Masterplan – Time To Be King (2010)
Masterplan is back with their fourth full length effort Time to Be King. On this new release, Masterplan’s original singer Jorn Lande returns to the band. Quite honestly, I couldn’t have been more excited when I found out that Jorn Lande was returning to Masterplan. I did enjoy their MKII CD with Mike DiMeo on vocals, however Jorn Lande has been one of my favorite singers for a long time. The Masterplan releases with Jorn Lande on vocals are great, and I was hoping for more of the same.
I recall one of the reasons why Jorn Lande left Masterplan in the first place is, he wanted to make a more melodic record the next time around, while Roland Grapow wanted to go in a heavier direction like their debut. With Time To Be King, Masterplan both succeeds in being heavy, and melodic.Time To Be King starts off on the right note with a high-speed rocker “Fiddle of Time”. This song is pure power metal perfection. If there were any doubts that Masterplan would not return to form, “Fiddle of Time” threw that notion out of the window. In fact, the first four songs on Time To Be King are amongst the best that Masterplan has ever recorded. They are that good!
On the song, “The Dark Road” there are moments where Jorn Lande sounds exactly like David Coverdale. I did a double take the first time I listened to this song. This is a mid tempo number that ought to be getting airplay everywhere. This is an awesome tune.
Masterplan sounds better than ever on Time To Be King. Roland Grapow’s guitar work is excellent, and the rhythm section of Mike Terrana and Jan S. Eckert is as good as you will hear in any power metal band. Make no mistake about it, Jorn Lande’s voice is the most powerful instrument in Masterplan, and Jorn is singing at the top of his game. I find myself hitting repeat on this CD often, and the songs that I didn’t immediately gravitate to have grown on me quite a bit. I don’t believe Time To Be King is as strong as Masterplan’s debut, but it is a very solid album, and a must own disc for all Masterplan and Jorn Lande fans.
Check out Masterplan online at this link.
Rating: 
Out of 10
Track Listing:
1. Fiddle Of Time
2. Blow Your Winds
3. Far From The End Of The World
4. Time To Be King
5. Lonely Winds Of War
6. The Dark Road
7. The Sun Is In Your Hands
8. The Black One
9. Blue Europa
10. Under The Moon
Masterplan is:
Jørn Lande – lead vocals
Roland Grapow – guitars
Jan S. Eckert – bass, backing vocals
Mike Terrana – drums
Axel Mackenrott – keyboards
Leave A Comment ↓
Cool breakdown.
Jorn Lande is something else. He is a modern day, Old School vocalist that connects with his emotions that come through when he sings. In other words, Jorn Lande is not a pretentious vocalist… no gimmicks. Jorn belongs in “that elite” group of Heavy Metal vocalists… with the late Ronne James Dio at the helm of course.
Stone