Pelata Boy, Jorn Lande gets around doesn't he? The man can be spotted all over the melodic/prog/power metal landscape. Whether it be with prog wunder-band Ark, the darker yet still progressive Beyond Twilight, singing a part on Nikolo Kotzev's Nostradamus metal opera, fronting an Yngwie Malmsteen tour, or in this case releasing a solo album. Roland Grapow has even recruited him for his post-Helloween outfit Masterplan. But, we're here to talk about Jorn's newest solo release 'Worldchanger' (2010 edit - this review was written in 2001).

Let me begin this by saying that if you've never had the extreme pleasure of hearing Jorn Lande sing, then you have my deepest, most heartfelt sympathies. This man is a modern vocal god! In fact, I would say that he and Symphony X's Russell Allen are the top 2 "next generation" vocalists in metal. 10 years from now, they will be revered and worshipped just as Ronnie James Dio and Ian Gillan are today. He's that good! That being said, 'Worldchanger' is an amazing album!

This is some of the best melodic metal I have heard in a long time. There is a rich, soulful feel to not only the vocals but also the melodies, the guitar solos, the production, everything! It's a darker, heavier album than his AOR laden 'Starfire'. There are also no covers ('Starfire' was half covers). This one has a moody, slightly bluesy, early Rainbow feel to some of it. "Sunset Station" has a great, throbbing groove and a grabby chorus. There is some killer guitar work as well, courtesy of Tore Moren. The guitars all over the album have a dense, rich tone on both rhythms and leads. This tune finds Jorn showing a bit of David Coverdale influence. The Dio-era Sabbath strains of "Glow In The Dark" will have metalheads the world over bowing in reverence with it's big, droning opening groove riff. Moren is on fire here with some great wah-pedal work. The title track begins with some spacey synth textures before heading into it's near-prog riffing. This track is the most Ark-like of the record, complete with the big, singable chorus. Jorn's vocals totally shine in a setting like this. His melodies and harmonies are superb. I dare anyone not to sing along with this chorus. "Bless The Child" has an aggressive, angry, pseudo-thrash feel to the verse before heading into another melodic pre-chorus. The chorus is chock-full of double bass and stellar vocals. This is undoubtedly the most aggressive track on the record. Like every other tune here, we're treated to more of Moren's stunning lead work.

I cannot say enough good things about this record. Every song deserves mention as there is not a clunker in the bunch. Fans of any of the bands mentioned in this review, or melodic metal in general, owe it to themselves to seek this record out. Not only is it one of the most outstanding melodic metal releases in recent memory, but it's also a glimpse of a future legend.

Pelata On May 16th of 2010, the heavy metal community was dealt a crushing blow with the passing of one of its true living legends, Ronnie James Dio. As the vocalist for Rainbow, Black Sabbath/Heaven And Hell and his own band Dio, he was an integral part of some bonafide classic albums. The man was, and is, considered THE voice of heavy metal by countless fans across the globe. His like will never been seen again. Since his untimely death, an outpouring of emotion and sadness came from artists throughout the genre; tribute concerts were announced, shout-outs from the stage by bands on current tours, blurbs permeating every heavy metal news outlet on the internet. One thing about Jorn‘s newest release, Dio, that sets it apart is that it was nearly finished before Ronnie’s passing. It was a tribute to the man while he was still with us and, to me, that speaks volumes about Jorn‘s sincerity.

Listening to this album, it’s starkly obvious that he loved the music of Ronnie James Dio. His performances are heartfelt and full of passion. I think one reason for that is that he already loved the songs. They are part of his musical DNA. When Jorn first began to make waves in the scene, everyone touted his similarities to David Coverdale. While there is some truth to that, Dio’s influence could be heard in his phrasing and aggression. Listening to his rendition of “Invisible”, the first Dio song on the album, it sounds like he’s waited his whole life to make this album. Dio’s voice and presence will never be duplicated, but Jorn‘s fire cannot be denied. The songs included, which cover Rainbow, Sabbath & Dio (the band), range from the obvious (“Kill The King” and “Stand Up And Shout”) to fan favorites (“Don’t Talk To Strangers”, Straight Through The Heart” and “Sacred Heart”) to less expected inclusions (“Sunset Superman”, “Push” and “Lord Of The Last Day”). There’s not a moment on the record that should not be there. The Black Sabbath medley of “Lonely Is The Word/Letters From Earth”, recently included on Jorn‘s own Unlocking The Past album, is chill inducing. “Shame On The Night” is a personal favorite on this collection as Jorn himself is lost in the song and it just fires me up when I hear it.

