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Rating:
Surely in 2001, Jorn Lande was really "on form"! Considered by many the most worthy heir of Ronnie J. Dio (R.i.p.) and more generally of the great front-men of hard rock, the talented singer put his powerful voice that year at the service of very beautiful records, different from each other in terms of genre but undoubtedly among the most successful of his career, both solo and otherwise.
In that year, in fact, the Nostradamus project of the Bulgarian guitarist N. Kotzev, the second album of the prog metallers Ark (Burn the Sun, a bright example of how to do prog metal in an original way, contaminating it with hard rock, tribal rhythms and more sunny sounds, thus distancing itself from the usual Dream Theater) were released, his second solo album (Worldchanger, for me his best, never surpassed by the subsequent ones, often real flops, an album of melodic hard rock with tracks with a great groove, sometimes bordering on AOR) and also that year, Masterplan arose from the ashes of Helloween, with whom our man would record 2 excellent albums of less monolithic and more enjoyable power compared to the standards of the genre.
In later years, he will then take part in 2 great chapters of the Ayreon (my favorites) and Avantasia sagas, plus other appearances, thus dividing the scene with the great Glenn Hughes (blessed be he!) in the hard rock field as the most requested singer, the true popular figures of those years.
As if all this wasn’t enough, in 2001 Jorn Lande also found time to take part in this debut of Beyond Twilight put together by the keyboardist Finn Zierler, who with this project aims to go "beyond" his Twilight (hence the group's name), moving from power to a sort of modern heavy prog, almost doom-like, heavy and black as pitch!
The vocal performance of the blond singer is, needless to say, spectacular. Jorn, co-author along with Zierler of all the lyrics, unleashes in this record a tone never before heard so scratchy and dramatic, full of pathos. He literally interprets all the nuances that his voice is capable of, dealing with the concept of a journey that the protagonist makes in his own brain (!) through a computer with which he manages to connect, thus having to embody all the emotions and madness that the man encounters in this journey, into the innermost recesses of memory.
Like a diabolical Charon, Jorn leads us, through 45 minutes of infernal music based on cadenced and solemn mid-tempos, into the abysses of the human mind.
While skipping the description of all the tracks, I must dwell on the beauty of two gems: the first is "Shadowland", a true masterpiece of the album, which, after an epic and martial instrumental attack, sees Jorn's voice break in, malevolent and horrific (it's almost as if he's vomiting on the microphone here!), effectively conveying the pain and alienating madness among chilling screams, before an unexpected, airy and relaxing refrain comes to pierce the black clouds. A melody of stunning beauty, that you'll find stamped indelibly in your head like a lifeline in this desolate land, a poignant caress from Jorn before he becomes devilish once again, and even more so than before, to then give us again that refrain, moving, even more intense than the first time. At the end of the track, the admiration that surrounds our artist in the scene is perfectly understandable.
The other gem, for those like me who love progressive, is the more elaborate and evocative "Crying", which in its over 7 minutes offers different facets, among keyboard flights, more airy vocalizations, intricate guitar patterns, imaginative and suggestive instrumental portions that showcase Zierler's taste and compositional skills, in addition to the inevitable dramatic cries of Lande. Notably, here, a great performance also from the guitarist (but all 5 members offer throughout the album a coherent performance of great class, without technicalities, but of pure feeling).
The listening of this work is a real experience. It's not an album to hum in the shower, you’ll have understood (though, as said, that refrain in Shadowland...), it gives emotions only after several listens, because at first it's almost standoffish. It scratches and disturbs, almost, but then it charms and seduces. It assaults (feel in this sense the first two tracks, Hellfire and Godless and Wicked) but then caresses, and once you get past the dark and almost doom cloak, you’ll notice a unique intensity, all among Latin choruses and ancestral voices (as in the closing Perfect Dark or in the title track, slow and sulfurous).
My God. Rarely have I listened to an album so hallucinatory, so profound (because it’s in depth that it strikes the chords), yet so original and full of personality, expressed both by composers and performers alike.
I’ll stop here, I don't think I need to add anything else, except to invite you to this terrible and fascinating experience.
It's late at night, in this "shadow zone", in this dark land. I'm going to sleep, with still a shiver down my spine, hoping I can manage to.........
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