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Masterplan > Aeronautics > Reviews
Masterplan - Aeronautics

A masterful Masterplan - 95%

duijffke, December 14th, 2020
Written based on this version: 2005, CD, AFM Records (Digibook, Enhanced)

Ever since Masterplan’s two most recent releases, the not so good Novum Initium and even worse PumpKings, I feel like the band’s first efforts haven’t been getting the attention they deserve. Listeners new to Masterplan and playing either album with Rick Altzi on vocals will be listening to a completely different band than when the almighty Jørn Lande handled vocal duties. Although some people find similarities between Altzi’s and Lande’s sound I’m afraid Masterplan collapsed after the release of Aeronautics. Not only did Lande leave, but also co-founder and drummer Uli Kusch decided to part ways with the band. Of course, Lande would return to sing one more time on Time To Be King, but at that time Roland Grapow and his fellow bandmates had already moved on to a new, heavier sound which was executed rather well on MkII but didn’t work on any of the following albums.

Aeronautics is essentially a more mature version of the band’s eponymous debut album. While the latter was pretty decent, it lacked the consistency Aeronautics does have. The (as it seems) pilot-themed CD kicks off with the hard-hitting power metal crusher “Crimson Rider” and immediately sets the mood. The double kick drums from Kusch are placed unbelievably well, as for the remainder of the entire album. Kusch knows when to hold back, but stands by Eckert’s aggressive bass tones and Grapow’s excellent guitar playing. The guitar is without a doubt meant to be the melodic headliner, because Mackenrott’s keyboards are used more often in the background as a ‘wall of sound’ than as a soloing instrument. That’s actually quite refreshing, compared to some of Stratovarius’ and Sonata Arctica’s over the top keyboard-driven songs.

Aside from the faster songs like “Crimson Rider” and “Into the Arena” there’s also room for mid-paced, dramatic tracks with a touch of hard rock influence like “Dark from the Dying” and “Back for My Life”. Ironically, while both these songs are stand-out tracks on the album, this kind of music was why Jørn Lande left the band. Grapow wanted to push the music towards a more power metal-y direction. I think it’s safe to say that didn’t do him much good. A special mention must go out to “Wounds”. How anyone couldn’t get goosebumps upon hearing the first chord would be beyond me. It’s a beautiful, haunting power metal song with one of the best choruses the band has ever written.

The album clocks in at 54 minutes but feels much shorter. That’s a compliment: it means that neither track bores or can be easily skipped. Each song (apart from “Treasure World”, perhaps) is interesting and shows off the talent all five musicians possess. While I’ve told myself over and over again that either “Wounds” or “I’m Not Afraid” is my favourite song on the CD I may have to rethink my opinion. The absolute highlight comes at the end with the grand epic “Black in the Burn”. The piano and guitar assist each other during the first one and a half minute, but then the band strikes again with heavy guitars and pounding double-bass drumming which make your hair stand up straight once again.

If the band would’ve concluded the CD with this epic they would’ve ended in the exact same style in which they started off the album. I think they should’ve, because the conclusive song sadly doesn’t convince me. It’s the only filler track to be found here, but thanks to Lande’s beautiful vocals, Grapow’s excellent songwriting and the other musicians’ finger-licking work, “Treasure World” doesn’t ruin the feel of the album. It’s not often that you come across a perfect album. Truth be told, Aeronautics isn’t that exception, but it’s a damn good piece of music that deserves to be heard. If you’re new to Masterplan, this is the record you’ll need to listen to first. And who knows, now that Grapow’s former band Helloween has reunited without Grapow himself, he might decide there’s a bright future for Masterplan with Kusch and Lande as well…

Highlights: “Wounds”, “I’m Not Afraid”, “Into the Arena”, “Black in the Burn”

Not afraid to rock the show! - 90%

NecroFile, August 9th, 2008

I've always viewed Jorn Lande as a less extreme version of Michael Kiske. He's often said that he's more a rock fan than a metal fan, and that he hates power metal cliches such high-pitched vocals, double-bass, keyboards, etc.

