1025. Masterplan / PumpKings. 2017. 4/5

The past can be a tough thing to break away from. The good memories are there, but so are the bad. In a music sense, this can be exactly the same path. The good memories of bands that you have been a part of in the past will always stay with you, but the ones that leave a bitter taste in your mouth will often also resurface. In deciding to revisit the majority of the songs that he either wrote outright or co-wrote when he was in Helloween, Roland Grapow has taken the plunge that he can convince everyone that these songs deserve a second outing, perhaps completely as he wanted them to be heard than as the band had done so originally. The fact that it comes at a time that Helloween are going out on a world tour with former members Kai Hansen and Michael Kiske, and he didn’t get an invite to join in, perhaps gives this more presence in that regard.

Roland was a member of Helloween for over a decade, and played on some of their better albums, and some of their most divisive. At least half of the songs here comes from albums that many fans have trouble even listening to any more, such as Pink Bubbles Go Ape and Chameleon. That in itself makes this album a brave move, because so many of the songs are not high profile Helloween songs. That in itself doesn’t mean they are bad songs or poor songs, and to be honest in trying to give them a second chance, a new lease of life away from the glaring drudgery of a couple of those original albums, perhaps there was a chance that they could find their own place without that anchor weighing them down. On the other hand, there is a greater danger of doing songs that are well liked and thought of in their original Helloween form, because then these versions are directly competing with those versions, and it would be a very difficult thing to compare the two.
So how does the album go? It is important to put out there from the start that Masterplan the band sounds fantastic once again. New drummer Kevin Kott does a great job, and is well supported by bass guitarist Jari Kainulainen in the rhythm section. Their groundwork is wonderfully solid. All of these songs have a heavier keyboard element in them that the Helloween versions do, which isn’t surprising given the masterplan sound does revolve heavily around founding band member Axel Mackenrott. Roland’s guitaring is as superb as ever, and he really brings it home in the songs off The Dark Ride, as it is where he is at his best both playing and writing. The toughest job falls to vocalist Rick Altzi who not only has to hold together his vocals in these songs, he will inevitably find himself compared against the two original vocalists on these songs, Michael Kiske and Andi Deris. No favours there at all.
The three songs that are drawn from Pink Bubbles Go Ape – “The Chance”, “Someone’s Crying” and “Mankind” – are different in nature. “The Chance” and “Mankind” are two of the better songs on that album, while I never really enjoyed “Someone’s Crying”. Masterplan’s version of “The Chance” here is a good one, and just as jaunty as the original. “Someone’s Crying” still lacks some heart, while “mankind” here suffers a little in the vocals compared to the original. It’s a similar story to the two songs that come from Chameleon – “Step Out of Hell” and “Music”. The version of “Music” actually works better here than the original, but that is perhaps because you couldn’t get much worse than the original version. It is still far too slow and drawn out to gather any momentum. “Step Out of Hell” here equals the original, with Rick getting the right amount of energy into the vocals that the songs deserves.
Into the power songs of the album, and we have three songs from Master of the Rings – “Mr. Ego (Take Me Down)”, “Still We Go” and “Take Me Home” – the title track from The Time of the Oath – “The Time of the Oath” – and two tracks from The Dark Ride – “Escalation 666” and “The Dark Ride”. Each of these versions are wonderful musically, but they all lack what Andi Deris brought to the vocals. There’s no shame in that, as he is fantastic, and Rick actually suits the music that Masterplan writes, but you can notice especially in songs such as “Mr. Ego (Take Me Down)”, “The Time of the Oath” and “The Dark Ride” that they just aren’t the same. Good versions, but just lacking slightly in detail.

So was the motivation for this album purely that Helloween are touring shortly without Roland and he wanted to show that he was also once part of the group, or was it an easy solution to cover the fact that Masterplan has not released a studio album in four years, or was it just a chance to try and put these songs that Roland was a part of in a new light? Whatever the reason was, this album is more than worth the effort for fans of either Masterplan or Helloween to grab and have a listen to. There is still a lot to like about this band, and most of the songs here are still great to listen to, and hearing them in a modern light is not a bad thing at all.

Rating:  “Take a spin on the dark ride, may too far from the other side”.  4/5

878. Masterplan / Keep Your Dream aLive. 2015. 5/5

During the course of every band's career, given that the course has managed to stay on track for more than a single album release, there comes a time when it is decreed that their live shows should be recorded and have it released as a live album. The live setting is a band's workplace, where the majority of the sweat and tears are exerted, occasionally stopping in to a studio to record all of their new ideas to release, before hitting the road once again. The live setting is where a band is judged, where any flaws are bared naked for all to see, and where greatness will shine. Eventually, this is where the top bands showcase their wares.

