JORN
Heavy Rock Radio II - Executing The Classics
Frontiers Music
The name Jorn Lande is probably fairly unknown to the average Metalhead here in The Colonies. Not that he himself is unknown, quite the contrary. But the average fan would not stumble over the man or his vast musical catalogue thanks to the underwhelming coverage that Metal enjoys here in the Pop/Rap musical scene in the US. Except of course for the saving grace that is KNAC.COM.
So let’s shed a bit of light on Jorn and some of his history. He sang with Euro Power Metal band MASTERPLAN with ex-HELLOWEEN guitarist Roland Grapow. He sang for an virtually unknown Power Metal band from Denmark called BEYOND TWILIGHT’s album The Devil’s Hall of Fame in ‘01. I mention that because it’s a great CD. Look it up!! He currently has ALLEN/LANDE with SYMPHONY X singer Russell Allen, that also features ex-STRATOVARIUS guitarist Timo Tolkki. And of course he has his solo project JORN.
A testimony to the man’s talent that some might not be aware of is after the passing of the legend that was Ronnie James Dio, HEAVEN & HELL still had a gig lined up for the High Voltage Festival in the UK for later in 2010. The rest of the band honored that gig and RJD and played, with Mr. Jorn Lande as special guest vocalist along with Glenn Hughes. Now if that doesn’t tell you what you’re missing if your not already familiar with the man then I’m at a loss here. But if you’d like further proof in 2010 Jorn put out an album called...Dio, a tribute to the man himself. Covering some SABBATH & RAINBOW, but mostly DIO solo. If you count yourself a DIO fan then do yourself a favor and go find the CD and check it out. I certainly enjoyed it and you will too.
Now, on to the present. Following on the heels of 2016’s Heavy Rock Radio, a CD that finds Jorn covering such hits as QUEEN’s "Killer Queen", EAGLES "Hotel California", JOURNEY’s "Don’t Stop Believing", plus heavier fare such as DEEP PURPLE, IRON MAIDEN and BLACK SABBATH (Dio era along with solo DIO to boot). A very well received CD indeed. So much so that Frontiers Records asked for another! Which brings us to Heavy Rock Radio II - Executing the Classics. And this one doesn’t rely on standard Metal band covers. On the contrary, only his cover of "Mystery" by his hero Dio is there anything that you would say is Metal. But I didn’t say there wasn’t anything heavy in here. Surprising choices but done Jorn Lande’s way. Starting off with Bryan Adams' hit "Lonely Nights", Jorn ups the tempo a bit and riffs it up but doesn’t lose the melody or hook in the least. A great starter and showcase for the man’s musical chops. Russ Ballard’s "Winning" is next, and Jorn isn’t the only person to cover this great Ballard number, as Santana himself covered it on his Zebop album from 1981. Excellent version here. Up next is Don Henley’s "New York Minute" fron his ‘89 album The End Of Innocence and it shows how versatile Jorn’s voice really is. He pulls of Henley’s smooth voice effortlessly.
Still retaining that late 80’s ballad style, there’s just enough Heavy here to get the song a new life. Brilliant indeed. "Needles and Pins" was a song by THE SERACHERS but the only version I’d ever heard was by the Punk Rock legends THE RAMONES. This version is completely Rock compared to THE RAMONES but both kickass in their own way. And I mentioned SANTANA earlier, Jorn covers the powerful "Love" from one of my fave SANTANA albums, Marathon from ‘79. And Jorn rocks it but again doesn’t lose the essence of the song. No mean feat to be sure. THE PAGES "I Do Believe in You" follows and is a song that I’m unfamiliar with. A great uptempo rocker here and something tells me I’d be a bit spoiled to here the OG version now. And I’d be remiss without giving kudos to the band backing Mr. Lande; Alessandro Del Vecchio on keys, Francesco Jovino on drums, Sid Ringsby on bass, and Tore Moren and Jgor Gianola are the twin guitar attack. Not necessarily household names (this house at least) but very talented nonetheless.
Now back to the music, and FOREIGNER’s "Nightlife" off of their multi-platinum 4 from ‘81 and if you’re a fan of that song then I’m sure you’ll love Jorn’s version as well. His vision was to “treat the originals with respect but make my versions a strong alternative to enjoy and hope the original artist would be honoured and find my version relevant”. Mission accomplished. DEEP PURPLE’s "Bad Attitude" has Jorn again slightly morphing his voice into the Hall of Famer Ian Gillan and again, it’s a wonderful version. MANFRED MANN’S EARTH BAND’s "Quinn The Eskimo" is a song I remember as a little hellion, but Jorn definitely takes it to a different place yet still recognizable. KROKUS even covered this on their covers album Big Rocks but I’d say Jorn’s is the definitive version. The DIO song "Mystery" from the legends The Last in Line album from ‘84 sounds just exceptional and I’ll throw this out: I’d rather see & hear Jorn do a set of DIO covers over the men fronting DIO DISCIPLES or watching a Star Wars freaking hologram of RJD himself. ‘Nuff said. Peter Gabriel’s "The Rhythm of the Heat" finishes up this album and Jorn and crew made this a full blown Power Metal manifesto! Epic but headbanging heavy!!! That’s how you finish up an album of covers!
All in all a very enjoyable and asskickin’ album! I myself love hearing bands do covers, but wish more would take more initiative to make songs their own instead of just aping the original. And Jorn has done that in spades. If you like any of these songs, or are curious to hear whether I’m blowing smoke up your arse about Mr. Lande’s talent then give Heavy Rock Radio II a shot. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
And Vinyl freaks, even tho I’ve yet to see it, a 180g gatefold version should be out now. So buy or Die!!!!
4.0 Out Of 5.0 Skulls
