Masterplan

This album is lauded by a lot of people, but I never really played it that much and only remembered a few songs. At first I figured it was because I needed to invest more time and attention to listening to it, but really Masterplan’s debut album is just not that good, and it sounds less convincing and less coherent every time I try it. These guys got popular for virtually pioneering the whole power metal/hard rock thing that Edguy streamlined and made even more popular about two or three years later. But Masterplan was there first, the true innovators – it’s just a shame this isn’t a better album.

I suppose not every innovation is perfect. Some of them, as demonstrated here, are quite messy and unpolished. Masterplan’s debut has a lot of things going on and a lot of variety, and I like that about it, but nothing really gels on here. Some songs are good – opener “Spirit Never Die” is a rollicking, slick power metal bruiser with some very inventive vocal lines from superstar Jorn Lande and some soaring melodies, and other songs like “Soulburn” and “Into the Light” have some stirring moments. “Heroes” is kind of fun, if a little shallow.

The problem is that the mixture of chugging, massive guitars and Lande’s rather candy-coated melodies doesn’t sound natural. Songs like “Crawling from Hell” and “Bleeding Eyes” are just awkward and odd, with the band sounding unsure of themselves and failing to really integrate all the elements of the songs together. They don’t really sound like they belong together in the same song – if you took the riffs and added them to a less keyboardy, melodic-styled album, they’d be fine, and if you took Jorn’s catchy vocals and put them over happier, more simplistic music, it would probably work – but together it never really works.

And more basically than that, most of these songs are just not very exciting. I can’t remember a note of “Sail On,” “Enlighten Me” or “Crystal Night” after they are over. Closing ballad “When Love Comes Close” has a nice melody, maybe, but it doesn’t stick either. The performances are all fine, and Jorn sounds good, but the songwriting is mediocre and never hooks me in. Mostly I just end up looking at the clock to see how much time I have left before it’s over. Not a good sign, Masterplan…not a good sign.

So yeah, this isn’t that great, but I can’t give it too low of a score because it’s got some good moments amidst a sea of mediocrity, and it did inspire a style which I enjoy quite a bit. But if you really want to see this style done well, go get one of the recent Edguy albums – it’ll be much more worth your time and the songwriting is a lot better overall. And that’s about all I have to say about that.

Originally written for http://www.metalcrypt.com

"Masterplan" was the first full length recording of the band formed by two former Helloween members named Uli Kusch (drummer) and Roland Grapow (guitarist). They were joined by Jørn Lande and also other talented musicians participated in the realization of the album. The 2002 "Enlighten Me" EP just gave us 3 original creations and we wanted more! What we got was an eclectic power metal album ranges from the dominant extremely dark Evergrey-ish tunes to happy European power metal style moments or even a song that is a love ballad just like the themes of the album are very varied: living life, enlightening, a Jewish pogrom, "metalhead, stay strong!" spirit, demons and pagans, rise of Masterplan, transcending into afterlife etc.

I want to start with the thing that impressed me the most: Jørn Lande's performance is simply amazing! His distinguished powerful and a little raspy voice is unique. Compared to Nocturnal Rites' Jonny Lindqvist? Similar but what we have here brings power to the songs. Matched with Timo Kotipelto? Same level of power, but Jørn's voice isn't so clear. The same goods things can be said about the instrumentation and the flawless production. When the atmosphere is dark and mysterious the riffs are heavy and the tempo is medium or a little slower at some times. The cheerful moments are really fast. The keyboard is almost omnipresent contributing a lot to the mood of the songs. A huge density of guitar solos can be found on "Masterplan" too! You’ll get a nice pack of shred solos and also an acoustic one among others. Additionally there are a lot of unconventional elements, as you will see bellow.

The opener "Spirit Never Die" starts with a dark double bass-keyboard duet, but quickly becomes a happy song with optimistic lyrics and a chorus that is very fast and even more upbeat. Near the middle of the track, the music becomes mature again and an invasion with heavy riffs occurs. After the assault, the music from the prelude will again come into play, this time accompanied by a monologue. The rest of the tune will just consist of the joyful parts played before. The nebulous "Enlighten Me" is a decent mid-paced song, that is maybe a little repetitive for my taste, but yet there are a couple of powerful riffs in terms of feeling. Moreover, for a few seconds, Jørn will be accompanied by some, let's say, choral vocals. The MID-fast and heavy "Kind Hearted Light" can be best described as a mix of courage and mystery. "Crystal Night" is similar to the previous track, maybe a little bit slower, the main difference being that this one has some emotional moments. The heavy "Soulburn" is slow paced and continues the album in a eerie register. Unlike the other sweep picking guitar solos, the one from here is slow and very melodic. It is extremely harmonious and my favorite one. The next song is a duet with Michael Kiske (ex-Helloween). Warm-hearted "Heroes" is your typical happy power metal with high pitched guitars and fast song with a few darker parts . If you find yourself at home singing Stratovarius' "Hunting High and Low" refrain, you will like this one because its chorus is extremely catchy. The truly blistering "Sail On" contrasts with the latter, this one containing lots of dark moments and a few upbeat ones.

