Jorn - Out To Every Nation 2004 AFM Records Reviewed by: EC
Track Listing
1. Young Forever 2. Out To Every Nation 3. Something Real 4. Living With Wolves 5. Vision Eyes 6. One Day We Will Put Out The Sun 7. Behind The Clown 8. Rock Spirit 9. Through Day And Night 10. When Angel Wings Were White
Jorn Lande is one of those guys you read about everywhere, with metal fans worldwide calling him the next great metal vocalist. Many compare his style to the likes of Ian Gillan, Joe Lynn Turner, and even Ronnie James Dio. I've never bought into that line of credit, but really the only experience I've had with Mr. Lande is the Masterplan album, which I didn't particularly care for anyhow. Now, I hold "Out To Every Nation", Jorn's third solo album and my first real experience with the man's vocals one on one.
I was really going into this expecting another boring progressive metal act, tiled with huge keyboard numbers and a soft hearted approach at metal glory. Instead, "Out To Every Nation" is everything I would want from a classic record. Jorn's vocals are top notch, making me feel out of the loop for ignoring all of his previous work. His vocal style is similar to the likes of David Coverdale, with his register being the type that builds through each song. The guy can probably let it rip if he wanted to, but he stays pretty patient through this whole album, really only expanding on his higher voice a few times. The production is high class, with a huge guitar sound and some nice epic chorus parts. The biggest asset to the record is the stellar songwriting, which rocks and sways to a positive approach at writing. Helping Jorn out this time around are notable musicians Magnus Rosen, bassist for Hammerfall, and Pagan's Mind members Jörn Viggo Lofstad (guitar), Stian Kristoffersen (drums) and Ronny Tegner (keyboards).
Jorn stays on track here, delivering valuable morals through his words, from peace keeping to God, he covers everything on this album. The opening track, "Young Forever", is easily one of my favorite cuts. The song runs the bases in much the same way as a good Sinner track, with plenty of high gear guitar and the German hard rock sounds of old. The stirring opener erased all fears of a progressive album, with this type of material fitting the mold of your classic hard rock. The title track, "Out To Every Nation" follows in much the same fashion, with a nice melodic punch to the chorus. "Something Real" could almost be recognized as southern rock, with Jorn's charismatic voice the central focus point through the song. Other notable tracks are the ballads "When Angel Wings Were White" and "Behind The Clown", both of which are of a spiritual nature. Jorn steps back into the hard rock swing of things with "Rock Spirit", but for the most part this album could swing like a hard hitting AOR affair.
Jorn consistently keeps the same signature melodic hooks with his voice, but for a majority of the cuts this could be radio friendly or commercial material. Again, this is my first venture with Jorn Lande, but I am highly impressed with this outing. This is great hard rock and sure to please fans of TNT, Wicked Sensation, Pretty Maids, and even older Whitesnake. If you need more Jorn to wet your appetite, check out his prior stints with Yngwie Malmsteen, Ark,Mundanus Imperium, Millenium, and Beyond Twilight. Man, this guy stays busy!
Note - The album cover features Jorn holding a flag. The flag actually changes depending on which country you buy this from. The Japan pressing features the Japan flag, while the US version I have features the US flag.
--EC 11.29.04
About this Writer: Eric Compton // Eric Compton lives in the most haunted city in the world, St. Augustine, Florida with his family and two yorkies. He has contributed to MaximumMetal.com since it's conception in 2003. His reviews, interviews and social commentary has been featured on websites like Brave Words, Blabbermouth, Metal Temple, Metal Rules, Ultimate Metal, Metal Maniacs and Wikipedia. You can also find him on his paperbackwarrior.com blog discussing all things action and adventure.
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