Jorn | Traveller

by Justin Gaines
- Senior Columnist/News Editor –

It’s only been a year since Norwegian super-vocalist Jorn Lande’s last studio album (2012’s Bring Heavy Rock to the Land), but we’ve already seen a symphonic re-recordings album (Symphonic) and now a brand new studio offering. The album, Jorn’s tenth solo album (assuming the Dio covers album counts), is called Traveller, and it’s the first to feature Wig Wam’s Trond Holter on lead guitar.

Bring Heavy Rock to the Land was, to be frank, uninspired, so it’s something of a surprise to find Jorn back for another round this soon. Perhaps his new collaboration with Holter has recharged his creative batteries. Traveller does sound a bit more exciting than Bring Heavy Rock to the Land. To be sure, it’s still your basic Jorn album, sounding much like something the late Ronnie James Dio might have written for David Coverdale to sing. Still, Jorn’s incredible vocals make the whole thing completely enjoyable, even if it’s not remotely original.

Traveller has a very satisfying crunch to it. It’s not so heavy the melodies are overwhelmed, but it has some metal power the way your average Pretty Maids or Masterplan album does. You hear it especially on the one-two punch of “Legend Man” and “Carry the Black,” but songs like “Overload” and the title track also get the blood pumping. The only real dud here is the closing song “The Man Who Was King,” which is a heartfelt, but completely cheesy ode to Jorn’s hero Ronnie James Dio. His heart’s in the right place, but he already had “A Song For Ronnie James” on the Dio album.

There are no real surprises here. If you’re a Jorn fan, you pretty much know what to expect from Traveller. If you were less than thrilled with Bring Heavy Rock to the Land, Traveller will probably restore your faith in Jorn at least a little bit. It’s not the powerhouse album Spirit Black or Lonely Are the Brave were, but it’s still a rock solid melodic metal album from one of the best voices in the genre.

Genre: Heavy Metal, Melodic Metal

Band:
Jorn Lande (v)
Willy Bendiksen (d)
Bernt Jansen (b)
Trond Holter (g)
Jimmy Iversen (g)

Track Listing:
1. Overload
2. Cancer Demon
3. Traveller
4. Window Maker
5. Make Your Engine Scream
6. Legend Man
7. Carry the Black
8. Rev On
9. Monsoon
10. The Man Who Was King

Label: Frontiers

Website: www.jornlande.com

Hardrock Haven rating: 8/10

Jorn | Symphonic

by Nikiforos Skoumas
- Columnist –

It would be fair to say that Jorn’s role in rock/metal is a rather an unusual one. Despite various high-profile collaborations that often found the singer fronting a band on a full-time basis, his solo works have drawn similar or greater attention from the international audience. Beyond original studio albums, Jorn has released a tribute album, a best-of collection, two live albums and most recently an orchestral album.

Symphonic collects songs from Jorn’s five previous studio albums, complemented by the orchestral arrangements of Lasse Jensen and remixed by renowned melodic metal producer Tommy Hansen. It has to be mentioned that, beyond Jorn’s original studio tracks, Symphonic features three covers; “Rock and Roll Children,” originally by Dio and “The Mob Rules” by Black Sabbath (neither featured on Jorn’s Dio tribute album). The third cover is the title track from Masterplan’s latest album “Time to be King.”

Of course, the question in one’s mind is, “How relevant is an album of remixed-orchestral versions of Jorn songs,” especially considering that most of the tunes have been around for less than a decade, with their original versions still sounding very fresh. Well, to his credit, Jorn included a rather extensive foreword in the album booklet in which he uncovers the reasons for marketing such a release, but, more importantly, he debates the relevance of this album in his own words: “It can be discussed whether it was necessary or not to release an album like this, since the songs also sound great without the added orchestral arrangements …”

On the other hand, one cannot overlook the fact that Jorn masterfully has chosen his lesser-known songs. You could even use the term “fillers” for some, which nevertheless seem to take lives of their own in the process. “I came to rock,” “The world I see,” “Man of the Dark” and “My Road” work perfectly with the classical arrangements. Still, the album’s strongest moments can be found in “Rock and Roll Children!”

Genre: Heavy Rock, Symphonic Metal

Line up:
Jorn Lande – vocals
Willy Bendiksen – drums
Nic Angileri – bass
Tore Moren – guitars
Jimmy Iversen – guitars

Track list:
1. I Came To Rock
2. Rock And Roll Children
3. The World I See
4. Burn Your Flame
5. Man Of The Dark
6. My Road
7. Time To Be King
8. Black Morning
9. Like Stone In Water
10. Vision Eyes
11. War Of The World
12. Behind The Clown
13. A Thousand Cuts
14. The Mob Rules

Label: Frontiers Records

Hardrockhaven rating: 7/10

Tore St Moren

by John Kindred
- Publisher –

Hot on the heels of his departure from Jorn, Tore St Moren gives Hardrock Haven the inside scoop on his leaving the band and his future plans.

Hardrock Haven: Tore thanks for taking time out for Hardrock Haven.

Tore St Moren: Thank you – the pleasure is all mine.

Hardrock Haven: Let’s start off with your recent departure from JORN. This is big news as you have been partnered with Jorn for many years now. What led yourself and Nic Angileri to leave the band?

Tore St Moren: You´re right, it has been quite a few years. I´ve been in the band all the way since the beginning back in ´99 except for a couple of years after the Worldchanger album, when I left and Jorn Viggo Lofstad joined the band to record Out To Every Nation – the only JORN album I´m not on. There were different reasons to leave the band. I´ve wanted to play more melodic and perhaps less gloomy music for some years, while other members of the band have wanted to be darker, heavier and slower. Some of the tracks on the new album were going in the right direction, but I think they should be played live as well. There has also been a lot of bad chemistry between some of us for quite some time, both in the band and in the organization around it, which made it impossible for me to continue working with them. I need to have peace, mutual respect, and equal ambitions within the band in order to perform well.