"Send me a message in case you understand"

This is the line with which the peaceful interlude "Into the Light" begins with. I think it was ingenious to fit something so peaceful and different to the totally different songs that appeared before or will follow. It brings an acoustic guitar emotional relief at the start. After it the things will get more intense, but nothing "metal" except a few solitary short rough riffs which are rare. Lande's voice is beneficial even to the "gentle" music it seems. In this part he reminded me of his performance on Ayreon's "Comatose". The non-power metal influenced "Crawling From Hell" gives you the "tough guy" sensation. The riffs are VERY heavy and the musical intensity never ceases! Verses like "Monsters and demons, crawling from hell" empowered by the courageous and powerful melody create the feeling I'm talking about: pure heavy metal!! The slow paced "Bleeding Eyes" is a raw and dark piece. It has no power metal elements and it could be labeled perfectly as: "progressive rock-metal with some heavy riffs". Some spoken words: "I Wanna Change It" are reminding me of Dream Theater's rap influences on "Train of Thought". Finally, we have a love ballad called: "When Love Comes Close". The chorus stands out from the rest of the song. It is decent overall, but I don’t think the acoustic guitar solo should be there. The following electrical guitar solo would’ve been enough! Their ballad from their 2002 EP: "Through Thick and Thin" has much more feeling and harmony.

To sum it up, this is not your average power metal record. It has so many well executed different elements thus it can attract a large density of people: all types of paces, heaviness, mystery, darkness, happiness, power, love and much more. Not all of the songs might be your type, but it's likely to find at least a few songs you like even if you aren't a big fan of the genre. I sincerely recommend you should buy the album!

Helloween's ex-guitarist and ex-drummer are apparently believers that you get right back on the horse that threw you. They had hardly been kicked out Helloween when they were back in the saddle with a new power metal band, and they managed to recruit vocalist Jorn Lande and bassist Jan Ecksberg as well. The word "supergroup" is much abused these days, with every band containing the brother of a moderately famous musician bestowing it upon themselves, but this band is the real deal.

Masterplan's style is a mixture of power metal and AOR rock. A very cliche'd style today, but back in 2003 it was new. Uli and Roland are the power end of the spectrum while the vocals are more rock-oriented (Jorn Lande sounds like a cross between Dio and David Coverdale). Musically the material here is quite diverse, with acoustic parts here and there, and there's even a guest appearance from Michael Kiske! What could go wrong?

Well, a few things do. Don't get me wrong, I love this album, but I sometimes think it gets a bit too much hype. (I'm puzzled why Masterplan's musically superior MKII gets almost no attention just because Jorn Kiss-My-Ass-and-Go-to-Heaven Lande isn't in the band anymore. Oh well, no-one said life was fair.) There are two main problems with Masterplan's S/T: it's too eclectic for its own good, and it suffers from several rather weak mid-tempo songs. Masterplan is great when they play fast. Masterplan is great when they play slow. When they play mid-tempo...well, it's a crapshoot whether they're good or not.

But let's start with the good stuff. "Spirit Never Dies" is by miles the best song on here, with a fast tempo and catchy, uplifting chorus. "Sail On" and "Kind Hearted Light" are more great fast songs, although there's a fuckload of keyboards that could put off many Jorn fans. At the slow end of the spectrum there's the haunting "Bleeding Eyes" and the ultra-heavy "Crystal Night" (this is the only song that addresses real world issues: ie Nazism). "Into the Light" is a good ballad with an atypical structure and some interesting lyrics. If you think ballads are about balloon-egoed and small-penised rockstars crooning about broken hearts and lost loves, check this one out.

Would that the whole album be this good. The lead single "Enlighten Me" is weak-sauce radio-friendly crap that sticks out like a sore thumb. What were they thinking? It would probably be my last choice as a single. "When Love Comes Close" is a decent but extremely stupid ballad (lyrics: "I went to the doctor but he could not see / Only the love of a woman would be medicine for me!") that is basically the polar opposite of "Into the Light". And everyone tells me "Soulburn" is some awesome classic but it just comes across as boring, overblown and pretentious.

