Masteplan / Masterplan (2003)

1. Spirit Never Die

2. Kind Hearted Light

3. Soulburn

4. Heroes (Feat. Michael Kiske)

5. Into The Light

6. Through Thick And Thin (Bonus Track)

7. Crawling From Hell

8. Crystal Night

9. The Kid Rocks On (Bonus Track)

10. Sail On

11. When Love Comes Close

After they were fired from their old band, Roland and Uli formed their own band, Masterplan. I was really curious what kind of music that they were heading. Weiki claimed that Roland and Uli had a lot of influence in their last album, "The Dark Ride". They wanted to play some heavy and modern music. Well, this is the answer from them. I was really surprised by this album. The vocal, Jorn Lande, is definitely the one making this album very unique and not a typical power metal band. He has really strong and deep voice, often describe as David Coverdale type. In fact, in some songs, he really sounds like Coverdale. 

As you see, the track list is Japanese edition and very different from other places. "Enlighten Me" was only released as a single and not included in the album. The order is very different as well. Musically, it has some typical power metal songs such as Tracks 1, 2, 4, and 10. Especially, track 4 which features Michael Kiske is a highlight of this album. Nevertheless, the ones that make this band unique are the songs such as tracks 3, 5, 6, and 11. Those songs are very dramatic and really feature Jorn's voice. Another surprise for me was Roland's guitar play. He was known as a one of Yngwie's follower, but his guitar play in this album shows more standard rock/metal influence. When I watched their live, he was playing Les-Paul guitars. 

As a conclusion, it was a high quality metal album. I think this band appeals to not only power metal fans but also metal fans in general. The album shows their guts to overcome the tragedy and hope for the future. It is really ironic, but two departures of important members from Helloween created another two great metal bands, Gamma Ray and Masterplan.

☆☆☆☆

Fallen / Evanescence (2003)

1. Going Under

2. Bring Me To Life

3. Everybody's Fool

4. My Immortal

5. Haunted

6. Tourniquet

7. Imaginary

8. Taking Over Me

9. Hello

10. My Last Breath

11. Whisper

12. Farther Away (Bonus Track)

Year 2003 was a good harvest of rock albums. It is really hard to say which one of them was the best album of 2003. However, I can say which one of them was the most shocking and sensational album of the year for me. This record had the biggest impact in that year. There were several reasons for it. The first reason is the quality of melodies in this album. It is really dark yet very dramatic and moving. The second reason was that this band was from America, and the last reason was that the album became a huge hit in America.

The music is comparable with some European bands. Each song has dramatic arrangement. Melody is sad, longing, and very moving. It has some common essence with symphonic metal bands. I never thought that this kind of music would be so big in America. From the first song, the band shows its own unique world. It has power to attract listeners immediately and never let go. Track 2 was used as a soundtrack for the movie "Daredevil". Two ballads are really moving, and track 4 became a huge hit on radio. Nevertheless, I personally the best track in this album is track 7. This track is very progressive yet not complicated. The arrangement is very dramatic and modulated. 

Amy Lee's voice is very clear and powerful. Ben's riffs have strong edge. They were both great composers. The album did not let me go until the very last song. It is really hard to believe that this album is their major debut album.

☆☆☆☆☆