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Style: Progressive metal (Clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Dream Theater, Pagan’s Mind, Circus Maximus
Country: Norway
Release date: 27 March 2026

Have you ever thought to yourself “What if Dream Theater’s Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence had instead been produced by an amateur independent band releasing their first album in fourteen years?” Me neither! But luckily for all of us, Dimension Act have that particular extremely specific hypothetical situation covered. Following up their 2012 debut, Manifestation of Progress, Labyrinths of Life arrives an additional fourteen years late to capitalize on the trend of Dream Theater mimicry that was already starting to become tired towards the end of the first Obama presidency. It’s got solos! It’s got anemic yet heartfelt vocals! It’s even got a thirty-six-minute epic split into eight individual tracks for no reason except to spite the sickos who listen to prog music on shuffle. For better or for worse, all the hallmarks of 2010s prog metal have been faithfully recondensed into this album.

You may have seen this genre of album artwork before. “Dude, what if the brain was a maze?!” And if that’s the case, you’ve almost certainly heard this sub-genre of prog metal before. Yes, it’s extremely derivative of Dream Theater, but over decades of self-contained evolution that realm of the underground has developed its own distinctive traits. Dimension Act‘s own hiatus for a decade and change isn’t a death sentence for progressive bands; plenty have returned from similarly long interludes with a more developed perspective and a greater clarity of purpose allowing them to produce some of their most refined works. On the surface, Labyrinths of Life has some hallmarks that might suggest it falls into that category. The guitar and keyboard parts ring out with clear intention as they construct the layered soundscapes that serve as substrate for the main vocal themes. The vocals themselves are equally well produced and reach for a cinematic tone to tug at your heartstrings. Upon closer inspection, though, have Dimension Act made the wait worthwhile?

The answer, in the end, is a slightly complex “No.” As discussed, the base-level competence of the musicians is pretty high, and the end result isn’t itself unpleasant to listen to. It is, however, annoyingly generic and forgettable—nowhere near the worst that I’ve heard for any of my reviews, but still a grating experience to have to listen to repeatedly. Despite the emotional tones adopted by singer Tom-Vidar Salangli and guest vocalist Marica Moire, the actual composition of the vocal melodies sounds regrettably uninspired, filled with the same circuitous ramblings that plague so many Dream Theater imitators (although in fairness, that makes for a more accurate mimicry of the original). The drum part is the one blemish on the production front, but it’s a big one. The tom hits and blast beats sound dull and hollow, bringing to mind a crayon drawing scribbled over a piece of art on the wall. Briefly—ever so briefly—on the last two tracks of the album, it sounds like Dimension Act might finally be finding their footing. The instrumental parts come to the front, Salangli stretches to his most operatic range, and for a moment a sense of real emotion hangs in the air. The illusion shatters in the final seconds, though, as the main character awakens and wonders aloud the ultimate cliche ending, “Where am I?” Frankly, at that point I would rather be anywhere that’s farther away from whatever audio device is currently playing Labyrinths of Life.

Real talk: the instrumental work by the guitars, bass, and keyboards throughout Labyrinths of Life are the one component that’s better than serviceable. They’re the sole highlight left to us poor interlopers forced to listen to mediocre progressive metal for the sake of producing more content for the content gods. Extended instrumental solo sections surface throughout the many movements of “Blurring the Lines of Mortal Existence,” and honestly, they’re the only thing that kept me sane while I was obliged to listen to this album enough times to write a coherent review of it. “II: Decipher the Past” and “IV: Ad Astra” would be the most memorable portions as a result of their flowery instrumental solos and bridges if they weren’t inundated in the utter forgettability of the rest of the piece. The penultimate “VII: Another Fight” has the distinction of being the only fully instrumental movement, which is a strong choice for nearing the end of the album even if it still feels a little like a tired tribute to the band’s predecessors. In a more competent composition, this segment could be the climax. It has emotional impact. It develops. The listener exits the compact five-minute runtime with a clear understanding of the real musical talents that Dimension Act possess. Alas, adrift within the deserted ocean of Labyrinths of Life, the best this track can hope to receive is a few backhanded compliments from a jaded reviewer like myself.

If anyone reading this is an artist in your own right, don’t ever let anyone tell you that a bombastic, self-aggrandizing presentation style won’t make people love you. To be clear, it won’t, but if more prog musicians followed that advice, the music scene as a whole would be far more boring. You don’t have to listen to me, though. Listen to Labyrinths of Life and see how many elements you can make note of where a little more self-awareness might have improved the end product—I’ve got at least five. On the bright side, Dimension Act‘s final product provides a fascinating time capsule of prog metal from the faraway time of the 2010s. Plus, we can count our lucky stars that Dream Theater never stooped to producing mediocre, over-ambitious silliness like this.

…Oh. Oh no.

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Recommended tracks: Pick any three parts of “Blurring the Lines of Mortal Existence” at random and that should be all you need
You may also like: Seventh Wonder, Vanden Plas, DGM, Anubis Gate, Virtual Symmetry, Anthriel, ZeroGravity
Final verdict: 4/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook

Label: Independent

Dimension Act is:
– Tom-Vidar Salangli (vocals)
– Marius Nilsen (guitars, additional keyboards)
– Ketil Ronold (keyboards)
– Tommy Granli (bass)
– Frank Nordeng Røe (drums)
With guest:
– Marica Moire (vocals, “The Greater Good”)