An absolute supergroup that on its first two albums consisted of: vocalist Jorn Lande (Jorn, Mundanus Imperium, Ark, etc.), guitarist Roland Grapow and drummer Uli Kusch (both - Helloween), bassist Jan S. Eckert (Iron Savior), and drummer Axel Mackenrott. The quintet debuted with a self-titled album in 2003, followed by sophomore release, "Aeronautics" (2005). Then the ever-expected changes took place, and both Lande and Kusch departed, replaced by, respectively, Mike DiMeo (Riot) and Mike Terrana (Yngwie Malmsteen, Rage), thus still retaining the "supergroup" status.
ENLIGHTEN ME (2002) EP
RATING: ***1/2
The main song, "Enlighten Me," is a perfect Jorn Lande song: heavy, proggy, melodic, and full of soaring vocals. It would easily fit on his solo albums or Beyond Twilight releases). The video for it is pretty standard, but cool nonetheless. "Through Thick And Thin" is unnecessarily soft. The best song here is "Kind-Hearted Light" -- it's an anthemic power-prog masterpiece, and rocks all the way. As for "Black Dog," I must admit that I hate the original Led Zepellin song and I have no fond feelings towards this one either. That's about it for this one.
MASTERPLAN (2003)
RATING: ****1/2
BEST SONGS: "Kind-Hearted Light," "Crystal Night," "Sail On"
A prog-power album of extremely high quality. Songs are well written, well executed and overall well crafted. All Masterplan members are superb musicians (especially Uli) and Jorn and Uli are very talented songwriters, as their resume clearly indicates. They take on pretty serious issues: from adventures of the human spirit to neo-Nazis. "Kind-Hearted Light" still remains my favorite song. "Heroes" features non-other than Michael Kiske (of You Know Who) and he sounds awesome. The music ranges from melodic power metal ("Heroes," "Sail On") to heavy aggresion ("Crystal Night," "Crawling From Hell") to the proggier approach ("Into The Light"). Jorn showcases his huge emotional range, from sweet to malicious, and it's cool. But something is missing. Sometimes I feel like this album sounds too derivative and evokes the unwelcomed "i think i've heard it before" thought. On most occasions I'm willing to overlook it, but I can't help it. The cd sounds a bit too controlled and polished, as if all of its great energy was carefully watched and directed. Some "unleashing" wouldn't hurt. But it's a fine piece of work nonetheless, and well worth checking out.
AERONAUTICS (2005)
RATING: ****
BEST SONGS: "Crimson Rider," "Falling Sparrow," "Black In The Burn"
Pretty much, more of the same, business as usual in the typical northern European supergroup. Quality musicianship from everybody, highlighted by spirited performance from Mr. Lande, and solid songwriting. The production (by Andy Sneap) is terrific: the man can make anything sound perfect, regardless of the style (he also produced Kreator's "Enemy Of God" the same year). The role of a keyboard player in Masterplan is always increased, because there is only one guitar, and Axel Mackenroft delivers with "flying" colors. The focus of the songwriting changed a little bit: it is not as anthemic (no "Kind-Hearted Light" or "Crystal Night" or "Heroes" of the debut), instead the lyrics become more introspective, reflecting one person's emotions and aspirations. No more of "we," now it's mostly "I." Musically, the band has become rather predictable. The songs are mostly what we have come to expect of them, and, while it certainly going to keep some fans happy, it is a sure road to stagnation. Anyhow, there is still plenty of good material, full of charming melodic riffs, to sink your teeth in: speedy "Crimson Rider," "Wounds," and "Falling Sparrow" and mid-tempo "I'm Not Afraid" (a very nice buildup), "Into The Arena," and "Dark From The Dying." I find "Headbanger's Ballroom" a little silly, and secondary to Dio's "lost children" anthems of 80s. "Into The Arena" comes fairly close to being an anthem, and it is a good piece (Jorn shines here), just a little short of a true hymn, and the title has absolutely nothing to do with the song itself! Album's best tracks are those with both energy and melodically expressed self-doubt, like "Wounds," "I Am Not Afraid," and "Falling Sparrow," although more "true metal" "Crimson Rider" is very good. The first single, "Back For My Life," is just too formulaic, reminiscing (or should I say "reeking"?) of Whitesnake. The only real surprise is the album-concluding epic "Black In The Burn": it would look good on any and every Jorn work, and is up with the best of them. It has it all: tempo changes, melancholic piano parts (think Savatage), neat guitar harmonies, hammering riffs, shredding solos, anthemic (yep!) chorus, soaring vocals from Jorn, and angry-yet-positive message in the text. Overall: a fine album, but not something that I would deem "instant classic" at this point in my life.
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