Kustin As if the Norwegian rocker's name has simply flied by your radar from time to time, I'll quickly fill you in in this paragraph. Jorn Lande has made his vocal contributions in numerous bands such Avantasia, Ayreon, the Allen/Lande project, Masterplan etc. My best memories with him was when I heard him for the first time through the latter band, when I started exploring the metal territory in my teen years. Getting the positive impressions from Masterplan, it made me a believer in metal music in due time...

But let's get it out of the way and back to the subject! About Jorn Lande... This man is a Norwegian powerhouse of vocal talent. The people's comparisons of his voice with David Coverdale's timbre and Ronnie James Dio's power are quite common these days. His passion in music and his convincing vocal delivery has mostly earned him respect from fans and bands alike. So if you're one of those who has only heard him through his guest/band contributions, then what's with his solo albums to you? For that question, that would depend...

... On what kind of heavy metal you like? Throughout his discography, Jorn and his solo band has covered various elements of metal and hard rock, while maintaining their dark, raw but modern tone of the traditional metal sound. Worldchanger and Out To Every Nation goes in different metal directions at best and got some progressive moments while Lonely Are The Brave and albums later on puts more emphasis on the 70's/80's hard rock elements. The Duke served as a bridge as the band evolved their sound to something that they are more comfortable with (or just him, due to constant line-up changes?). Not much has been said or praised about his debut album, "Starfire", as his later follow-ups and I suppose it's not a big surprise, as Jorn himself told that he sees this album more as a demo rather than an LP release. Half of it consists of cover songs of his favorite bands while there are a couple of songs where the band carries the influences on their shoulders, which likely makes the record the most diverse per definition.

The hard rock sound sums up the majority of this record, with my favorite track being the anthemic Starfire that opens the album and the well-performed Journey cover Edge Of The Blade. I could say the same for the Deep Purple cover Burn and City Boy's The Day The Earth Caught The Fire, which got quite some re-vamp on the "Unlocking The Past" album.

Some tracks have got the AOR in their veins as well, which may gain mixed response depending on the listener's taste. As for me, I'll pass the Foreigner cover Break It Up as an OK track.

But in contrast to that, this record holds some heavy metal tracks that would define his solo band's sound for the following records. Gate of Tears serves as the crowning moment of the album with its driving tempo and thought-provoking lyrics; while Abyss Of Evil is a pounding beast of a track, carrying the Dio/Black Sabbath influences on its shoulders.

There are a couple of oddball tracks in-between, with what you could call a sappy ballad called Forever Yours setting a lighter mood while End Comes Easy plays out with a middle-eastern folk setting and I definitely found it interesting.

While I find a good deal of tracks enjoyable enough to get this CD, I would rather suggest the Jorn neophytes to rather check in his compilation albums "The Gathering" and "Unlocking The Past" for most of the improved re-recordings of the best songs here. Some exclusive tracks might be better off downloaded separately. But, as a whole, the production on this album is decent enough and the musicians pulled it off professionaly! It showed back then that Jorn had the ambitions enough to set his own niche. For the years to come, the raven has soared high with every release. So far, so good!

Standout tracks: Starfire, Gate Of Tears, The Day The Earth Caught Fire, Burn and End Comes Easy.

dtguitarfan Lonley are the Brave is the fifth studio album by Jorn Lande's solo project, Jorn, and, I believe, one of his crowning achievements. Jorn is no stranger to the music industry, and if you look him up you'll find that, along with his solo albums, he has sung with countless other bands and projects. With his solo band, he has always surrounded himself with excellent musicians. Notable on this album is the presence of Pagan's Mind guitarist Jorn Viggo Lofstad, who co-wrote many of the songs on the album with Jorn Lande. This album is excellent proof of Jorn Lande's uncanny knack of producing a very classic Metal sound, while still having a groundbreaking quality. The songwriting on this album is excellent, and Jorn shines as a Metal storyteller throughout. Jorn sings like a Metal Warrior/Poet on this album - his voice has a tough, raspy quality to it that give it a sharp edge, very similar to the style of Ronny James Dio or Bruce Dickinson. And the guitar work is excellent - the band really jams during the instrumental sections. This album has a great "no gimmicks, just metal" vibe to it that I love. Some of the highlights for me:

Shadow People - I imagine this being a great concert opener, with a little intro that gets you thinking something is coming, and then BAM!

Soul of the Wind - This one starts off quiet and mysterious, and then slams you with darkness!

Man of the Dark - I am amazed at how much this reminds me of classic metal, while still sounding new - this is like the anthem of a heavy metal artist.

Promises - Maybe my favorite song on the album - I still get chills sometimes from the anger and pain in this song.

Hellfire - what a fitting title for this one - this has a darkly epic, apocalyptic, futuristic feel to it.

dtguitarfan I've struggled with how to write this review as I have some mixed feelings on this album. Jorn Lande is one my favorite singers, and I feel his voice embodies Metal perfectly. He has this tough, raspy quality to his voice that sounds like pure testosterone - a voice that fans of classic metal singers like Ronny James Dio can appreciate. And he is no stranger to the scene - this is his 7th studio album with his solo act, but if you take the time to look him up you'll find he has sung with countless bands and projects over the years. And with his solo band, Jorn has always surrounded himself with excellent musicians. And he somehow has this quality to his music that feels classic, yet groundbreaking at the same time. Yet I struggled with how exactly to write this review, mainly because as I listened to this album I felt that it would not be the first album I'd recommend to someone who's never heard any of his music. Take the title track for example: it screams cliche. Now after a few listens I decided this is not such a bad thing - it's kind of like a Steven Seagal movie. Is it full of cliche? Yes, but this is often what people love about his movies. But I still felt that overall, this was not Jorn's greatest work. To me, the high point in this album was the track "The World I See." This was one of those tracks where I heard what I feel Jorn is all about - classic metal sound with well developed song structures played by polished, accomplished musicians. I was even quite surprised with this song as it starts with Jorn singing very gently (a little unusual for him), and almost has a Bryan Adams feel to it. But then it builds to the classic, dark-toned heavy metal sound you'd expect and has some killer guitar work within. This is what I've come to love in Jorn's work - a story-telling aspect to a classic metal sound. So, once again, I don't think this is his best album, but if you're a Jorn fan I'm sure you'll find songs you love. And if you're not already a Jorn fan, I'd suggest checking out "Lonely Are the Brave" first.

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.