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
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