I'm not sure how much songwriting influence he had on German power metal band Masterplan's second album Aeronautics, but I'm guessing "a lot". For the most part, this is straight up AOR-rock, with songs like "Headbangers Ballroom" and "Into the Arena" that sound like they could have come from a Whitesnake album. (Of course, Roland Grapow and the gang managed to steer things back to power metal a few times, notably on the rousing final song "Black in the Burn.") Another stylistic change is that the lyrics mostly deal with love and relationships, as opposed to the epic theme adopted by most power metal albums.

Power metal purists would probably be outraged by this change of musical direction, but I prefer Aeronautics to the the first album put out by the band. The songs are much stronger, and hold up under repeat listens. Where to begin? "Crimson Rider" is an outstanding album opener, with various string sections that give it an epic, upbeat feel. That song and "Wounds" round out the power metal for the first half of the album. "Back for my Life" and "I'm Not Afraid" are more down-tempo, but with very emotional vocals.

Axel Mackenrott is a very underrated musician, and his keyboard work often gives Aeronautics' songs the added punch they need. "Headbangers Ballroom" has some very low-key playing that helps accentuate the guitars at certain points in the song, and it redeems the otherwise boring "Dark from the Dying." He also contributes some tasteful piano playing to the towering speed metal epic "Black in the Burn". It's all good stuff.

But my favorite song on the album is "Falling Sparrow." This song is where everything clicks. It's catchy, it's energetic, it's emotional, and it's accessible. In a perfect world, this song would be a major radio hit all over the world.

The only bad thing about Aeronautics is that it is the rock that split the band apart. Jorn wanted to continue writing music in this style. Roland and Uli wanted to go back to power metal. The difference could not be resolved, and Jorn respectfully departed from the band (taking 90% of the band's fans with him, it seems). And too be honest, I wouldn't have wanted the band to continue with this style for another album anyway. It was a nice change of pace, though.

Aeronautics versus The Keeper - 96%

hells_unicorn, September 30th, 2006

In 2005 there was another match up between former Helloween axeman Roland Grapow's current band and the power metal pioneers he used to associate with. 2 years before Roland achieved instant success with a highly impressive debut, while Helloween threw together a transitionary line-up of former Freedom Call axeman Sascha Gershner and session drummer formerly of King Diamond Mikkey Dee. The result was an overly comical, though still decent album, that paled in comparison. This time around, although Helloween officially got their act together and released a superior album, the boys in Masterplan have made some improvements from their last effort.

We had alot of variety on the previous album, and here we see that variety actually expand quite a bit. We start off with "Crimson Rider", which is an extremely heavy and memorable up tempo anthem that immediately grabs the listener and locks them into place. "Back for my life" is another radio friendly single with some fluffy lyrics, but there are some excellent guitar sounds at work here, as well as a top notch production job.

Once we get to "Wounds", things really get going as Uli Kusch blazes up another amazing set of high speed drum beats, spearheaded by one of Masterplan's most memorable choruses. "I'm not afraid" has some interesting keyboard work and thematic guitar riffs in it before morphing into a quasi-ballad/quasi-cooker, very characteristic of the duality at work in Masterplan's previous mini-epics on their debut. "Headbanger's Ballroom" is a rather interesting heavy metal love song, containing some rather surreal keyboard themes with some pounding guitar riffs. During the bridge and the chorus the keyboards almost leave the impression of a proper ball from the 19th century, although the guitars give it an interesting twist.

"After this war" is a rather interesting twist on the closing track to Iron Savior's 3rd album, which reminds us of better days when Jan Eckert was still having vocal duels with Piet Selick. I prefer the original version, but the acoustic guitar on this one is an interesting contrast from the reverb-steeped clean guitar sound on the Iron Savior version. "Into the Arena" is a more up-tempo rocker with a good amount of heavy guitar work and amazing drum work, which paint the metaphorical lyrics of love being a struggle with a quasi-epic feel.

