JORN (Lande) – Spirit Black (2009) – Review by Logan Lee

            Yes, the day has arrived. My first 10/10 since I was honoured by the chance to write reviews for PerfectProg. This album is absolutely amazing musically and thematically speaking. Jorn Lande is nowadays the best progressive metal singer by far and his interpretation is getting better each album.

            Talking about the tracks: Spirit Black, the opening act of this album, is powerful and catching and continues on a very pleasant to hear sequence until my favourites tracks City Inbetween and Rock’n Roll Angel which are THE definition of modern progressive metal. The album closes with three songs that show the creativity and ability of mixing different styles (classic 80’s rock and progressive metal).

            A word about the lyrics on the album that are something to pay good attention when listening to this CD; Jorn swims in a pool of mysticism and symbolism combining themes and scenarios on the songs almost giving life to the music (a feature that Jorn Lande knows how to take advantage of). Lets face it: whatever he sings turns into gold! The passionate voice, the epic arrangements, the amazing lyrics are maybe the reason why Jorn got me to give my first perfect ten to an album.

            Some credit also goes to “the guys” who play alongside Lande. The guitar duo (Jgor Gianola e Tore Moren), Nic Angileri on the bass and Willy Bendiksen on the drums gave a valid contribute to the entire album and I guess “The VOICE” choose finely his companions!

            I strongly recommend this CD and lets hope that rumours of Jorn’s return to Masterplan are true since would give us a possibility to hear from him very soon. It’s a must have on both heavy metal and progressive metal collections.