Jorn Lande has to be the busiest guy in the metal universe as he seems to be involved in squillions of bands and projects. However, he was the last member to join Masterplan after the two ex-Helloween members, Roland Grapow and Uli Kusch asked him to join.
Produced by Andy Sneap, this album first saw the light of day in 2003 and if you like your metal powered up with plenty of melody then you should be paying attention, this version comes with three Bonus tracks. For a debut album, this sure is a belter and the addition of Jorn on vocals was a master stroke, as he has one hell of a voice and lifts the songs to a whole new level of awesome. He has the ability to turn that voice into whatever he wants.
Crystal Night has Jorn giving it the Ronnie Dio treatment with a more gruff addition to his velvet tones, and Roland Grapow’s guitar tone is awesome. This is one ripper of a tune. Enlighten Me was released as a single and Jorn turns his voice to a more commercial vibe on this one. Crawling From Hell is my favourite because Mr. Grapow gives it all the beans and more with some guitar pyrotechnics and Jorn wailing away by his side.
Great band, great record. Buy.
9/10 from The Grooveman.
