Enlighten Me

Masterplan, the band formed by ex-Helloween members Roland Grapow and Uli Kusch is here with a teaser EP to their upcoming self titled debut. If the rest of the album is of the the same quality of the tracks presented here then damn, we're gonna have a monster of a cd. The first thing that struck me was the vocals of Jorn Lande. He has a powerful voice akin to D.C. Cooper and although he can definitely hit extremely high notes, he employs them rarely. Imagine a mix of David Coverdale from Whitesnake and the aforementioned D.C. Cooper and then you'll have a good idea of what I'm talking about. Before Jorn Lande joined Roland and Uli planned on enlisting Russel Allen of Symphony X but man, Jorn is PERFECT. The first song here is the "radio edit" (why do bands insist on making radio edits? I have heard of no non-internet or indie station to play metal on a regular basis much less have a time contraint on them thus requiring radio edits. The only reason people buy EP's like this is cos of A. unreleased material or B. they buy it to find out what the upcoming cd will sound like. No radio execs gonna go "Wow this band is amazing!!! If only they had a radio edit though of their new song, cos shucks this 4.37 min song is just way too long." Anyways sorry about that rant just something I had to point out and get off my chest.) of Enlighten Me. On first listen this midtempo paced tune sounds very dark, with brooding vocals from Mr. Lande and a chunky guitar beat but then when the chorus comes along it just explodes into your ears with one of the most memorable chorus melodies I've ever heard. This song, like the others on here, sound very modern and have a uniqueness to them that most bands are lacking today. I think most of it has to do with the fact that Masterplan don't employ "candy sugar" melodies and the singing is a more midranged powerful singing rather than another Kiske clone. A very refreshing song that begs to be played over and over. Track two Kind Hearted Light is yet another killer from this EP. It is a little faster than Enlighten Me but it still retains that modern and refreshing feel that Enlighten Me had. With a very nice keyboard intro this song is another uplifting track and really leaves you wanting more. Third track Through Thick and Thin is next and is exclusive to this single. It's fairly decent but it doesnt have the same magic feeling that Enlighten Me or Kind Hearted Light had. Black Dog, track four, is next and it's a Led Zeppelin cover. I hate Led Zeppelin. I have no idea why everyone swings from their nuts so much they don't do anything for me at all so suffice to say I wasn't too thrilled by this cover. Jorn however manages to sound exactly like Robert Plant so if you actually do like Led Zeppelin you'll like this track more than me. The final track is just the album version of Enlighten Me it has a longer solo in it and thats about all the difference. I am very hopeful about the future of this band. If Masterplan's full length has the same level of quality that songs like Enlighten Me and Kind Hearted Light have then it is gonna be a definite killer. Hey maybe we have a new Angra / Shaman situation on our hands.