Masterplan (Masterplan album)

Masterplan is the German power metal band Masterplan's self-titled debut album, released in 2003 by AFM Records. The album received many good reviews and entered the charts at high positions. The album was voted album of the month in Sweden Rock Magazine, Rock Hard and Heavy, Oder Was?! in Germany and Metal Factory in Switzerland. The band received the "European Border Breakers Award" in 2004 from the European Commission, for the album sales around Europe.[3]

Masterplan
Studio album by
Masterplan
Released20 January 2003
RecordedCrazy Cat Studio
GenrePower metal
LabelAFM Records
ProducerAndy Sneap and Masterplan
Masterplan chronology
Masterplan
(2003)		 Aeronautics
(2005)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Rock Hard(9.5/10)[2]

By the time their first full-length and self-titled CD was released in 2003, keyboard player Janne "Warman" Wirman was replaced by Axel Mackenrott.[4] Wirman recorded some session keyboards for the album, but could not stay on as a full-time member due to his commitments to Children of Bodom. The main keyboard lines of the album were arranged and programmed by guitarist Roland Grapow and drummer Uli Kusch. Missing a proper bass player, Grapow recorded the bass parts, with some help from session bassist Jürgen Attig (Casanova). Grapow has since revealed[5] that Helloween bassist Markus Grosskopf unwittingly played on the track "Into the Light", since Helloween had tried recording the track for The Dark Ride and the bass track from that session was used. Permanent bassist Jan-Sören Eckert joined shortly after the album's release. Despite not playing on the album, Mackenrott and Eckert both appear in the album sleeve.

Michael Kiske, the former Helloween bandmate of Roland Grapow, duets on the track "Heroes".

Reception

In 2005, Masterplan was ranked number 491 in Rock Hard magazine's book The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.[6]

Track listing

All songs were written by Masterplan, except where noted.

No.TitleLength
1."Spirit Never Die"5:26
2."Enlighten Me"4:37
3."Kind Hearted Light"4:25
4."Crystal Night"5:15
5."Soulburn"6:15
6."Heroes" (feat. Michael Kiske)3:31
7."Sail On"4:36
8."Into the Light" (M&L: Masterplan / Rainer Laws)4:09
9."Crawling from Hell"4:11
10."Bleeding Eyes"5:40
11."When Love Comes Close"4:08
(Bonus Track Listing)
No.TitleLength
1."Through Thick and Thin" (Japanese Version, as track # 6, South American version, track #12)4:03
2."The Kid Rocks On" (Japanese Version, as track # 9)3:37
3."Black Dog (Led Zeppelin cover)" (South American version, track #13)4:35

Personnel

Guest musicians

  • Michael Kiske – vocals on track 6
  • Janne Wirman – keyboards on all tracks
  • Ferdy Doernberg – keyboards on track 8
  • Jürgen Attig – bass on B-sides

Production

  • Produced by Andy Sneap and Masterplan
  • Recorded by Andy Sneap at Crazy Cat Studio, Hamburg (GER)
  • Mixed by Mikko Karmila at Finnvox Studio, Helsinki (FIN)
  • Mastered by Mika Jussila at Finnvox Studio, Helsinki (FIN)
  • Bandphotos by Dirk Schelpmeier
  • Artwork and booklet design by Rainer Laws
  • Album cover and band logo by Thomas Ewerhard

Singles

Enlighten Me

"Enlighten Me" is the first single by Masterplan, taken from the present album. Despite the band picture on the sleeve, all keyboards are played by Janne Warman, and Jürgen Attig plays bass on tracks 3 and 4, with Grapow playing the bass on the remaining three tracks.

Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog" cover was included on The Music Remains the Same: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin, a tribute album by Locomotive Music (Spain).

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Enlighten Me" (single edit)3:45
2."Kind Hearted Light" (album version)4:25
3."Through Thick And Thin" (non-album track)4:03
4."Black Dog" (Led Zeppelin cover)4:37
5."Enlighten Me" (album version)4:37

References
  1. AllMusic review
  2. Breusch, Matthias. "Rock Hard review". issue 189. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  3. "Masterplan receives European Border Breakers Award". Archived from the original on 13 September 2012.
  4. "Janne Wirman replaced by Axel Mackenrott". Archived from the original on 31 January 2010. Retrieved 1 July 2010.
  5. Sweden Rock Magazine #4 2023, page 104
  6. Best of Rock & Metal - Die 500 stärksten Scheiben aller Zeiten (in German). Rock Hard. 2005. p. 11. ISBN 3-89880-517-4.


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