MASTERLAN, the melodic power metal band led by former
HELLOWEEN guitarist
Roland Grapow, has released the following statement:
"After months of rumors and speculations, it is now official: [Norwegian singer]
Jorn Lande will once again join forces with his old bandmates and work on what is expected to be yet another
MASTERPLAN masterpiece.
"The new album is already in the works and
Jorn is right now in
Roland Grapow Studios in Slovakia recording his vocals.
"The release date is not yet decided, but the album is scheduled to hit the market sometime in early 2010."
Lande recently told Germany's
Rock Hard magazine about his renewed collaboration with
MASTERPLAN, "We never had problems with each other, but professionally, we decided for to go separate ways for a while. . . I am happy that we are . . . working together again — mainly because the combination of
MASTERPLAN's music and my singing [is] truly something special."
Lande left
MASTERPLAN in May 2006, citing "musical differences" between the vocalist and the rest of the band. During the songwriting process for the group's third album, it became increasingly apparent that the other members of the band had different visions and plans for the group's musical direction. While
Jorn allegedly wanted
MASTERPLAN to follow a more melodic path, the rest of the band apparently wanted to return to the metallic roots of their debut album.
Vocalist
Mike DiMeo (
RIOT,
THE LIZARDS) announced his departure from
MASTERPLAN in January 2009 after recording just one studio album with the group — 2007's
"MK II".
Lande's new solo album,
"Spirit Black", was released in June via
Frontiers Records. The follow-up to last year's
"Lonely Are The Brave" CD — which entered the national chart in Norway at No. 28 and Sweden at No. 42 — was described by
Jorn as "a solid and defined album that will shake the classic metal world and hammer the future
Jorn legacy in stone!"
Jorn Lande cut his teeth with such internationally renowned acts as
ARK,
MILLENIUM,
VAGABOND and
THE SNAKES.
Roland Grapow and
Jorn Lande (2009):
