greatest album along with... B+ Bible of Dreams arrived in 1996/97. I didn't like it at first, but its grown on me ever since. B+ Shango released in 1999 was very diverse in style, songs, and seemed like their most ethic album to date. This again was one of the best albums of the year and personally I think it's arguably their greatest piece yet. A- Than 5 or 6 years went by and Juno Reactor only seemed to pop up once in a while with a single or singles on a soundtrack (Matrix Reloaded / Revolutions) here and there. Labyrinth Juno Reactor's fifth main album (4th one to hold a list of new tracks) proves they still have it in them. It's interesting to see the mixed reactions on such an ambitious album. Pretentious? I won't argue that. But so are the people who tote what they feel as facts including myself. I think Labyrinth is a post-trance cinematic triumph. It's innnovative. I don't think every song is great. Some I find less developed and satisfying compared to others. Sure I consider Mono Lisa Overdrive and Nevras(!) super songs for what they are whether you like them or not. When I first got this album in 2004 and close to when they appeared on the Matrix Reloaded soundtrack I was a little disappointed. I thought the first track was great. However parts of the album seemed too motion picture-esque. Some songs felt angelic while others felt empty, or repetitive and heavy with little substance. And then back to angelic again, the overall album. I even had trouble enjoying Nevras on here initially because at first it reminded me of the opening credits coming up at the end of Matrix Revolutions (disappointing movie too!!) where my mind first heard and associated the song. This sucked for me because I thought the song was one of the coolest things about the movie. I walked out the theater feeling better about the movie because of the awesome song igniting the opening credits before I had time to comprehend the overall film and how shallow an amazing debut cult-classic gem had become by its visually awesome (at times) and misguided sequels. For instance, the fight for mankind and freedom was based on a fist fight with a once intimidating now jaded villain?! Shit, I thought the first one was so much more. The FIRST Matrix film left us relating and pondering our own world while the sequels turned all of that awareness (more so into Revolutions) into a big, dumb (however cool looking at times) -- with little substance and moments in philosphical talk to compensate for depth in plot, action movie! But under different times of day and as time went by I ended up enjoying this album far more than I did at first. I have to be in the right mood because it's much to take in. And I think Labyrinth is as epic as it sounds. The first song compliments the second song as if darkness (War) takes place after peace (Light). And it builds into an evergrowing ethnic, tribal, chanting world of driving melodies and dance beats. Something tells me the tracks on this album present a symbolic fight between angels and demons. It establishes the beauty in track one, the anger in track two, and then the war soon begins. Labyrinth at times can be like experiencing a big event or show through audio and this is why I believe some people find it as impressive as others find it well, not. And that doesn't mean or is the main reason per say why everyone will like or dislike this. Everyone feels differently towards something and that something grows on them differently. I find every Juno Reactor album ever produced unique, artistic, intriguing, and with greatness. Each one is so different from the other. Fortunately they all seem to have a strong tribal/ethnic as well as a light/dark element and emphesis. They've kept their style of beats and drums which I couldn't imagine enjoying without since even Juno Reactor attempted an entire beatless album with their extremely artistic but more admirable than enjoyable Luciana in my opinion. So they've done alot. They've taken many risks and not everyone is going to like everything they've done. If I were to complain I'd say track 3, Giant sounds like a song that didn't make the Matrix soundtracks cut. I don't like track 3 very much at all. In conclusion, there are songs on Labyrinth that are so powerful, unique, catchy, interesting, fun, dark and light. Whether you love it or hate it, Labyrinth is a huge, stand out album. Juno Reactor again pulls it off again. Their style with voices, drums, tribal and goa influences exist here as well. Labyrinth is one of the best albums of 2004. JR's style and sound has matured even more. They've tried somethings different here and certain tracks have more of a soundtrack composed feel than others but in the right mood I appreciate the epic, cimematic feel. Fortunately JR has fused their tribal trance and battle clash symbolism and sounds into the mix. Here it sounds more grandeur than ever in my opinion. I've always admired that no other artist sounds like Juno and vice-versa. Favorite Tracks - 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9. B+ Samples: http://www.saikosounds.com/english/display...ase.asp?id=4396 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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