Customer Reviews

The Duke

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

One of the most frenetic recording artists in music today, Jorn Lande returns again with another release, this time as a solo artist with "The Duke". This is a good thing because he is definitely one of the best singer/songwriters around at the moment. Some may believe that he has saturated the market of late with solo releases, Masterplan, Ark, Millenium and Allen - Lande, but I for one don't mind at all because I can't get enough. When a man has a voice and talent like this and he continues to come up with quality albums, who can complain? If he was to release something not so good then yes, I'd agree that he should lay off for a while and take the time to come up with something a bit better, but Jorn has never failed to deliver the goods yet and "The Duke" is no exception.

Personally, I like this album better than his previous solo efforts. He has a good band behind him and great production as usual, but I think the songs are a bit better than on his previous solo albums. "We Brought The Angels Down" is an unusual pick for an album opener as these days most rockers usually open with a bang and this song doesn't do that. Perhaps "Stormcrow" would have been a better opening choice as it is faster paced, but "We Brought The Angels Down" is still a good song none the less, and it is followed by "Blacksong" which in my opinion is the best song on the album. I also quite like "End Of Time", and whilst I didn't initially warm to the title track due to the chorus having a bit of cheese factor, I soon found myself getting around singing it quite a bit so it has grown on me! This song and the one that follows "Burning Chains" are particularly remindful of David Coverdale/Whitesnake. Jorn is often criticised for sounding like this rock legend, but I don't mind at all, I am a Coverdale fan as well. When Jorn himself is also a self-confessed fan of the man and has a similar sounding voice, how can he not help sounding like him on occasions? Get over it, Jorn has other strings to his bow as well, as he has proven in his work with other bands.

My criticism of this album is that the first half of it is stronger than the last, with "After The Dying" and "Midnight Madness" being the weakest songs in my opinion. However the former still has a good chorus, so it's not that bad. The latter is a bit heavier and darker and plods a bit, but it's followed by a cover of Thin Lizzy's "Are You Ready", a real rocker that Jorn does a great version of. "Starfire" closes the album, a remake of a song from one of his previous solo albums. I could have picked others that I'd have preferred a remake of, but this one is ok.

In comparison to his other work, I still prefer both Masterplan albums and "The Battle" which he recorded with Russell Allen and Magnus Karlsson last year, but "The Duke" is still a quality album that any fan of Jorn or melodic metal should add to their collection. I got the limited edition digi-pack, which is great (but no extra songs).

With the next Masterplan album not due for release until at least mid 2007 will we get to hear yet another Jorn work in some guise before then? I for one hope so, because he's all quality and class.

Jorn's previous effort "Out To Every Nation" was the album that made me want to pick my guitars back up and start pounding the drums again (yes I am multi-talented, thank me very much). But listening to this album, "The Duke", is like a necromancer lifting my soul out of the bowels of repugnance and back to the beautiful sights and sounds of Mother Earth. I hate the Coverdale references; this guy is the real thing. If you really want to argue, Jorn sounds more like vintage Dio, but I digress. "Stormcrow" is by far the most delicious symphony of perilous lyrical terrain and guitar fireworks. Jorn breathes new life into the world of heavy melodic music. I wouldn't call it powermetal because the lyrics are too genuine and the music isn't all in-your-face double bass drum pounding above detuned guitars riffs all in the keys of E or A. This is heavy melody personified. Absolute and steadfast in purpose, "The Duke" is just another step for Jorn, but one giant leap for mankind.-David J Newman 9/14/08

Albums like this are the reason I love Amazon's recommendation system so much. Amazon recommended this to me based on something else I'd bought/rated so I gave it a listen. I loved it right away! Led by the scorching "Blacksong" and "End of Time", this is a fantastic hard rock album. Has a bit of an 80s feel without the hair metal glam.

End to end greatness - pick it up!

If you love original Metal / Rock N' Roll, and haven't heard Jorn, you need to do yourself a favor, and pick up "The Duke" immediately. I think Jorn is one of the best / most inspiring musicians of our time, and "The Duke" is certainly my favorite solo project of his to date....

You can't really go wrong here, every song cranks. Jorn is truly a master when it comes to producing great music, and once you've heard this I'm sure you'll agree. This is just one of his many great offerings, and I would also recommend his side projects in Masterplan / Ark....

