Jorn Lande is one metal talent that requires no media press hype for me at all to become absolutely madly frothing at the mouth at the prospect of digging into the delectable glory that is one of his projects. Hopping aboard the fan boat sometime in 1998 with his appearance on Mundanus Imperium's "The Spectral Spheres Coronation" and featuring as a highlight, the amazing cover of Rainbow's "Stargazer", a bold prediction was made.
Jorn would become one of the greatest singers in current metal history, and so far, with a blazing trail of hot releases across many different metal genres - from AOR-ish hard rock Vagabond and Millenium, to progressive acts like Ark and Beyond Twilight, and the raw pure metal in-between pedal to the metal-lers Masterplan, not to mention breathing life into his character portrayal in Nikolo Kotzev's "Nostradamus" multi-vocalist epic,
Jorn has truly established himself as a versatile and consistent singer who tackles each genre with his own unique twist and channeling the bluesy raw erotic urgency of a youthful David Coverdale on the side. Lande mixes the best of all worlds depending on the material for an enticing mixture that is simply irresistible.
But it's his solo CDs that seem to shine the brightest overall, and "Out to Every Nation" is his third so far. The prior two discs, the combo of covers and originals debut of "Starfire" in 2000 and the all-new songs of blockbuster "Worldchanger" gave
Jorn a different outlet to vent his emotions besides being confined to the role of vocalist extraordinaire pinch hitter for any band that needed a voice to make their CD be a homerun hit out of the ballpark. "Out to Every Nation" picks up where "Worldchanger" left off, offering up a near perfect blend of the three sounds that
Jorn does the best: balls to the wall heavy metal, blues enriched tunes that seem to be the skeleton of the
Whitesnake brought back to fleshy life, in all its full serpentine glory, and fist-in-the-air stadium filler anthems.
It has been said that Lande isn't pleased with this release, and it does suffer a bit in the production area, being not as crisp, sharp and rich as the previous outing, yet it still sounds quite polished, just not as glossy as before. Who this can be blamed on is not for certain but the disc suffers little from this drawback as musically, it is truly everything one would be looking for in a followup plus some. The musicians backing up the glorious voice thrust to the forefront are all first class,
Jorn Viggo Lofstad on guitar has a fantastic tone that matches the feel of the album perfectly, and the rhythm section of Magnus Rosen and Stian Kristoffersen is thunderborn and pounding with precision.
Opening with a thunder rush,
"Young Forever" resembles many album starters with its break neck pacing and unrelenting harshness. The drums slam and
Jorn screams alone, everything seems right with the world, till the chorus where they turn things on its head and smash the living daylights out of song structure with galloping riffs and winding proceedings down for a moment of pure vocal performance that truly proves you can't kill the spirit of this music. metal will never die as long as something that could be as simple and by-the-numbers as this can be lifted to excellency by clever songwriting and rock solid talent on showcase.
The title track,
"Out to Every Nation" is a brilliant example of the anthemic hard rock with a vintage European stamp, that Lande handles with such capable pipes and a senses overwhelming commanding presence. It brings the blood rushing to the head for a dizzying journey that fills the room with electricity that tingles through every nerve until it's screaming at your soul. The hook here is tremendous, rich with depth and melody, bringing you back to hit "replay" as you are salivating for more. This is the kind of music that writhes in the veins with inspiration. Who can resist lyrics like these that tap into the imagination and bring a sense of fantasy to the cruel shades of reality?
"Rainbowshaker on a unicorn ride, spread my dreams across the sky." "Something Real" has a new approach, seething with a heavy interior that is allowed to frolic like a wild animal before closure, but the chorus simply soars, proudly flaunting a melodic side that keeps this one fresh and fire fueled.
"Living With Wolves" gives a false impression at its opening with a lighthearted opening that skips along with violins before slamming the listener right in the stomach with riffs oozing with darkness and clipped ominous vocals reminiscent of
Tony Martin in Black Sabbath. The chorus is ferocious and pure grinding metal. Lyrically it resembles these comparisons as well, taking a walk on the mesmerizing dark side.
"Vision Eyes" features a gorgeously constructed bridge that builds intensity before breaking into a smooth rolling chorus, stripped and laid-back when contrasted against the lush rollicking heaviness with deep sinking hooks.
"One Day We Will Put Out the Sun" is harsher, the drums and bass flaying the life from the guitars that seem crushed into submission until they are allowed to wail in anguish. There are little additions thrown in here in the form of studio effects to spice up the formula and keep such a heavy-at-heart track from being a victim of drowning from mediocrity. The guitar solo here is also simply divine, striking a chord of emotion while Lande adds his pipes into the background spiking it with pained "ahhhs". And I haven't even mentioned the "cooling" period afterwards, where no holds are barred in the string pulling department as he sings his soul out.
"Behind the Clown" wanders a moodier path that finds a gentle piano lighting the way with a light jazz feel and a soothing vocal performance that soars within. Not quite a ballad, but reaches for something more than just settling for the typical. This is bent and turned every which way to squeeze every last drop of emotion out, wringing it and leaving the song for dry on the very last sung note which is rather revealing at its end.
"Rock Spirit" brings things right back to full blown rock n' roll and a very late 70s/early 80s
Whitesnake-like groove complete with vocals to match but sporting a much heavier bottom end with a more metal venom in its bite.
"Through Day and Night" is simply haunting. It masquerades as an average rocker before scraping its way into more respectable ranks with the mystifying voice of Lande powering it onto another plateau all together. He can transform the simplest song into magic with the touch of his voice especially when pleading clever lyrical gems like the following:
"I'm like a spaceship trapped inside a giant spider's web with silky chains that hold me down, don't hold me down."
"When Angel Wings Where White" closes out the disc, by stretching its feathered appendages shining with the brilliance of a dawning new day of lulling sleepiness before the tips touch the sky, revealing a metallic surface. The scathing feathers flutter down and slice to the bone with lyrics that bare the soul and a music backdrop that continues its increasing velocity until reaching a feverish peak, riffs blazing, and Lande's voice wailing in ageless pain, questioning with sorrow dripping all around like raindrops.
Well worth the wait, "Out to Every Nation" is a fantastic celebration of heavy metal with a modern nod to good old fashion rock and roll. Lande has had a knack in selecting marvelous vehicles to showcase his voice in for his solo career, and this third disc is no exception to the rule thus far. He shines with an untouchable brilliance that loans the disc an infinite replayability value. Remarkably as wonderful as this is, it doesn't quite live up to the excellence of "Worldchanger", which has been in my constant rotation for the past two years, but with confidence I can say that even after the first flush of excitement wears off, there is enough solid, soul shattering material here to keep the metal fires burning for years to come. First class all the way, just as I had hoped, and even expected, as
Jorn Lande has never let me down.
Written by
Alanna Friday, June 4, 2004
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