Label: Frontiers Music Srl.
Release date: June 17, 2022
Production: Jorn Lande
Album length: 58.27 min
Genre: Hard Rock / Heavy Rock
Rating: 7.5/10
Jorn Lande, one of the most esteemed vocalists of his generation, and we can safely say one of the best voices in hard rock, is back on the scene with a new studio album. No covers this time. Jorn is a pretty busy guy, after all. He puts out records regularly. There are tributes like the two ‘Dio compilations’, or two collections full of covers of well-known rock and metal evergreens, but it’s the studio albums that obviously lead the way in his career. »Over The Horizon Radar« arrives five years after its predecessor »Life On The Death Road«, which was recorded with a different crew – three fifths of the Primal Fear lineup. And since Beyrodt and Sinner also play in Voodoo Circle, it’s no surprise that it sounded fairly Whitesnake-ish at times, and softer compared to the heaviness of earlier Jorn albums.
This time around, alongside the usual studio regulars from Frontiers Music Srl. (including Alessandro Del Vecchio), Jorn is once again joined by his buddy from the old days and excellent guitarist Tore Moren. So the old chemistry between the two of them is back on a new album. Plenty of new ideas piled up over those five years, but Jorn and the gang don’t surprise us with them. Nobody really expected that anyway. With the new album, Jorn stays tailor-made for fans of his vocals as well as his songwriting. Burly heavy and hard rock, with a dominant voice that grabs you in an instant with wide-ranging charisma and expressive authority. Lande keeps his exceptional vocal power and punch. Even more than twenty years after his debut came out, he keeps developing .
Still, his solo studio work remains in the shadow of the albums he made with Ark, Beyond Twilight, as well as Masterplan and Allen/Lande, even though it delivers high quality. “Over The Horizon Radar” also lapses into monotony at times, and the singer does himself the biggest disservice in the moments where he bends his singing to an obvious ‘Dio-like’ style, like in My Rock And Roll, which honestly doesn’t go anywhere. It goes nowhere because it’s a song we’ve heard from Jorn too many times, and not even bursts of venomous guitar ‘arpeggios’ can ‘peel it off’ that pile. The guitar work is phenomenal, mind you, and gripping all the way through. Then again, expectations are always high when it comes to Jorn albums. A great opening track, then some wobbling with the average Dead London and the aforementioned My Rock And Roll right after it. The longer Believer, just before the end of the album, doesn’t bring any particular earthquake either, while Winds Of Home feels like a three-minute filler. The strongest stretch of the album is its middle. First the solid One Man War lifts the record up, and above all the new release climbs higher with a distinctly gloomy performance in the catchy, doomy Black Phoenix. That’s followed by the contrasting, musically intensified Special Edition, and Jorn and his mates are especially convincing in the atmospheric, melodic yet dark Ode To The Black Nightshade. Among the longer tracks, In The Dirt stands out, with a piercing, instantly under-the-skin, classically seductive riff and a strong musical shape to the songwriting. The song is one of the highlights of the new album. Right at the tail end, the closing Faith Bloody Faith works more than nicely too. This is the album version, which differs from the one released as a separate single. Musically it counts as the most predatory track on the album. With it, the new release wraps up on a high atmospheric note and in the glow of (welcome) high dynamics.
However you slice it, »Over The Horizon Radar« is a quality release all around, one plagued by an occasional lack of coherence, since the material fluctuates, which is no surprise when we weigh it against the past studio albums, especially those released after »The Duke« (2006). From average and solid to very good. Above all, given the style this otherwise incredibly talented and unique Norwegian vocalist cultivates with his crew, insisting on writing long compositions is overkill. Songs between three and a half and four and a half minutes long ( with one or two longer epics at most) would fully do the job given the musical recipe. The production is, as always, excellent. The album sounds lively and organic, the soundscape is fully used, and Jorn once again certainly doesn’t disappoint with his performance. Still, a feeling of reserve toward the new release lingers, since there are artistic reserves hiding in it. But there’s something there. Jorn is Jorn. The one and only. Once again he’s poured his soul into his vocal performance. And that’s once again bigger than a galaxy.
Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Track list:
1. Over The Horizon Radar (5:23)
2. Dead London (7:05)
3. My Rock And Roll (7:31)
4. One Man War (5:58)
5. Black Phoenix (4:32)
6. Special Edition (3:36)
7. Ode To The Black Nightshade (4:57)
8. Winds Of Home (3:01)
9. In The Dirt (6:18)
10. Believer (6:01)
11. Faith Bloody Faith (4:00)
Line-up:
Jorn Lande – vocals
Adrian SB – guitar
Tore Moren – guitar
Alessandro Del Vecchio – keyboards
Nik Mazzucconi – bass
Francesco Jovino – drums
