siLLy puPPy MASTERPLAN was one of many Helloween spin-offs, this time with Roland Grapow (guitarist 1989 -2001) and Uli Kusch (drums 1994 - 2001) leaving in 2001 to create a side project which ultimately got them nixed from their Helloween duties and plenty of time to focus on their new project. After trying like the dickens to pull together super-group candidates from all over the power metal world, the two failed at nabbing their first choices but did score with the prodigious vocal talent of none other than Jorn Lande most notably of Ark fame but also of Vagabond, The Snakes, Beyond Twilight, solo career and beyond type of fame.

Jorn is famous for his ability to mimic previous greats in rock and metal. In Ark he was a dead ringer for David Coverdale of Whitesnake fame but in MASTERPLAN he shifts gears and takes on a Ronnie James Dio persona and does it with apparent ease and actually sounds like a Dio without any signs of vocal strain but despite this comparison he more than exceeds Dio’s limitations. I’ve always totally admired vocalists who can do the whole operatic scale thing while still retaining that metal edge in the scream / growl / shout thing. Jorn pulls this off flawlessly as the energetic backings of the band weave an interesting mix of 70s hard rock with power metal sensibitlies.

In fact, MASTERPLAN sounds as if it is the perfect amalgamation of 70s Dio led Rainbow with the melodic power metal energies of 90s Helloween, Gamma Ray or the many branches of the bands that sprouted. With the strong melodies, the more than capable instrumental duties and vocal contributions, MASTERPLAN’s debut album is quite the treat especially for those who find some power metal to enter the cheese-o-sphere. MASTERPLAN has that perfect traditional metal / power metal balance that incorporates just enough of the 70s as well as adding subtle idiosyncrancies to make this debut album a pleasant melodic metal experience that sustains itself for the entirety of the playing time.

ovidiu Here we have the new MASTERPLAN album which marks the glorious return of one of the best voices in metal ,the mighty JORN LANDE!Honestly,I had great expectations about this album,and the dissapointement was bigger than I can describe in words!I try to be objective and fair with my review,being a huge JORN fan and knowing many of his albums with the numerous band in which he was or still is involved-ARK,MILLENIUM,MUNDANUS IMPERIUM-ALLEN/LANDE PROJECT and his brilliant solo albums!I consider MASTERPLAN the biggest JORN failure in his career,musically speaking, because MASTERPLAN's music...simply doesn't work with JORN's marvelous voice !The musical style is to simplistic,weak and without any catchy message,it's easy to be recognized for being typical power metal,but without any spark of brilliance! ROLAND GRAPOW is a weak and uninspired composer on this album and the music doesn't have any catchy elements-everything is boring and without inspiration!Honestly,I cannot explain myself how Jorn agreed to perform on this album such weak compositions...it's really unexplainable and uncomprehensive for me!And one more thing-this album is recommended only for MASTERPLAN fans...die hard fans and not for JORN fans!The production is excellent,but doesn't save a more than mediocre album...almost a sinister failure!Hardly 2 stars...one for Jorn and the other for the strong production !Such a shame...

Stephen With Lande back in action again with Masterplan, "Time To Be King" looks like a huge return to form, a promising blow at start, but after a single spin, I began to grow a hesitation. Roland Grapow, the mastermind and producer, decided to create a balance proportion of uptempo power metal and midtempo melodic metal, with couple of ballads as sweetener, however the real problem that's arisen is the lack of superior tracks. Lande's undefeatable voice, along with a group of high-calibre musicians behind the instruments, is overpowering the majority of average songs in the album.

Masterplan started strong with the first two tracks which I believe are the highlight of the album. "Fiddle of Time" has a great modernized riffs, catchy keyboards, and powerful chorus. Grapow delivered deadly solos here, and this track alone can lure you to rate this album high immediately. Came on the next track, "Blow Your Winds", a superb melodic metal with an ultimate chorus, another favorite of mine, and followed by "Far From The End of The World" which is a fast-paced track with a Future World-ish riffs style and lush of keyboard touch. But after that, everything went sour, started with the dark-nuance title track. It has a good verse but suffered with an anti-climax chorus. "Lonely Winds of War" and "The Dark Road" are decent ballads, but "Under The Moon" is quite poor. Some promising tracks such as "The Sun Is Your Hands" and "Blue Europa" also failed to win my affection when it hits the chorus part. Ironically, the bonus track, "Kisses From You", which is actually far from metal and sounded like a happy Queen-like piano driven tickling track, is very entertaining and lovable.

"Time To Be King" should have been done better than this. The band has the capacity but instead it seems they rushed this out to meet the deadline date. For long time fans of Masterplan, this album is an obligatory purchase, but for casual fans of power metal or melodic metal, if vocal and rhythm section are the most important factor of your consideration, "Time TO Be King" is worth a shot, otherwise, avoid.

Bottomline : The mighty troops were torn apart by mediocre arrangement

Windhawk Competent performances on this release by Masterplan; and a few quite catchy tunes as well.

But it's very much a bombastic, epic overkill as well. To me the soundscape here sounds awfully compressed, it's like a wall of sound from start to finish where the details are deafened by noise pollution. Which for me subtracts rather than adding to the musical experience.

Apart from that, this is melodic power metal with some very slight progressive tendencies, with bombastic and grandiose soundscapes and some pretty catchy choruses at times. Too bombastic for me, but many love that sound - and those that do should really check this one out.