It has been just over a decade since Masterplan formed, and while there have been comings and goings within the group, the music that comes forth continues to be amazing. Though only Roland Grapow and Axel Mackenrott remain as original members, the band sounds quite magnificent here. The quartet of Martin Skaroupka on drums, Jari Kainulainen on bass, Mackenrott on keyboard and Grapow on guitar sound magnificent in this performance. Skaroupka's drumming is crisp and penetrating, with every roll as precise as the studio recordings, which is quite an effort in translating what Uli Kusch did on those first two albums. His double kick work is superb throughout, driving each song perfectly. The combination between both guitars and the keyboards also perfectly illustrates the initial recordings of each song. The keyboards create a wonderful atmosphere through each song, while also allowing the bass and guitar to maximise the bottom end of the live sound. I admit openly that I was surprised by how full and awesome the band sounds in a live environment. I honestly thought that with only one guitar in the mix that it could be missing something. Completely incorrect. The guitar, bass and keys combine brilliantly and perfectly and boom out of the speakers. Fantastic to listen to.
I mentioned in my review of Masterplan's most recent studio album, Novum Initium, how impressive new vocalist Rick Altzi was, and that his voice was similar (if not quite as brilliant) as former lead singer Jorn Lande's voice. Well, it shines here on this live recording. There are few times when he has to change his key to avoid replicating the initial songs, and those few times are completely understandable, and are brushed over without a fuss. And the rest is just brilliant. It is a similar fit that Queensrÿche has discovered in hiring Todd le Torre as their vocalist, a man whose voice has very similar tendencies to former singer Geoff Tate, but Todd hits all of those notes live and means he can sing their whole back catalogue without missing a beat. The same works here for Rick, who is so faithful to every song on those first four albums that you can barely notice any difference. It's a great talent, and his performance here cements him as a lead vocalist of massive talent.
The set list is superb, covering every era of the band, and giving the fans exactly what they want. It starts off with the big hitters from the debut album, "Enlighten Me" and "Spirit Never Dies", performed with passion and desire. "Lost and Gone" sounds great, with Altzi crooning away over the keyboard-dominant song. "Crystal Night" is as hauntingly beautiful as ever, while "Betrayal" from the most recent album sounds even better live than it does on Novum Initium.
"Crimson Rider" kicks the set back into high gear, blazing along with the power and energy it always has, and is followed by the slow burner "Back For My Life" and "Time to be King", in which Altzi possibly outdoes the song's original vocalist Jorn Lande. The mid-tempo song trio is completed by the live album's "title" track, "Keep Your Dream Alive".
The next quartet of songs showcase everything superb about this band and their music. "Heroes" lifts the tempo again, with Roland filling in the vocals performed by Michael Kiske on the studio version. This is followed by the passionate rendition of the magnificent "Soulburn", which has immense justice done to it in the live setting. I'd have ever believed that this could be performed so well live. Back into high speed again, the band clips into "Kind Hearted Light" before the riff chugging "Crawling From Hell" brings the set to a close. To complete the album, the encore of "Black Night of Magic" tops off what must have been a brilliant gig to watch at the Masters of Rock.

Like I said at the beginning, a live album gives you nowhere to hide - unless you start dubbing in post-production as often seems to be the case these days. What does that prove? Surely the fans what to hear the real band playing, not one where any errors have been touched up later on to cover them up. The best don't need that, and the best want their live personas to be out there to show exactly what they can do. Masterplan has succeeded magnificently with this release, and surely cement their place in the higher echelons of the European power metal community. This is a triumph, and all I can ask for now is for the band to tour Australia so we can all experience the joy.

Rating:  And the world is like a shiny diamond, the way it glitters if you polish it right.  5/5

830. Masterplan / Masterplan. 2003. 5/5

Though I've never really understood what happened, I absolutely loved The Dark Ride when it was released, and thought it was a high water mark in the reinvigorated career of Helloween. Then, following the tour to promote the album, it came to pass that guitarist Roland Grapow and drummer Uli Kusch were moved on from the band. Various reports (whether true or not) intimated that Grapow and Kusch wanted to move in a heavier direction, whereas the other members did not wish to be so dark and heavy. Whatever the reason, it came as somewhat of a shock. Better news came when these two announced they would form a new band, and would continue onwards with their music. The addition of former Ark vocalist Jorn Lande added star quality and power to the new band, and the anticipation to their first release was high.