The album's tempo is definitely skewed towards slowness (there are only two songs you could really call speed metal), and the prolification of ballads means this isn't exactly going out-rock the new DragonForce CD. Oh yes, and keyboard haters beware. There is a TON of keyboards on this album.

I'd personally recommend getting MKII and Aeronautics before this, but this is a rock-solid album. Maybe they forget the "power" part of "power metal" at times, but so what? They have JORN LANDE, for Christ's sake!

The band Masterplan was famous already before their self titled debut. The two Helloween musicians Roland Grapow (Guitars) and Uli Kusch (Drums) were fired from the band but then started their own. Joined by the outstanding vocalist Jorn Lande (ex. Ark), former Iron Savior bass-player Jan S. Eckert and Gamma Rays touring keyboarder Axel Mackenrott (the keyboards on this album was played by the Children of Bodom keyboarder though). The interest of the band grew among metal fans all over the world. And the result was not disappointing. Filled with 11 top class tracks that feels essential for you from the very first listen. The overall sound on the album is quite nice (I prefer the production on their sophomore album). The guitars are raw, the drums are heavy and are brought much attention and the vocals are perfectly mixed in. The perfect balance between the guitars and the drums are essential for an album to be perfect. And on this album they hit all the right spots.

The most difficult thing for me on this album is to find a weak spot. 'Cause it seems like it's musically flawless. Track by track passes by my ears but I find nothing that I claim to sound bad. The opener "Spirit Never Die" is a majestic double-bass intro song with an incredible chorus. Already at this point I was amazed. It's fast, hard and raw, but still melodic and a beautiful. And the hits just keep on coming: the powerful "Crystal Night", beautiful "Soulburn" and the fast "Sail On". The bonus tracks seem to be the weaker tracks so it was a good choice to leave them off the album.

Jorns vocals are superb all over the album. It’s powerful and emotionally amazing. Actually he gives every song that little edge that most singers can't do. Giving it that extra little something that makes your inside scream for more. His voice is changing from the aggressive and raw sound on "Crystal Night" to the soft sound on "When Love Comes Close" (a song that first was ment to be an instrumental track).

All in all this release has got it all. For you who haven't heard it but enjoyed Helloweens "Better Than Raw" or "The Dark Ride", Arks "Burn the Sun" or Nocturnal Rites later albums this album's got to be worth checking out.

Pioneering albums are a tricky thing to approach, and more often tend to lend themselves to being misunderstood rather than being given their proper due, regardless of the level of popularity that greets them. They are equally born out of happenstance as of effort, and the resulting perspective that they reap in the audience is rarely intentional. But hindsight tends to bring a degree of clarity when it comes to such albums, and in the particular case of Masterplan's eponymous debut, what has been generally viewed as the start of the AOR-infused power metal trend of the mid to late 2000s that supplanted the older speed metal dominated school is, arguably, its own creature that bares only a partial resemblance to what became popular a few years after. It presents a break in an already present division between two camps within power metal's most prominent founder, Helloween, one that itself grew out of a subtler division that preceded it and broke with the exodus of Kai Hansen and the subsequent formation of Gamma Ray.

For those uninitiated into the world of Helloween from 1989 until the end of said band's long tenure with Noise Records, the entry of Roland Grapow into the fold radically changed the equation, both for the worse and for the better. His more musically eclectic and virtuoso approach to both his songwriting and his playing had the dual effect of making them a more adventurous, yet also occasionally schizophrenic band, though part of the latter result is attributable to Michael Kiske's changing musical interests. A careful look at Roland's songwriting credits both during the early 90s with Kiske at the helm and the rest of the 90s with Deris taking over showcases a man who is not averse to the speed metal roots of power metal, but also sought to complement it beyond the token ballad with a more groove-based and progressive character at times. By the time that the millennium turned and Helloween brought in Roy Z as producer and signed with Nuclear Blast, the dissonance between Michael Weikath's lighter and faster vision and the darker and more nuanced one of Grapow exploded into the brilliant stylistic left turn The Dark Ride, and then subsequently ended the latter's tenure with the band.

Masterplan, as a project, was originally intended as a vehicle for Roland Grapow and fellow traveler turned ex-Helloween drummer Uli Kusch to continue the sound of the aforementioned album, and with the split that it caused became a full time effort at perpetuating said sound. Though originally slated to produce this band's debut LP, Roy Z was replaced with Andy Sneap, who's similarly dark and heavy approach to album production served to morph Roland's quasi-progressive, power metal meets hard rock approach into something far more forbidding than what rose up claiming the same style a couple years later via the hard rock with power metal on the side buffoonery of Tobias Sammet's new direction with Edguy and Avantasia, or the confused mess that defined Sonata Arctica's sound from Unia until today. Truth be told, Masterplan's only overt connection to the popularized AOR/power metal hybrid style that started making waves in 2006 is Jorn Lande's soulful, gritty, David Coverdale-inspired vocal swagger, which nevertheless fits in perfectly with both the power metal base and the darker, progressive detailing that paints this album.

