Genre: Goa trance / Multi-genre trance
Juno Reactor is one of the trance groups that you can get into no matter what type of music you enjoy. The group consists mainly of Ben Watkins and his partner at the time being. Most recent partners have been Mike Macguire and Jens Waldenback with Macguire being the current one. The group was originally formed in 1991 as an ambient trance duo of Watkins and his partner at that time. Throughout the years of creating music, their sound evolved into a genre mixing, tribalistic compositions of electronic and actual instruments. Watkins has also been working on soundtracks and in collaboration with remarkable soundtrack makers as well as a large amount of different types of musical instrument players.
Labyrinth is the latest piece of artistic talent from Ben Watkins and it truly is a masterpiece of electronic music. Combining tribalistic sounds, talented non-english vocalists and the skills of Don Davis, the composer for the soundtrack of the Matrix trilogy, this album will satisfy every aspect of your musical needs.
1. Conquistador I - 6:02
The listener gets an atmoshperic feeling right from the beginning of the song as you feel like you're drifting through the pages of history with a beautiful woman's voice echoing in the background. Acoustic guitars are introduced after one minute of playing but they fade away as the female vocalist steps in again. Electronic instruments get left in the back as the guitar peacefully guides the listener through the song. The ending prepares you for the next track on the album that has an outstanding opener.
8.5/10
2. Conquistador II - 5:06
Contunuing from where the part I left off with a fast-paced bass thumping with words of a foreign language and tribal drums. The vocals are of a native speaker and this really makes the song more pleasant to the ear as I despise how English speakers try to pronounce different languages in songs and fail.
Tribalistic feeling is strengthened when you can hear a whole tribe shouting and the bass keeps on beating a steady rhythm. The guitar, which was introduced in Part I, is featured for a short while as well. It gives the song a little pause.
The final minutes of the song are climbing up to the climax of the song, which is the absolute end when all music stops and the wildness halts.
8.5/10
3. Giant - 4:00
Probably the roughest song on the album. The female vocalists in this song sound something like Anastacia in some parts and Tarja Turunen (the ex-singer of Nightwish) is some parts, even though they're technically not even singing. This track also has the drums, which are a part of almost every song on the album. Even though the vocals and fast bass beat give the song some activity, it still lacks something what the first two tracks had.
7/10
4. War Dogs - 5:00
The beginning could be confused with actual rock, but once the percussion is in, there will be no mistake of where this song is going. So far this is the most psychedelic song on the album. The guitar and the vocals combined with the percussion give you the feeling that you would be somewhere in the Central America amongst Mayans or another similar lost culture.
Modway through the song, the listener gets what they were waiting for - a halt that gives you the eager feeling of what's coming up next. Unfortunately, the ending only brings nothing new to the song.
7.5/10
5. Mona Lisa Overdrive - 4:45
The track has nothing to do with the painting in my opinion, but the beat is as intriguing as Mona Lisa's smile. You get the feeling as if you were running away from something deep in the jungle, with all these tribesmen shouting next to you. Or like you were going to war in the ancient times. Nonetheless, the song is quite aggressive and has a fast tempo. The female vocalist calms the song down a little, but you can't really relax. Around halfway through the song, there occurs a halt and the beat changes a little with different instruments being included once in a while.
Exceptional track and deserves a second listen.
9/10
6. Zwara - 6:35
The first song on the album that features the psychedelic side of traditional goa trance. The mystical atmosphere starts right from the beginning of the track. Whispering vocals, moderately fast beat and some background sounds are the main ingredients of this track - just like in any basic psychedelic or goa trance song. There is no factor for making the song catchy but the random shouts and sounds mixed with some percussion really make you want to go further and further into the music.
8/10
7. Mutant Message - 6:10
Another quite trippy track. Mutant Message is a lot slower than the track before it, but it still maintains the psychedelic feeling well enough to keep up the atmosphere. Unfortunately this is one of those tracks that don't instantly grasp your attention, but stay as some kind of a background music. Meaning that you really have to concentrate on the music if you want to get the most out of it.
6.5/10
8. Angels and Men - 7:07
Probably the calmest and most beautiful track on the whole album. Taz Alexander's voice is perfectly suitable for creating a slowly progressing vocal tempo, which works very well with the slow percussion. There's nothing too special to say about this song, because it's quite repetitive, but the calmness and the ambient feeling to it really make up for it.
8/10
9. Navras - 9:06
Anyone who likes opera, will enjoy Navras, everyone who likes multigenre combinations of music, will love Navras and everyone who appreaciates Juno Reactor, will adore them ever more after listening to this masterpiece. By combining different types of vocals (sung in different languages), a fast bass beat and a variety of instruments Juno Reactor has created the piece that can be identified as their music. There is nothing to dislike in this track, because among the fast phases there are peaceful parts, where you can hear one of the most psychedelic instruments in my opinion, a flute.
Even if you are not a huge fan of electronic music, this is a song worth listening nonetheless. The 9-minute visit to other cultures will satisfy your musical needs in every possible aspect. Simply perfect. This is the kind of an ending that every album should have.
10/10
Overall score: 8/10