Search - Masterplan :: MK II

Don't believe the hype . . .

R. Cashman | Plymouth, MA USA | 12/27/2007

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I was skeptical of this album for a long time considering the departure of singer extraordinaire Jorn Lande, but having heard and reasonably liked the lead single "Lost and Gone" . . . and having read review after review for this album being so supportive of the change---and positive overall---I finally said "what the heck" and picked it up. What a mistake. I should have stuck with my gut.



I want to make it clear I'm casting no aspersions on replacement singer, Mike Dimeo. While he's no Lande, he is in fact a very talented vocalist, and he's similar enough in style and delivery to Lande that he could have made a completely acceptable replacement. This album's failure certainly isn't his vocals. For one thing, the vocals are mixed too low and in a couple spots are almost inaudible . . . it's as if the band said to themselves: if you can't really hear the vocals, but what you do hear sounds close enough to Jorn, then maybe no one will notice the difference.



Beyond that, the songs on this album are just sloppy, under-developed attempts to recreate the first Masterplan album (which to me was perhaps a little heavier but inferior song-wise, and with a more dated, stuck-in-the-80's sound than the excellent Aeronautics . . . which in contrast successfully captured an 80's and classic rock vibe yet still very much sounds like a 21st century record). The songwriting on MK II is just lackluster, throwback Euro hard rock by-the-numbers, with a few virtually pointless, meandering instrumental breaks thrown in to add some measure of a "prog" element. In particular, Grapow seems to lose control of some of his solos (and I like him as a guitarist) with frantic, speed licks that go off-key and at times are altogether out of synch with the rhythm of the song.



Worse are the lyrics. Again, I almost feel as though the band hoped you didn't pay much attention to the vocals other than to perceive enough of a superficial resemblance to Lande that you would just nod and smile and move on. While Lande's lyrics certainly contain their share of shameless "Whitesnake-isms", they at least convey enough of a coherent theme or narrative to make logical sense and communicate some tangible emotion. The lyrics here are just a completely random string of every 80's hard rock/metal cliche you've ever heard. They don't even seem to make sense in many cases.



All in all I was sorely disappointed in this album, and frankly I felt duped by all of the supportive reviews that promised quality close to that of the previous releases. Bottom line: the songwriting spark that Grapow, Kusch, and Lande brought to Masterplan collectively is completely lacking here. And despite the debate over the relatively heavier, more metallic attack of the debut album vs. the slightly more catchy, song-oriented approach of Aeronautics, the fact is Jorn Lande and the vocals overall were the driving force of this band. If the band had embraced that notion and actually took the risk of letting Dimeo step to the forefront on MK II, perhaps they would have created something with similar appeal. Alas, they played it safe, de-emphasized the vocals, and just shot for enough of a sound-alike approach to get by. The result is a well produced (except for the vocal level), mostly well played, but utterly empty pastiche. Too bad; this band was on its way to greatness before this woefully self-conscious misstep. Perhaps they'll pull it together for their next release. This one left a bad taste, but not so much that I won't give the next one a chance."

Different than MK I

Paul William Schumacher | Normal, Illinois USA | 01/09/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"While the first Master Plan CD sounds like an 80s metal band (that is why I bought it) MK II has a more 90s metal giving it a very different sound. At first, I was turned off by my initial expectations but then one of the songs got stuck in my head. Before I knew it I was appreciating this album for what it is. It is different then the first album, and just as good."

MK II

U. Sorman | Europe | 08/13/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"As long as you dont compare this album to the two prior Jorn-sung cds, this i quite nice.. The debut ws better but this totally competes for second place! Vocals and riffing is nice. Song-writing could be better."