It is important to note that in spite of the jolting shift in character that this album represents, it is still ultimately a power metal album at heart, as Roland took notes on how the others in Helloween approached songwriting and kept that aspect of his history alongside his experimental works. Straight up power metal anthems such as "Kind Hearted Light" and "Sail On" have all the makings of those upper mid-tempo cruisers that Stratovarius would often march out as their single releases, with the former bearing an uncanny resemblance to "Hunting High And Low", save the darker atmosphere and heavier guitar tone. The ultra-catchy "Heroes" takes things even further down typical power metal territory with a not so subtle nod to Helloween's "I Want Out" featuring ex-Helloween vocalist and former fellow traveler Michael Kiske in a duet function with Jorn with masterful results. The opening number "Spirit Never Die" is a bit more elaborate and strays a bit into progressive territory with several jolting shifts in feel, but for the most part it exemplifies that driving, fast paced goodness that defined the style during the early days of the revival.

As the album unfolds, however, it is pretty clear that Masterplan is a band that is well off in its own world and pushing the boundaries a fair bit. It is particularly noticeable when things slow down a bit, as the depth of Andy Sneap's studio wizardry meets a band willing to go heavy and slow things down in a manner that occasionally rivals said producer's recent collaborations with Nevermore. Songs like "Crystal Night", "Soulburn" and "Bleeding Eyes" are exercises in chunky, ground-pounding heaviness that could almost be accused of having a groove metal character, though the atmospheric elements provided by a wide array of guitar effects and keyboard sounds, not to mention Jorn's nimble vocal gymnastics, plays an equally pivotal role in shaping these songs into something equally as haunting as they are aggressive. Truth be told, the only song on here that relies almost completely on sheer impact is the riff happy "Crawling From Hell", which sounds like it could have been directly lifted from the recording sessions of The Dark Ride.

In some respects, this album is an unlikely contender for the honor of being a commercial breakthrough, yet in others it does come with an air of accessibility that makes it even more appealing to mass consumption than even the fairly popular groove craze that had largely sputtered out and was being replaced by metalcore. There is a polish to the darkness that this album exhibits, a hook oriented formula and an eye for brevity that makes many of these songs pass for radio, though ironically the album's single "Enlighten Me", already a fairly stripped down song compared to the rest of the album, would be gutted and have 80% of its brilliant guitar solo cut to make it more palpable to the sub-4 minute attention span of the obviously moronic trustee of rock radio. But overall, the writing was pretty much on the wall that this album would make waves, so much so that following Piet Sielck plugging the band on Iron Savior's website that said band's bassist Jan-Sören Eckert would temporarily jump ship and forsake the older speed metal school for a new direction. It's a complicated listen, one that is impaired slightly by its own ambition, yet one that has proven to be a classic with all the staying power that the label implies.

(Rewritten on September 13th, 2017)

Great work from this new band with no new names in the scene. You would expect Masterplan to be some kind of Helloween II, but it seems that Roland Grapow and Uli Kusch are ready to kick some pumpkin asses with Masterplan, because this band is not a clone of Helloween, but a better band, considering the awful and disappointing work that Helloween has delivered with their last effort. Sorry, but comparisons always take place when bands split up and their former members take another way.

Mainly Masterplan is German power metal, but with some differences that make the unique. The voice isn’t high as the vocalists of this genre, it sounds like a blend of progressive metal with a hard rock vocalist, like Russell Allen (originally considered as the front man for this band) but I like more Jorn Lande’s voice. The songs travel from classic power metal (Heroes, Sail On) to hard rock (Soulburn, Crystal Night), rock ballad (When Love Comes Close) so you can’t get bored while listening to Masterplan. Grapow and his guitar remain the same, more oriented to his solo work than his Helloween performance, while Kusch is a good drummer, with some amazing parts in the heavy songs.

The best songs from the album: Spirit Never Dies, Enlighten Me, Kind Hearted Light, with the incredible keyboard main riff, Heroes, introducing the brief participation of Michael Kiske (maybe to make Helloween fans turn back their head to Masterplan, hahaha), Sail On and the heavy and rumbling Crawling From Hell. Definitely Masterplan is a good choice, especially if you are tired of the traditional power metal and the passing of great old bands like one I have mentioned a lot on this review (and I’m not talking about Masterplan).