Friday, May 21, 2010

Time To Be King / Masterplan (2010)


1. Fiddle Of Time
2. Blow Your Winds
3. Far From The End Of The World
4. Time To Be King
5. Lonely Winds Of War
6. The Dark Road
7. The Sun Is In Your Hands
8. The Black One
9. Blue Europe
10. Under The Moon

Another member change has happened, and Jorn Lande came back to the band. It was a happy news for me since I thought he was one of the factors that was making this band very unique. My first impression was that this album did not have any catchy songs. I went through really quickly, and nothing really caught my attention. However, as I listened more carefully, I came to the conclusion that the band finally established their music style.

In their past albums, there was at least one catchy power metal tunes such as "Heroes", "Sail On", "Wounds", and "Keeps Me Burning". Nevertheless, this album does not have that kind of song, yet the band plays Masterplan style dramatic metal from track 1. This album may not have catchiness and pop essence that catch people's attention for the first time listening. But, I realized the true value of each song as I listened to them more and more. 

Each song is very dramatic, and Axel Mackenrott did such a great job with his keyboard play. Keyboard is making solemn mood. Jorn's vocal really stands out in this kind of songs. I think the band finally reached to the point that they were initially heading to. This album became my favorite of this band. Unfortunately, Jorn Lande left the band again, but I hope the band will keep this musical direction. 

☆☆☆☆