The first time I heard this album, it was like magic. There have been a number of albums that I have known from the first time I put them on that I would always love them, and for me this was probably the most memorable of them. When I finally managed to track down and buy this album, I was in awe of what I heard. It was beyond anything I imagined it could have been. The guitars, the drums, the keyboards, the vocals, the lyrics. Everything was just perfect. It extended from what Helloween and Gamma Ray had been doing, not improving it but taking that as the lead to find the right direction in which to head. The song writing and playing of both Roland and Uli was always likely to be excellent given their past record with Helloween, but without a vocalist of stature in which to bring out the best in the music it was always going to be the difference between a solid outing and a brilliant outing. Jorn is that vocalist, and his performance on this album and also on the follow up is the finest of his career, and really slams the exclamation point on this album.
I'll admit that I don't know for sure, nor have I heard anything from anyone within the people involved, but the lyrics from most of the songs seem to me to directly relate to the separation of the two members from their previous band. It could well have provided the bulk of the material lyric-wise, depending on how you interpret them. Like I said I have nothing to back that up so I could be completely off the mark, but when I read the following lyrics from the album, I'm not sure that it can be anything else:
"I'll never give up - never give in, Won't stop believing cause I'm gonna win, Sing with my soul before I get old, Cause there may be no tomorrow"
"Enlighten me, I wanna see, how this could be the age of reason, won't you tell me, can't you tell me, cause I need to know"
"We held up the metal torch and they tried to take the flame, we've been running against the wall but we always overcame, no sense no reason, we are the ones you love to hat"
"Try to mend your broken wings, Why should we live within a haze"
There are plenty more examples, but again they are all open to interpretation.

From the very beginning, this is an album that highlights the very best that power metal can be. While the keyboards are prominent through the songs, they do not dominate. That is left to the strongest triumvirate within the band - Uli's brilliant drumming, Roland's fantastic guitaring and Jorn's amazing vocals. The opening three tracks are just brilliant. The epic opening track "Spirit Never Dies" bursts through the speakers in a cacophony of speed, guitar, keys and drums, before the silky vocals of Jorn enter the fray. The power of the chorus is just fantastic, and the emotive building to the heavy ending tops off an amazing opening track. This then flows straight into the first single from the album "Enlighten Me", which mirrors the intensity and heavy guitar and drumming from the first track, while reinforcing through its chorus the overflow of feeling some members of this band still felt for certain sections of other bands. Linking directly through the lyrics once again is "Kind Hearted Light", which concludes the Trilogy of musical moments which derive their existence from previous fallings out. It would be a difficult task to find three opening songs on an album that would be better than those found here - the equal yes, but not better.
"Crystal Night" is a heavier song both in riff and with Jorn's vocals, with impact drum beat and guitar riff throughout the majority of the song to emphasise each part. Following this, as an offset, listen to the harmony from Jorn through the bridge of "Soulburn", leading from the heartfelt musings of each verse and into the short chorus. The vocals here are stunning, and the atmosphere created throughout this song is extraordinary, for which the keyboards play a major part. This is followed up by the lighter, brighter and slightly faster "Heroes", which features former Helloween vocalist Michael Kiske on dual vocals. Kiske had apparently been approached initially to be the lead singer of the band in its development, something he declined on the basis of his continued dislike of heavy metal. Kiske adds a breeziness to this track which makes it wonderfully enjoyable, but it is also obvious that could not have sung on this album and done the same brilliant job as Jorn does. It just wouldn't have worked as well as it does, but on this track both singers are great. The faster pace continues on into "Sail On", with double kick and soaring vocals pushing the track on through to the great solo section.
"Into the Light" is perhaps the most derivative of the tracks on the album. It is much slower, and bases itself around Jorn's mournful vocal performance and guitar wailing. I would say it is the least successful track on the album, but then it bursts by way of Roland's solo guitar riff into the brilliant "Crawling From Hell", which blitzes along with fast guitar riff and double kick from Uli, and Jorn's brilliant harmonic vocals through the bridge again. It is one of my favourite tracks on the album. This feeds into "Bleeding Eyes" with its very middle-eastern music style dominated by the atmospheric keyboards and Jorn's amazing vocal range again.
This is as fine a debut album as could ever have been produced. The song writing is superb, and its strength is what builds such a brilliant foundation for the entire album. It lays the platform for each of the band members to then do what they do best, and make their own mark on the album. Certainly Uli's drumming does that as well. I had been a fan of his since his days in Gamma Ray and then Helloween, but his drumming here is so powerful and so proficient. He can play that strong 2/4 timing on snare and toms but be playing an almost completely different beat on the double kick at his feet. When the songs demand it, his double time kick with frills and trills take what would be just an average quiet piece in a song to become his own - listen to the first verse of "King Hearted Light" to hear what I mean. Superb. He doesn't get over-technical in a progressive drumming way, because you can hear him keeping that solid thumping time throughout each song, but he also adds his own tricks along the way that make it so much more special. He is a gem. Roland's guitaring does the same in effect. Because the writing is so good, and the rhythm section is so solid (and Roland played the majority of the bass guitar on this album before they hired anyone), he can not only lay his rhythm guitar tracks down, but allow himself his freedom in the solo sections to really showcase his talents. While he was able to do this to a certain extent during his Helloween days, here he has a fuller reign as one of the senior members of the writing group and band, and it really shows. Backing all of this up is the unbelievable job done by Jorn on vocals. They are not only sensational, they convey the emotion of a track when needed, enhancing the music and lyrics around him in his voice. He can reach those high notes when he needs to, as his range is excellent, but it is his ability to bring out the emotions of the song that help to make this album what it is. He can be light, dark, heavy or thoughtful, all without compromising the mood of the song - in fact only illuminating it.