JORN is a great voice. Without a doubt one the BEST lead vocalists of today. This album is great. It's very hard, aggressive and loud, and I like that. The verses, the bridge with the cool guitar riff, and the chorus are addictive .The Duke is simply incredible from start to finish. Not a weak song on the album. It is one of those albums that I can play over and over and over and never get tired of it. I Believe this cd is better than the last cd of Masterplan (Aeronautics) it?s so melodiously. Fatally, if you don't own this album and call yourself a rock or hard rock-metal fan there is something incorrect with you._

Jorn Lande is in posession of a great voice and an even better taste in music. I personally like the fact that no matter how silly and Nordic the lyric is, he delivers it with such irresistable conviction and power. You really do believe he's a "phantom of the night". Or that he really will "see that distant star, in a flying car"!!

The Duke is certainly as good as Worldchanger, if not better - there is less reliance on changing the tempo of the song halfway through (a habit that was also rife on Out To Every Nation). Being progressive is one thing, but not when it spoils the song. There are a couple of filler tracks which aren't bad, but fall into the dull and forgetable basket, but We Brought the Angels Down, Black Song, Stormcrow, End of Time and After the Dying are truly special. Great guitar and drum work too!

I believe his solo albums require a good deal of maturity to appreciate (as did his work with Ark) and The Duke is no exception, though it is a little more straight forward.

Looking forward to the next one!

If you like dio and rainbow youll love this cd,it rocks from begining to end.The standouts are we bought the angels down,the duke of love,these are my two favorites but the whole cd is great.The guitar playing is fabulous/jorn voice never sounded better and the rest of the rythym section is great to.If your into dio buy this cd iam sure it wont let you down,i hope this review was helpfull to you

"The duke" is the 4th solo album by rock/metal singer Jorn Lande originally released in 2006. On "The duke", Jorn puts together a monster line up featuring guitarist Viggo Lofstad who recorded the previous album `Out to every nation' along with Tore Moren who played guitar on the second album "Worldchanger"; the line up also features classic "TNT" bassist Morty Black, a veteran of the Norwegian rock scene and drummer Willy Bendiksen.

It has to be addressed that "The duke" was the first Jorn album to feature the two guitar formation which would since become a trademark of the band's sound. And the selection of musicians is a real plus for the album as "The duke" is the perfect balance of Jorn's metal side and pomp melodic rock side. On this fourth album the iconic Norwegian singer establishes his personal musical style which is indeed a mixture of the previous three albums. "The duke" features heavy riffs and grooves but also a plethora of melodies and while compositions may sound thick and aggressive, they do conclude on huge/catchy choruses.

In retrospect, I would say that "The duke" is the album to feature the most memorable songs on Jorn's catalogue. One literally does not need a second play of the album to recall the choruses of "Duke of love", "We brought the angels down" and "Blacksong". In addition the cover version of `Thin lizzy's "Are you ready" is a definite plus for the album, as Jorn and co deliver a killer version of another rock classic. Finally there is the reworked version of "Starfire", the title track of the singer's debut that is also granted a second life on `The duke'.

Overall I do consider `The duke' as the most complete "Jorn" album to date, combining ideally the singer's influences and previous music styles into an album that lacks absolutely nothing. Heavy, groovy, melodic, dramatic and erotic are all qualities to be found on `The duke".

2006's The Duke is the fourth solo album from Norwegian vocal god Jorn Lande. The current Masterplan frontman is one of the best vocalists in hard rock, sounding like a mix of David Coverdale and the late Ronnie James Dio (RIP), and his solo albums are always quite good. Jorn treads the line between hard rock and heavy metal with his solo albums, which are always hard-hitting but still very melodic.

The Duke is perhaps a bit heavier than Jorn's previous albums, and the songwriting is better too. Jorn was practically channeling Dio when he wrote "We Brought the Angels Down," "Blacksong" and "Stormcrow," all of which qualify as some of Jorn's best. Of course the cheesy "Duke of Love" is one of his worst. Still, most of The Duke is quite good. It's heavy, dramatic melodic metal with a deep respect for the classic style. Jorn also serves up another cover - this time Thin Lizzy's "Are You Ready" - as well as a reworking of his early song "Starfire."

It's not quite as perfect as more recent Jorn albums like Lonely Are the Brave and Spirit Black, but The Duke is still an excellent melodic hard rock/metal album from the most exciting vocal talent in the genre. If you're a Jorn fan, you're going to want to own it.

I can't believe Jorn Lande has not made it big in the US. This guy can sing anything! The songs are always great as well as the musicians.