"Dark from the Dying" and "Falling Sparrow" are both very dramatic sounding songs. Both contain some solid guitar work, but they are overshadowed by the grand epic "Black in the burn" that closes the album. Suffice to say this is my favorite song ever recorded by these guys to date, mostly for Roland's amazingly complicated and intricant guitar riffs and the absolutely insane guitar solo section that rivals his inspiration Yngwie Malmsteen. The piano that comes and goes is a nice touch, and the lyrics give us some rather thought provoking concepts to chew on. Amazing performances by all other musicians in the band as well.

In conclusion, this is an amazing album that deserves all the attention that it's been getting. Some are probably upset by this as Masterplan has enjoyed a deal more success than some bands who have released superior material, but this doesn't bother me. Roland and the others have done some amazing things here, and all of them have earned the success they have achieved. It is a shame that Jorn is no longer with the band, but there is a good amount of talent out there, and I am hopeful that Masterplan will have a 3rd offering in the near future.

Jorn is GOD! - 90%

krozza, March 11th, 2005

It’s an enviable position to be in, but the question needs to be asked – where do you go when you’re already at the top? German/Norwegian super group Masterplan set the bar at near record levels upon the release of their critically acclaimed self-titled debut of 2003. I never doubted Masterplan’s ability to deliver the goods on their sophomore effort, but with such a brilliant debut, the pressure to maintain that level could have presented Masterplan with quite daunting task. So did they fail? Pfffttt!! Not likely!

Masterplan is clearly one of the more classy metal acts in existence at present. And with ‘Aeronautics’, they once again deliver a killer set of melodically driven heavy metal/power metal tracks. ‘Aeronautics’ is perhaps not as instant as the self titled debut and as such it does require a little more time for the music to be fully realized. Not that Masterplan has gone and incorporated a myriad of complex progressive elements to their sound; it’s more like they’ve fleshed out their ideas a little further. In this respect, ‘Aeronautics’ sounds like a slightly more cohesive ‘group’ album than the debut.

Perhaps the most impressive element of ‘Aeronautics’ is the production. The sound of this album is superb. Using the same team that fashioned the debut – producers Andy Sneap and Roland Grapow, in addition to Miko Karmila and Mikka Jussila who mixed and mastered it at Finnvox Studio - somehow they have been able to conjure up an improvement on the debut. Quite a feat really considering the strength of that album. ‘Aeronautics’ has a warm, rich guitar sound (with Roland’s riffs featuring prominently in the mix), the layered keys establish a major presence and the vocals of one Mr.Jorn Lande takes everything up just a notch further on the quality meter.

Most punters who frequent these pages would know my adoration for Jorn Lande. For me, the man is the finest metal/hard rock vocalist in the business. He is a major, major reason why Masterplan is so damn good. They’d still be great without him, but his presence is undoubtedly a key component for the band. Lande is once again in superb form on ‘Aeronautics’. Yet, as with the debut, I feel he merely does the job required of him on ‘Aeronautics’. Without question, his voice is simply godly on this, but if you’ve ever heard his solo material you know that his Masterplan performances are, whilst still expressive, more restrained and controlled. Masterplan is nowhere near as dark or experimental as his own act and thus it allows Jorn to capture a straight ahead melodic and chorus driven formula if you will.

The Masterplan debut contained some fabulously conceived tracks. The dynamic symbiosis of heavy riffs and seriously catchy melodic choruses was the key. ‘Aeronautics’ is, not unexpectedly, built on similar ingredients. However, if anything it is probably a more consistent effort throughout without really have a standout highlight like the debut (although I think the 9 minute closer ‘Black in the Burn’ is the best thing they’ve ever done!). If there is a slight criticism that could be directed towards this album, it’s possibly the number of ‘semi-ballad’ tracks that appear at regular intervals. I don’t have problem with them as such (and with Jorn on vocals they’re infinitely better), but if you’re a fan of energetic mid to fast-tempo metal anthems, this might not have enough meat on the bones for you, if you know what I mean.

Masterplan has, at least, maintained the standard delivered on the debut. The more I listen to it compared to the debut, the more it becomes my preferred choice. But really, I’m splitting hairs. If you loved the debut, this will give you everything you would expect and more. The performances are suitably breathtaking and the production is world class. Nothing more than a group like this deserves; One of the best for the year no doubt.