For me this is one of the best albums of the new millennium. It ticks every box and is a standout in an era when metal was expanding in some markets and contracting in others. While many bands and fans were gravitating towards a more aggressive, tuned down growling style of metal, this album at the time proved to me why the ability to be able to sing melodically, and play instruments in a traditional melodic heavy way was still more important to me than anything else.

Rating: I know what it means to burn, that's how I begin to learn.  5/5

667. Masterplan / Novum Initium. 2013. 3.5/5

Following on from what turned out to be the rather lukewarm previous album Time To Be King, Masterplan has again parted ways with lead vocalist Jorn Lande, which may well turn out to be a blessing in disguise, given that the band probably needs to find its own identity away from that of their oft-quoted and adored former singer. This brought on a real reformatting of the band, with Martin “Marthus” Skaroupka (drums), Rick Altzi (vocals) and Jari Kainulainen (bass) coming in for this album to join original members and writers Roland Grapow (guitar) and Axel Mackenrott (keyboards).

From the very beginning of the album, it is obvious that Masterplan has regained their mojo. It is immediately obvious in both the music and the singing. Rick Altzi sounds much like Jorn Lande without being a clone or copycat, and as such his vocals fit very snugly into the Masterplan edict. Songs such as "The Game", "Black Night of Magic" and "Return from Avalon" are top shelf songs, up with the best this band has produced.

So, if I stick to my usual power metal album checklist, I think you'll find that all the boxes are ticked.

1. Fantastic drumming throughout, punctuated by some at times superb double kick that really drives the songs along (kudos " Marthus")
2. Awesome European power metal vocals, reaching the heights and stretching my own singing beyond its limits as I try to sing along. I have not heard of anything else that Rick Altzi has done in his career, but he is the absolute perfect fit for Masterplan, and his work here is incredible. Take a bow.
3. The power ballad, laden with keyboards which dominate. Yep, we've got a couple, and yes for me they just slow the momentum of the album at the wrong times. Look, for power metal ballads the ones on this album aren't so bad and they are well done so I can forgive them a little.
4. Lots of guitar driven songs. Roland Grapow's magnificent guitaring and great soloing here continues to produce the goods.

Truth be told, I am surprised by how good this album is. It's not that I expected it to be awful, but with Masterplan they are always going to have the unenviable task of being compared to their first two album, which they are unlikely to be able to match. Their next two albums were good without ever touching those heights, and with a lot of the band moving on before this albums release... well... who was to know what would come. What HAS come has been the trademark Masterplan sound, excellent songs that showcase the best that this band has to offer. The new members all produce the goods, while Roland and Axel continue to lead this band into new territory. One of the best albums so far in 2013.

368. Masterplan / Enlighten Me [Single]. 2002. 5/5

An absolute pearler of a single release.

Containing the first single off the unbelieveably brilliant self-titled album by Masterplan, it also has the equally brilliant “Kind Hearted Light” as the 2nd track, the quite wonderful unreleased track “Through Thick And Thin” (which I find remarkable it wasn’t on the album itself), and the Led Zeppelin cover “Black Dog”.

Top notch all the way through. If only all single releases were this good.

Rating: Brilliant. 5/5.

87. Masterplan / Back For My Life [Single]. 2004. 4/5.

Singles are hard to rate – and I am only including them because to leave them out would make this process feel incomplete.

This contains two songs from the album Aeronautics, which are both great. It also includes two songs not on the album, one which is great, the other which is average.

Rating : Good for a single. 4/5.

41. Masterplan / Aeronatics. 2005. 5/5.

Trying to follow up a masterpiece, as Masterplan’s debut album is, has brought a million bands down. Not these boys. Despite producing one of the greatest debuts of all time, they come out here with their second album, and almost outdo themselves.

Aeronautics was a grower. With such high expectations, it was difficult not to allow myself to be ‘disappointed’ with this. However, on constant listening, I was able to break through that, and realise just how good this follow up is.
Crimson Rider is a great opener, catching the attention immediately, and is followed by a collection of great songs afterwards. Faves for me includes Headbanger’s Ballroom, Dark From The Dying and Black In The Burn.

This is one of the best examples of how European heavy metal is leading the world in the genre. Great songs, thoughtful lyrics, a passion for the music, and an uncompromising attitude to metal itself. This collection of terrific musicians, to me, have the metal world at their feet.

Rating : This is a must have. 5/5.