Australian musical project Dead Can Dance was formed in 1981 by Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry in Melbourne, later relocating to London in May 1982. Music historian Ian McFarlane described Dead Can Dance's style as 'constructed soundscapes of mesmerising grandeur and solemn beauty, African polyrhythms, Gaelic folk, Gregorian chant, Middle Eastern mantras and art rock'.

Released in 1993, Into The Labyrinth is Dead Can Dance’s sixth album. One of their most successful releases, its title is a reference to the Greek legend of Theseus going into the Labyrinth to slay the Minotaur. It came when Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard had embarked on more individual personal paths, now writing their songs independent of one another, and on separate continents. Engineered and produced by Brendan at his Quivvy Church studio in Ireland, the album is an audiophile benchmark and also noted for being their first without any guests, instead they played all the instruments.

The 2016 LP version is also a double LP like the original release, but comes with brand new artwork and an altered track sequence.

Formed in Australia in the early 80s by Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry, Dead Can Dance had veered away from the punk explosion towards a more non-conformist style. But finding the music scene unreceptive they moved to London, landed a record deal with 4AD and embarked on a career with the label that would last seventeen years.

Highly respected artists with a loyal global fanbase, Gerrard and Perry consistently made music full of integrity and passion. Both immensely talented vocalists - Gerrard with her inimitable, mesmeric style and Perry’s haunting baritone - they were also gifted, instinctive musicians and their melding of traditional instruments with samplers created a bridge between ancient and modern music.

"With a regular American deal in place for the first time ever, thanks to 4AD's linkup with the WEA conglomerate, Dead Can Dance made a splash on commercial alternative radio with "The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove," the first single from Into the Labyrinth. Raga drones, a strange clattering beat, a haunting wind instrument, orchestral shading, and Perry's ever-grand voice make it one of the more unlikely things to be heard on the airwaves in a while. It all begins with yet another jaw-dropper from Gerrard, "Yulunga (Spirit Dance)," with keyboards and her octave-defying voice at such a deep, rich level that it sweeps all before it. Wordless as always but never without emotional heft, the song slowly slides into a slow but heavy percussion piece that sounds a bit like "Bird" from A Passage in Time, but with greater impact and memorability. As the album slowly unwinds over an hour's length, the two again create a series of often astounding numbers that sound like they should be millennia old, mixing and matching styles to create new fusions. Perhaps even more impressive is that everything was performed solely by Perry and Gerrard -- no outside guests here, and yet everything is as detailed, lush, and multifaceted as many of their past albums. New classics from the band appear almost track for track: Gerrard's a cappella work on "The Wind That Shakes the Barley," the gentle beauty of "Ariadne," the rhythmic drive and chants of the title song. The conclusion is a slightly surprising but quite successful cover -- "How Fortunate the Man With None," an adaptation of a classic Bertolt Brecht tune about the turn of fortune's wheel. Given a restrained arrangement and Perry's singing, it brings Labyrinth to a satisfying end." - Ned Raggett, All Music

Track Listing:

01. Yulunga (Spirit Dance)
02. The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove
03. The Wind That Shakes The Barley
04. The Carnival Is Over
05. Ariadne
06. Saldek
07. Towards The Within
08. Tell Me About The Forest (You Once Called Home)
09. The Spider's Stratagem
10. Emmeleia
11. How Fortunate The Man With None
12. Bird
13. Spirit

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