PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
Norway’s Jorn Lande returns with his new album “Traveller”.
For those who are unaware of Jorn, this man releases top quality albums as regularly as Iron Maiden release special edition picture discs. Excluding involvement and appearances with Avantasia, Masterplan and Allen/Lande, “Traveller” is studio album number ten since 2000 and is very much a consolidation of the classic hard rock sound that he has embraced throughout his career.
Album opener “Overload” is a blend of stomping melody and captivating lyrical imagery that marks the pathway for everything to follow. Lande is emphatic when he cries – the wings I grew will fly me out of winter. The Sacred Heart-era Dio-esque “Cancer Demon” honestly tackles a difficult topic for many to face. Stylish twin lead harmonies by Holter and Iversen give a nice Lizzy feel to the skeleton of “Widow Maker” while Legend Man” races along with pitch harmonics and fills akin to the guitar work of White Lion’s Vito Bratta. The grandiose “Carry the Black” uses atmospheric theremin effects drafted straight from an Ed Wood movie. From the seismic sonance of “Rev On” and “Traveller” to the vintage vibe of “Make Your Engine Scream”, the band barely gives the listener time to catch a breath.
Album closer, a second homage to Ronnie James Dio, is “The Man Who Was King”. The emotional introduction shows the effect that Dio had in shaping Jorn Lande into the vocalist he is today. The core of the song is filled with ominous menace and a Lock up the Wolves sense of foreboding. It is a defining moment on “Traveller”, an album that is a relentless onslaught of hard rock anthems with classic grooves and melodies.
In a world obsessed with reinvention, bands like Jorn keep the Wheel of Rock rolling with polished consistency. “Traveller” is another enigmatic entity from the man who would be King.
TRAVELLER is released by Frontiers Records on these dates : EU: June 14th / NA: June 11th
JORN is:
JORN LANDE – VOCALS
TROND HOLTER – GUITAR
JIMMY IVERSEN – GUITAR
BERNT JANSEN – BASS
WILLY BENDIKSEN – DRUMS
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