Masterplan is back, and returning on vocals is the awesome Jorn Lande. What can be said about Time To Be King? I can say that it is glorious and uplifting, while still maintain the sense of melancholy that characterizes Masterplan’s music. I can say that it is an example of how one should do European Power Metal. I can say that I fucking love it.

Let us start with the biggest thing of note here: The return of Jorn fucking Lande on vocals. Lande left Masterplan after their awesome 2005 album Aeronautics. And while MK II was good, it just seemed to be lacking something without Lande’s singing. Now that he’s back, Masterplan seems whole again. Alright, I’ll admit that I have a bit of a mancrush on Mr. Lande, but in my defense, the dude is awesome. First, he has an epic voice that doesn’t sound too over-the-top, and he doesn’t sound like he’s had his ball repeatedly brutalized. Secondly, his voice is emotional, expressive, and clear. His voice plays a large part in why Masterplan’s music has its melancholic sound. And thirdly, he has that Hansi Kursch-like ability to make stupid lyrics sound cool. I mean, there are some pretty stupid lines throughout this album, Jorn Lande makes them work.

The guitars on this album are great, with songs ranging from fast and blazing like “Far From The End Of The World,” to more mid-paced fare like “Lonely Winds Of War.” Each song has infectious melodic riffs that can and will get stuck in your head. The guitars intertwine with the keys (which I’ll mention in a second), and they strike a good balance between the two elements. The solos are also good, with most of them of your basic melodic shredding type found in German power metal. They are done well, fitting into the overall song and following a logical progression. They are never the real focus of the songs, which can be good or bad depending on the listener. I personally never had a problem with the de-emphasis of the soloing, as the rest of the album is good enough to more than make up for it.

I mentioned keys earlier, and let me say that they are everywhere on this album, and that you will most likely notice this fact. Yet they aren’t overpowering or the main focus like they often are in most Euro-power metal. Instead, they take the form of a constant backing instrument, ranging from pianos to choirs. The keyboards complement the rest of the band instead of competing with them, which is how keyboards should be used.

Other things about this album: The drums and basswork are solid. Everything is done well and nothing that the drums or bass do brings the rest of the album down. Of course, the flipside of this is that nothing about them jumps out and makes me take notice.

As a whole, Time To Be King might just be Masterplan’s strongest album to date. Each song is good and makes me want to listen to it in its entirety. Yet at the same time, with the exception of “Far From The End Of The World,” there aren’t really any exceptionally strong songs that can compare on their own to previous Masterplan songs like “Into The Arena,” “Falling Sparrow,” or “Back In The Burn.” This is a somewhat minor complaint though, since TTBK works best as an album, and not as a collection of individual songs. Another thing about this album is that it FELT way too short. It lasts about 45 minutes, but it feels a lot shorter than that. I’ve found myself listening to this album twice in a row simply because I didn’t want it to end. SO I guess that’s about the best complaint an album could get.

All in all, Time To Be King is a glorious album, and will most likely be the best power metal album of 2010.


Score:5 out of 6


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