Masterplan - Time To Be King (10 tracks) +Album Reviews

Good album, but probably their weakest

Ulic Qel-Droma | Houston, TX | 05/26/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Masterplan hasn't had an album since 2007 and now Jørn Lande is back and he is as good as ever. Unfortunately, the album isn't.

Masterplan and Aeronautics are solid 5 stars for me even though some of their songs were either fillers or a tad weird ("Bleeding Eyes", "Into the Light" on Masterplan, "Dark from the Dying" on Aeronautics). Mike DiMeo did a good job on MK II and I like the album enough to give it 4 stars.

Time To Be King is not a bad album by any means; I bet that if this is your first Masterplan album you're going to be impressed. If you listened to them all along, it's all stuff you've heard before, but less punchier and I think less elaborate too. The musicianship is very good, but they seem to lack (new) inspiration although the cohesion of the group is obvious: Mike Terrana is really good on vocals and Grapow matches him on vocals. Keyboards, although plenty present, don't feel as punchier as before.

The album starts off pretty good with "Fiddle Of Time" (excellent riffing and drumming), continues with the very catchy "Blow Your Winds", but then it starts trailing off pretty abruptly after the middle of the album. "The Sun Is In Your Hands" starts feeling like filler songs. "Blue Europa" is catchy, but the way he sings the chorus - I don't know, it just felt weird. "The Black One" is another catchy one (powerful bass work and the keyboards felt more like early Masterplan) towards the end of the album.

Overall, the lyrics are not very inspiring either (particularly "Blue Europa" which tells a fairly incoherent story of WWII).

Overall, I liked the album, but I'm slightly biased as the first two Masterplan albums are part of my "Always Favorite" playlist, which I guess makes me a bit of a fan. But when compared against their previous work, I just couldn't find as appetizing. I don't know, maybe it'll grow on me."

Jorn does it again!!

JP | Macon, GA | 07/09/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Well, Jorn Lande is back and you can definitely tell! While the "Jornless" Masterplan albums were by NO means bad albums, there was still something missing, that certain "something" that Jorn brings to every project he is involved in.

And, on "Time to Be King" he brought it back in abundance!! This might even be my favorite Masterplan album of all, though time will tell because I do realize some of my enthusiasm is probably due to it simply being new material (see the other, less favorable, reviews). But don't let that stop you, this is an excellent album and, if you are a Jorn fan you should already have it or at least have it on your wish list!

The 8th track, The Black One, is the stand out track but several others (Blow Your Winds, Blue Europa, Far From the End of the World, and the title track) also caught my ear upon first listen. And I would swear that the bonus track, Kisses From You, was a Queen cover if it wasn't credited to the band. When you hear it don't tell me it doesn't remind you of songs like "You're My Best friend" and "Somebody To Love"!!

Overall an outstanding album and, between this and Jorn's recent solo album Spirit Black, he seems to be having a banner year!! Can't wait to hear what's next, I saw where another Allen/Lande album is due this year!! And just maybe, with his increasing popularity, he'll finally commit to a full-blown tour of the US and not just hit festivals.

"

A new direction for `Masterplan's' fourth album!

Nikiforos V. Skoumas | Athens Greece, Cambridge UK | 07/04/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Fourth album by highly acclaimed European melodic/power metal band `Masterplan'; as most are aware `Time to be king' sees the return of original vocalist and metal icon Jorn Lande. I will have to agree with the above reviews in the fact that `Masterplan' does indeed sound considerably different than on their previous works despite the fact that they have now come closer to the original line up. Allow me to argue that the material on `Time to be king' might sound a bit simpler or more direct than their previous works as part of their new musical direction:

The sticker on the limited edition of the album list five(!!!) out of the eleven tracks as `hit songs'; so even before playing the album I suspected that the band might be following a considerably hit-oriented approach on `Time to be king' hence a conscious effort to simply musical progressions in order to appeal to a wider rock/metal audience beyond the genre of progressive/power metal.

So I would like to review the album on account of what it is set to achieve (instead of comparing it with previous `Masterplan' works).

As previously the role of keyboards (courtesy of Axel Mackenrott) is substantial, coming up with relevant melodies that are carried throughout each song. Guitarist Roland Grapow follows a subtle approach to his guitar playing; rhythmically he does not overcharge the songs with chords, cleverly bringing to front the melodic elements of each track. Mike Terrana for most stands as a guarantee behind the drum kit offering consistent double bass attack, however without being unreasonably fast, which also gives one time to appreciate the arrangements within the rhythm section.

I have to say this is indeed the most direct album and probably the most aggressive vocal performance that Jorn has put on a `Masterlan' release; He uses very little of his bass vocals instead he focuses more on his mid range which also makes for an admirable performance especially if you consider that this new album has more lyrics (words per musical line) than any of the previous. (Best example would be the opening track `Fiddle of time' where Jorn has to sing 45 words in less than 20 seconds during the song's chorus.)

Hence, despite the more hit-oriented approach `Time to be king' still challenges the band's musical abilities only on a different level this time. And I must admit they largely succeed on what they set out to do; `Far from the end of the world' and `Fiddle of time' wage a power metal attack from their first second to the last; `Blow your winds' and `Lonely winds of war' on the other hand captivate the listener with their delicately melodic arrangements. So I suppose the bottom line would be that regardless of direction, `Time to be king' indeed offers a good number of memorable high quality songs that are expected to engage the listener for quite some time.

The limited edition of the album comes with a slightly different cover- the crown is an emblem instead of a photo; while also including an additional 11th track `Kisses from you'.

"Rockhard" Greek magazine (issue 52) marks this album with 8,5/10 commenting: "A complete album, full of substance from a band whose line up would not allow for anything less."