Hardrock Haven: Was it a hard decision to leave JORN?

Tore St Moren: Of course! This has been my longest relationship with anyone except my close family and my best friends. I´ve sacrificed as much, and also put as much heart into it as anyone to build up the band, so it was no simple and quick decision to make. It´s been on my mind for a couple of years now, and for me as a musician it had to be done.

Hardrock Haven: Do you consider this departure to be for good? Can you see yourself rejoining JORN at some future date?

Tore St Moren: I´d love to play with Lande again – he is one of the most amazing singers I´ve heard, but for now I want to do something else. Maybe in a different setting sometime. There´s no bad blood between the two of us.

Hardrock Haven: You have teased us a bit with the news that you and Nic are working with John Macaluso (TNT, Malmsteen). Is John working on the solo album?

Tore St Moren: Definitely, and I´m very excited to have him on board. John and I actually started talking about this album a couple of years ago. When Nic and John played a tour together just recently and hit it off it felt natural to ask both of them to play on my album. They are my favorite rhythm section, and I feel very privileged to have such amazing musicians in my band. I´m going to Rome in about six weeks to record the drums, and then Nic will record the bass in Switzerland shortly after. The album will be mixed in September/October, and you guys will probably hear it sometime before Christmas.

Hardrock Haven: Does the solo album have a title yet? How many songs do you expect release on the CD?

Tore St Moren: (Laughs) … I´ve done all the songwriting, recording and programming on the pre-production, so the working title for the album is Playing With Myself, but that might be changed before release. I have fourteen tracks ready at the moment. I write new stuff every day, so I´ll pick out the best ones after we´re done recording. I guess there will be 12-15 tracks on the album.

Hardrock Haven: Will the album feature any vocalist or is 100% instrumental?

Tore St Moren: This will be an instrumental album – no vocals. “Music without prima donnas” as I prefer to call it.

Hardrock Haven: Musically what can fans expect from the solo album?

Tore St Moren: One thing I really enjoy about instrumental music is that there´s room for more variation musically, and that you´re not necessarily stuck in one genre. I want to reach a wide audience with my music. You can say this is every bit an album for the musician`s girlfriend and fans as well as the musician. There´s a few ballads as well as some fast and intricate tracks, and a couple of straight rockers, but melody and composition is always my main focus. The Jorn fans will recognize a couple of tracks, and hopefully enjoy the original versions as much as the previously released ones. I´m really excited to finally release this album. This is without doubt my best work so far!

Hardrock Haven: After the solo album is done, do you Nic have other projects lined up? Will John be a part of any future projects?

Tore St Moren: As soon as the album is finished we will start booking gigs together, and I can definitely see us make music together in the future. Both Nic and John are great composers as well as musicians.

Hardrock Haven: Last time we talked I forgot to talk about your gear. What types of guitars do you use? Amps? Are you endorsing any products? Effects?

Tore St Moren: My gear might not be very interesting to the geeks, I´m afraid. I do not endorse any products at the moment, but I would if they could come up with products that I´d prefer over what I already have. I have quite a few guitars, but my tobacco sunburst Epiphone LP Classic will always be my one true love. It´s a very cheap guitar, but it always delivers the goods. I went back to using my old Marshall JMP 1 preamp while we recorded Bring Heavy Rock To The Land after playing Jet City live for a couple of years. I´ve actually recorded all my albums with that one. I use the speaker emulator straight in to the mixer. No power amp, cabinet or mic between. I do the same thing on stage, but then I have a power amp and cabinets for monitoring as well as wedges in front. My effects are Marshall as well. I´ve used the JFX 1 for many years. It´s a dinosaur in the FX world, but it sounds very bright and clean, and is very easy to use. I´ve always been a plug and play guitarist. I also use a Vox V847 wah-pedal that I´ve had for about 20 years. The ultimate wah!

Hardrock Haven: For fans interested in you as a solo artist fans they can still purchase your two singles “The Journey” and “Benedicte’s Song ” on Amazon and iTunes,” right?

Tore St Moren: Certainly. And those who do will get a taste of what the album is going to be like.

Hardrock Haven: Tore it was good catching up with you. I hope you have continued success as you strike out as a solo artist. Here’s your chance to plug anything I didn’t ask you during the interview…

Tore St Moren: Well – I´m planning to give an aspiring shredder out there the opportunity to spread his name around. Mike at Shredguy Records and I are working on the details, and will come back with more details a bit later on.

Hardrock Haven: Again, thanks for taking time out to talk with me. Will talk again hopefully after the new CD is out.

Tore St Moren: Thank you, and remember – SHRED IS NOT DEAD!

Tore St Moren artist page: http://www.facebook.com/ToreStMoren2
Tore St Moren fan group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/torestmoren/
Tore St Moren website: www.torestmoren.com
Tore St Moren on iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/no/artist/tore-st.-moren/id416870301

Jorn | Bring Heavy Rock to the Land

by Justin Gaines
Staff Writer –

Norwegian super-vocalist Jorn Lande and company are back with a new album, titled Bring Heavy Rock to the Land. It’s Jorn’s first original studio album since 2009’s Spirit Black, but Jorn has hardly been idle these past few years. In addition to his work with Masterplan, we’ve seen a compilation, a live album/DVD and of course the Dio tribute album. