Maximum Metal Rating Legend

Jorn - Out To Every Nation 2004 AFM Records Reviewed by: EC

Track Listing1. 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
Jorn: Out To Every Nation (AFM, 2004) reviewed by: Vinaya Saksena

Track Listing1. 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

Honestly, I don’t know how the man does it. Year after year, often with multiple projects in the works, Norwegian vocalist extraordinaire Jorn Lande manages to crank out album after quality album, with almost no signs of creative fatigue, song dry-up or duff tracks to be found amongst his product. Really, it leaves one wondering how he does it, and how much longer can he keep it up. Jorn’s debut solo album, Worldchanger, set such ridiculously high standards of quality and artistry, one could understandably think it a fluke, even for him. So it is with great pleasure that I inform you he has done it again!

What makes Out To Every Nation seem even more impressive is that neither a label change (from Frontiers to AFM) nor an entirely new band (which, by the way, includes HammerFall’s Magnus Rosen on bass) have diminished Jorn’s work one iota. And although I didn’t warm to this one quite as quickly as Worldchanger (the darker, grungier guitar tone was admittedly a bit of a turnoff at first), it manages to uphold that album’s quality standards quite well. If anything, Out To Every Nation comes across as a bit more urgent and guitar heavy than its predecessor, as evidenced on the insistent, almost punk rock-like abandon of lead cut “Young Forever.”

From there on, the quality level shoots way up and scarcely wanes, save for a barely noticeable lull on “Living With Wolves,” which nevertheless sports a pretty neat arrangement. Vocally, Lande is in his usual commanding form, and the new lineup does the Jorn band name proud, especially guitarist Jorn Viggo Lofstad, who brings an impressive bag of tricks to the table, with lots of traditional but cliche-free riffs, neat bluesy fills and some brilliant soloing (see the lead break on “Vision Eyes”... yeow!). Galvanizing riff-rockers like the anthemic “Rock Spirit” and the eerily-titled “One Day We Will Put Out The Sun” sit comfortably alongside engaging mood pieces like “When Angel Wings Were White.” And “Through Day And Night” is an intriguing piece of work, a chunky, funky metal number with a clever, vaguely jazz fusion-esque intro.

Lyrically, Lande’s work is fairly deep and thought-provoking, often addressing the unenviable state the human race has gotten itself into, and contemplating what could possibly save us, never quite coming up with an answer that seems to satisfy him. Mixed into the background of a couple of songs are unsettling sound bytes (including what sounds like a radio newscast) exemplifying the types of problems Lande sees facing mankind. And amongst the these musings on troubled times are bits of what seem to be political commentary (about who and what I can’t be sure, but I have a few ideas...), as heard on the title track (“Who is your ally/ In this world of terrorism”) and more to the point, “Behind the Clown” (“Hey mister president/ Are you proud of your testament/ Is it the truth I see/ Are you blinding me...”).

In short, Jorn has produced another album of unassailable quality, with enough attention paid to all aspects of the music (composition, musicianship, lyrics, etc.) to make it enjoyable and worthy of respect on many levels.

Rating: 9

Note: CD copies of this album include a music video for “Living With Wolves,” not the album’s best track by any means, but a decent indicator of its overall quality.

2nd Note: Jorn Lande also sings for Masterplan.


--Vinaya Saksena 06.28.04