Jorn
Traveller
Frontiers Records
2013
Jorn must be one man that can’t really keep himself from being occupied with some project, so he seemingly throws himself from one project onto the next, as soon as possible, yet, in the past year or so, I recon he did manage to over saturate things a bit, by releasing “Symphonic” a remade-best of, when he already has got a couple of those, under his belt... so by releasing “Traveller” in such quick succession, Jorn has had, releases under his own bands monicker out, almost every 6-8 months making it a bit “too much”, unless you were a really fanatic fan of his…
On his eighth proper studio album of original material, Jorn, also appears to be a bit “tired”. Not Jorn Lande the singer, he sounds as good as he ever has, but Jorn the “band”... seems to be treading the same familiar waters as before, revisiting, similar riffs and melodies & coming up with convincing but increasingly unoriginal and difficult to inspire heavy/doomy numbers... the songwriting is a bit stale and while the previous album “Bring Heavy Rock to the Land” was pretty consistent, this one seems to have some rather glorious moments next to some not as amazing ones.
“Overload” is a typical mid-paced number with a biting riff and a mean vocal by Jorn, but it’s not exactly something that, would send shivers down ones spine... either, while it definitely explores some fine melodies and ides especially past the third minute.
“Cancer Demon” which also is a single and has a video clip, possibly inspired by the loss of loved ones, including in all probability the late RJD, to whom Jorn, even dedicated an entire album, is a more well-rounded song, still dwelling in mid-tempo territory, but a lot more “chilling” in effect.
“Traveller” picks up the pace considerably and has a beautiful melody, that’s somewhat familiar but to hell with whatnot, it’s quite impossible to figure out where it comes from... probably the best song and namesake to the album.
“Window Maker” could have been the anthem for Microsoft I guess, but it’s a song in this album. It begins with an impressive lead and a laid back vocal from Lande who just keeps on singing beautifully over some pretty cool guitar lines throughout the song.
“Make Your Engine Scream” is another typical Jorn number, just like the preceding ones, but the “engine” just seems to be slightly running out of steam here. Sure there are nice melodies and a cool enough vocal performance, but it’s all formulaic and not as good as the previous ones.
Likewise things are not that much more amazing on “Legend Man”. The pace is slightly elevated which helps things from becoming too stagnant, but there’s not much else to keep you coming back to the song itself, apart from it’s semi convincing riff.
“Carry the Black” begins with a much more mean and convincing riff and Jorn bellows about things Black and Dark, hell, he’s like the lost “nephew” of Dio or something… this song without being something totally amazing, has such an eerie and haunting atmosphere, so gloomy and sickening that it sort of wins you over because of the sum of its parts. The “Chorus” and “Harmonies” are incredible too, so it manages, to actually, accomplish the mission!
“Rev On” is quirky and sparky and nifty, but unfortunately too plain in the chorus department to manage and have any staying power, while it sort of has some decent ideas in other departments.
The tropic titled “Monsoon” begins with quite a drum intro and hits home with some swift and smooth eastern flavored guitar melodies... quite sublime. It’s a pretty good melody and quite catchy, but it’s a little “empty” as if it was written in a hurry.
Finally “The Man Who was King” is another obvious dedication to RJD, beginning with a slow acoustic intro and picking up steam. For all those that saw the “Dio” tribute of Jorn as a cold and calculated money making move (not only did he give his portion of earnings to the Dio Cancer Fund) but, I am guessing that the passion in the lyrics of this song just silences the critics forever. Having interviewed the man once, he’s pretty honest and straight about his convictions, so this is quite a diamond of a song and it actually brings a lump to the throat. R.I.P Ronnie, beloved, king of Metal, you still live in our hearts and through songs like these, you’re remember and celebrated. Amen.
All in all, Jorn, need to “slow down” a bit... the constant release cycle seems to have “tired” the band, on a songwriting level, so the result is somewhat mixed. There are some pretty “ace” songs, and some, not so “ace” ones... If JL, was to give the personal band a bit of time off and go on doing a few outside projects, maybe to clear his mind and allow his band-fellows to come up with new stuff, that should benefit everyone involved...
On his eighth proper studio album of original material, Jorn, also appears to be a bit “tired”. Not Jorn Lande the singer, he sounds as good as he ever has, but Jorn the “band”... seems to be treading the same familiar waters as before, revisiting, similar riffs and melodies & coming up with convincing but increasingly unoriginal and difficult to inspire heavy/doomy numbers... the songwriting is a bit stale and while the previous album “Bring Heavy Rock to the Land” was pretty consistent, this one seems to have some rather glorious moments next to some not as amazing ones.
“Overload” is a typical mid-paced number with a biting riff and a mean vocal by Jorn, but it’s not exactly something that, would send shivers down ones spine... either, while it definitely explores some fine melodies and ides especially past the third minute.
“Cancer Demon” which also is a single and has a video clip, possibly inspired by the loss of loved ones, including in all probability the late RJD, to whom Jorn, even dedicated an entire album, is a more well-rounded song, still dwelling in mid-tempo territory, but a lot more “chilling” in effect.
“Traveller” picks up the pace considerably and has a beautiful melody, that’s somewhat familiar but to hell with whatnot, it’s quite impossible to figure out where it comes from... probably the best song and namesake to the album.
“Window Maker” could have been the anthem for Microsoft I guess, but it’s a song in this album. It begins with an impressive lead and a laid back vocal from Lande who just keeps on singing beautifully over some pretty cool guitar lines throughout the song.
“Make Your Engine Scream” is another typical Jorn number, just like the preceding ones, but the “engine” just seems to be slightly running out of steam here. Sure there are nice melodies and a cool enough vocal performance, but it’s all formulaic and not as good as the previous ones.
Likewise things are not that much more amazing on “Legend Man”. The pace is slightly elevated which helps things from becoming too stagnant, but there’s not much else to keep you coming back to the song itself, apart from it’s semi convincing riff.
“Carry the Black” begins with a much more mean and convincing riff and Jorn bellows about things Black and Dark, hell, he’s like the lost “nephew” of Dio or something… this song without being something totally amazing, has such an eerie and haunting atmosphere, so gloomy and sickening that it sort of wins you over because of the sum of its parts. The “Chorus” and “Harmonies” are incredible too, so it manages, to actually, accomplish the mission!
“Rev On” is quirky and sparky and nifty, but unfortunately too plain in the chorus department to manage and have any staying power, while it sort of has some decent ideas in other departments.
The tropic titled “Monsoon” begins with quite a drum intro and hits home with some swift and smooth eastern flavored guitar melodies... quite sublime. It’s a pretty good melody and quite catchy, but it’s a little “empty” as if it was written in a hurry.
Finally “The Man Who was King” is another obvious dedication to RJD, beginning with a slow acoustic intro and picking up steam. For all those that saw the “Dio” tribute of Jorn as a cold and calculated money making move (not only did he give his portion of earnings to the Dio Cancer Fund) but, I am guessing that the passion in the lyrics of this song just silences the critics forever. Having interviewed the man once, he’s pretty honest and straight about his convictions, so this is quite a diamond of a song and it actually brings a lump to the throat. R.I.P Ronnie, beloved, king of Metal, you still live in our hearts and through songs like these, you’re remember and celebrated. Amen.
All in all, Jorn, need to “slow down” a bit... the constant release cycle seems to have “tired” the band, on a songwriting level, so the result is somewhat mixed. There are some pretty “ace” songs, and some, not so “ace” ones... If JL, was to give the personal band a bit of time off and go on doing a few outside projects, maybe to clear his mind and allow his band-fellows to come up with new stuff, that should benefit everyone involved...