RUSSELL ALLEN & JORN LANDE „The Battle”

Music: Melodic Hard Rock
Country: Norway/USA
Website: http://www.magnus-karlsson.com
Duration: 60.41


Cool Songs: Another Battle, Hunters Night, Silent Rage, Wish For A Miracle, Where Have The Angels Gone

When considering the very upper echelons of current metal/hard rock vocalist, you’ll get no argument from me if you include Messer’s Jorn Lande and Russell Allen in the mix. Both have pipes of gold. Allen continues to impress me with his dexterity, more so with his recent solo/guest work than his regular gig with power metal kings Symphony X. As far as Jorn is concerned, regular readers of this site will know of my fan boy enthusiasm for the Norwegian god. Whether it’s in his own band, Masterplan or his slew of other projects, the guy can simply do no wrong. Imagine my excitement when word was received that both vocalists would be working together for an album entitled ‘The Battle’. Two of the best ‘battling’ it out over a dozen tracks of high quality melodic heavy rock, it simply had NO CHANCE of failing.

The pairing of Allen and Lande is almost too good to be true. Massive props to the individuals that first broached the possibility of getting these two together. Yet, it is interesting to note that they have not written a single lyric or musical note for ‘The Battle’. You would think that with such massive vocal profiles in the metal community, that they would be unlikely to just lend their talents to any old slapped together piece of music. Clearly they needed to have complete confidence in the material they would be involved with. Enter one Magnus Karlsson – he of ‘Last Tribe’ and ‘Starbreaker’ has written all music & lyrics for ‘The Battle’, enlisted the help of Jaime Salazar on drums and then propped the whole thing in front of ‘Scandinavian’ production wizard ‘Anders ‘Theo’ Theander’. I have an inkling that just maybe both Allen & Lande have contributed some ‘melodic’ phrasings ideas on this, as much of it (particularly Lande’s parts) sounds very similar to their own work. Whatever the case, Karlsson has clearly been given the proverbial seal of approval by Allen & Lande and in true fashion, both perform and deliver Karlsson’s vision as you would expect; with 100% commitment and 100% conviction. Like Gods!

Clocking in at just over the hour mark, ‘The Battle’ is one of the more enjoyable melodic hard rock/AOR albums you’ll hear this year. Split down the middle with three solo pieces for each vocalist and six duets, there is a real sense of balance about this album. It may be metaphorically billed as ‘The Battle’ of two vocalists, but rather than selfishly attempt to out do their adversary, Allen & Lande have obviously fed off each other and as such this album is more about two vocalists working with and complementing their individual strengths rather than scoring vocal points on each other .

Song wise, ‘The Battle’ has been beautifully crafted. Needless to say, Allen & Lande could turn even the lamest songs into competent epics, however ‘The Battle’ is remarkably consistent throughout its entire length. It won’t suggest that either vocalist have been asked to extend themselves in terms of expression and range (they’ll save that for their other bands), but simply they give each composition a life and melodic presence. And if you find it hard to resist high quality melodic hard rock songs with catchy as hell choruses, you are going to simply adore ‘The Battle’. If I had to pick a vocal winner in this so called ‘battle’, my heart lies with Jorn Lande as I feel his voice is just a tad more expressive and melodically suited to this sort of music. That’s not to say Allen has been left in Jorn’s wake, no, no, his work is all class no question, it’s just a personal choice. If it’s any consolation to Allen fans, it is probably the duet compositions that are the strongest here as both lads work so well together.

In a sense there is also another ‘battle’ going on, on this album. As Jorn and Allen fire their best shot in one corner, there is also the guitar talents of Magnus Karlsson to contend with. His crunchy riff work is most impressive and aside from two ballads, he sets a nice mid to up tempo clutch of melodic rockers on their course. However, the lad can also tear the fret board to shreds. His lead work is incredibly concise and dexterous, possibly leaning towards a more power metal show off style than anything else. Understanding this, it’s possible that his solos are a little too overstated – maybe in an attempt to offset the listener’s concentration on the Allen/Lande combination. It is also possible that such is the ‘vocal focus’ of this album, that Magus’ work could be missed altogether. Certainly, this is the case on the first initial listen. It’s a minor quip and one I’m sure most folks will be happy to deal with. The bottom line still remains; this is melodic hard rock/AOR of the highest order.

A word of warning to those expecting ‘The Battle’ to be something akin to the power metal pomp of Symphony X and any of Jorn’s previous works. Stylistically, this is far removed from Russ Allen’s day job other than the melodic aspects, but sits much more comfortably in the sphere of what Jorn has done recently. The Nordic song writing flavour and production helps his cause immensely. Still, ‘The Battle’ is a very lavish sounding album that features huge ‘chorus friendly’ compositions – its built on the classic 80’s AOR sound but infused with a contemporary hard rock production. Having said that, it is the powerhouse twin vocal towers that shine most and anyone who has even the slightest admiration for both Russell Allen and Jorn Lande will want to hear ‘The Battle’.

note: Quote: 8.8

Tracklist

Another Battle (Jorn & Russell)
Hunters Night (Russell)
Wish For A Miracle (Jorn & Russell)
Reach A Little Longer (Jorn)
Come Alive (Jorn & Russell)
Truth Of Our Time (Jorn & Russell)
My Own Way (Jorn)
Ask You Anyway (Russell)
Silent Rage (Jorn & Russell)
Where Have The Angels Gone (Jorn)
Universe Of Light (Russell)
The Forgotten Ones (Jorn & Russell)

Line-up

Jorn Lande – Vocals
Russell Allen – Vocals
Magnus Karlsson – Guitar,Bass & Keyboards
Jaime Salazar – Drums