"Metal Hammer" Greek magazine (issue 307) marks this album with 8/10 commenting: "Heavy, serious, mature and dark- introducing a new era of power metal"

"

Good, but not their best album

wizey | Margate, Tasmania, Australia | 06/13/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Man was I looking forward to this album, so when I first heard the single Far From The End Of The World I was actually taken aback because it was far less than I expected from this band. Not that it's a bad song mind you, but it really isn't anything special either. But I took some comfort from past experiences where on many occasions great bands have tended to release as singles songs which I have considered to be the weakest on the album. Disappointment followed however, as my opinion of the single became my opinion of the album Time To Be King as a whole. Initially I was not impressed at all with Masterplan's latest full length offering, despite the return of Jorn Lande to the fold. After persevering with it though I must say it has grown on me to some degree. Especially the song Blue Europa which I initially thought was the worst song on the album, it has now turned out to be a favorite. I like it's aggressive riffing and darker tone, and whilst the lyrical theme is somewhat unclear I think it's pretty gutsy for a German band to tackle what is probably still a pretty sensitive subject for the German people, i.e. their Nazi past (this is not the first time for them though - check out Crystal Night on their first album).

Other highlights for me are:

Blow Your Winds. A song very much like the classics on their first album.

Lonely Winds Of War. Great balance of light and shade, Jorn sounding cool as ever.

Under The Moon. My favorite song on the album which again has that balance of light and shade and a fine vocal performance from Jorn.

These songs plus Blue Europa have what it is that I like so much from the first two Masterplan albums in that they combine great power riffs, Jorn's superb vocals, a balance of light and shade to create tone and atmosphere, yet remaining melodic at the same time. In essence; superb song writing skills. Had they delivered another four songs this good, even with a couple of standard/average songs, I would have ranked it up there with their first two albums. However the other six songs on Time To Be King simply fall short, and by quite a long way in my opinion.

The first song Fiddle Of Time has grown on me but it has a key board riff that no matter how hard I try, I just find annoying because it makes me think of that Irish River Dance rubbish and spoils the song for me! The title track sounds somewhat disjointed and is let down by lack of a good chorus. Instead of going up a gear when it gets to the chorus it goes back one, and the song sounds forced. The Dark Road starts off sounding like something from Aeronautics, and the acoustic guitar and melody sound great. The pre-chorus builds the song ready to go to the next level but again it goes back and as a result this song could have been great, but instead also sounds forced. The Sun Is In Your Hands is melodic with an ok riff and catchy pre-chorus but is an average song that really goes nowhere and again sounds forced, especially when it speeds up. The Black One has a good riff and also has that Aeronautics sound but again suffers from an ordinary chorus. The chorus of a song should be the opportunity for Jorn to let loose and soar with the gods of rock, but on this album he is singing well within his comfort zone, turning out an adequate performance but not his best. I also think (and have done for a long time) that with such a great singer his voice needs to be brought out more in the mix.

I would be quite interested to know how the writing process evolved for this album. To me it sounds like they forced a lot of parts together to complete the puzzle as opposed to guys getting together, playing and exchanging ideas, capitalizing on spontaneity and seeing what became of it. I know that joining the parts is how a great many albums are recorded these days but I think it is why that whilst many good, even very good albums get released, very few actually capture any magic in the recording process. The first two Masterplan albums were probably made the same way as this one, but for some reason with those two albums the creativity did blossom into two brilliant albums.

Time To Be King would probably be considered an excellent album if you hadn't already heard the first two Masterplan albums which I would easily rate at 5 stars each. This album is a good album, better than MKII but still quite a way off their best. I did expect it to be better and I am sure they can do better, but at least Jorn is back and let's hope he stays!

One last gripe - What is with giving you the lyrics for a bonus song in the booklet but not including it on the cd?"

The return of Jorn Lande!

metalrockx | Belgium | 06/06/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After 2 albums, Jorn Lande left and was replaced by Mike Dimeo, known by his previous work with American metal band Riot. While he was also a great singer, he couldn't really replace the phenomenal voice of Jorn. Four years later Lande is finally back where he belongs.

The album is filled with mainly up-tempo melodic power metal songs with chunky riffs and laced with wonderful guitar solos. "Fiddle of time" is a strong up-tempo song, dominated by keyboard and soaring vocals. "Far from the end of the world" is the single and a typical Masterplan song. The title track begins with the ringing of bells and a choir, followed by screaming guitars and powerful vocals. In some songs we hear orchestration like in "Lonely winds of war". The main melody from this song is based on "Prince Igor" by Russian classical composer Borodin and Jorn sings heavenly on this one. Other highlights are the very emotional power ballad "The Dark road" and the dark, threatening "The black one". "Blue Europa" excels in tight rhythms and is a critical ode to an united Europe. I bought the Japanese import with the bonus track "Never walk alone", which I prefer to the digipack bonus "Kisses from you", which is a very nice Queen-like song, but it doesn't really fit in their repertoire.

Most songs are written by Roland Grapow and Jorn Lande, but keyboard player Axel Mackenrott also wrote about 3 songs. This new album sounds like a cross between the nameless debut album and Jorn his solo work, but with clearer sound and production and superior guitar work. The replacement of drummer Uli Kusch by Mike Terrana makes that there is more variety in drumming, instead of the typical double bass drum, which is standard to most power metal bands.

The return of Jorn Lande gives this band the boost they needed to claim their place back at the top op power & heavy metal bands. At first listen, I was a bit let down, because I expected more blistering power metal like "Enlighten me" or "Kind hearted light" from their debut, which was an absolute classic. But after repeated listening, this album grew on me and it's even better than "Aeronautics"! There is a lot of variety here and the songs are all very well worked out. The real strength of this band lies in their composing skills. It's made by absolute top class musicians and it belongs in every metal collection.

"

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