The inclusion of “A Song For Ronnie James”, written by Jorn as a musical salute to his idol, is more than fitting. The song is fantastic with it’s slow groove and soulful vocal. Having the lyrics comprised largely of Dio‘s song titles and phrases would come off cheesy any other time, but here its perfect. The best thing about this album is the way Jorn walks the line of staying true to the songs while still injecting his own personality into them. That said, there are no drastic re-workings, no acoustic versions; Jorn is a fan and it shows. He’s not trying to capitalize on his hero’s death. He’s showing his hero how much he loves him and what the music means to him.

Kudos to Jorn for releasing what I predict will be the only Dio tribute worth owning.

ovidiu WORLDCHANGER is the most ambitious,diverse and progressive JORN albums!It' s really sensational and the diversity of the tracks are making a very,very pleasant audition of this little masterpiece at any moment!I think that this album is a little an extention of Jorn made with ARK and BEYOND TWILIGHT in terms of innovative rhythms,ideas and musical displays!This album has a sensational and catchy diversity,it's really courageous and provocative,because it offers some of the most impressive of Jorn vocal possibilities and original songs ever written by the Norvegian genius!!Here we go from power metal tracks ,passing by real progressive elements and sometimes even thrash rhythms too!The midtempo songs are stunning and the voice of THE DUKE is wonderful!HOUSE OF CARDS is an example of how an interesting song theme can develop into a very complex and complicated track,where keyboards are very clever used!Here is also a little flavor of BEYOND TWILIGHT too,a band where Jorn made a very notable performance!This album was made to offer to the listeners a wonderful journey ,a musical journey trough many musical styles and original song writting!I repeat-in my humble opinion WORLDCHANGER is the best JORN album in terms of innovative music and exploring of unknown musical territories.Almost 10 years in 2010 since ths album was released and still it it my favourite one!Now,JORN is a true metal defender ,offering high quality metal albums,but on this one ,he preffered to explore something new,new musical horizons!Good production ,sensational compositions and great musicianship too!!!Almost perfect...4.5 STARS!

ovidiu Wake up,metalheads!It seems that I am the only JORN fan on this website!I cannot believe that and that's why I am pushing a new review about another wonderful album of THE DUKE of metal-the mighty JORN LANDE from Norway!This album has something magical and it's so inspired from the first to the last track!It has all the ingredients for a strong metal album!Great compositions and brilliant musicians which are performing top class here!The diversity of the album is another strong point and the passion showed by Lande in the way how he sings is really touching!Midtempo tracks,great ballads and some uptempo songs really inspired and well balanced-that's the mayonnaise for this superbe album!It's difficult to find a weak point for this album!In fact all JORN albums are a guaranteed quality products-even for the most pretentious metal lover!Even JORN is almost similar with COVERDALE and DIO in his vocal register -the way how he sings true metal anthems is touching perfection!All our respect for THE DUKE AND THANK YOU JORN FOR ANOTHER MASTERPIECE!4.5 STARS for a monument of metal!

ovidiu Yes..and yes again!The truest defender of metal-the one and only JORN LANDE -is back with a magnificent tribute album!My God...a TRIBUTE TO DIO!What can we say now-in June 2010!Did Jorn had a premonition about the tragic loss of the little man with the golden voice?!?!I am sure NOT!It's a strange and tragic coincidence only...Anyway...this album is simply something exceptional and proves what fantastic voice JORN has and how important was the influence of RONNIE JAMES for JORN'S career!All songs are sensational and especially the original track SONG FOR RONNIE JAMES -is absolutelly superbe!I am sure Ronnie would had been proud about Jorn's song!It's so emotional in the beginning-with a slow intro and continues in a a powerful register with solid vocals and great guitar riffs... but especially Jorn is giving to this special track an intelligent text too-a remember about many DIO's songs and album titles...very clever!!!Now...this album has an extra emotional message ...and transmits something even more emotional in it's sense!That DIO's music is timeless valuable and precious ..and this man was a fantastic musician which did compose some amazing anthems in metal!!!JORN's tribute is a very inspired album and all JORN and DIO fans will adore this album,I am sure about!!!!5 STARS without any hesitation!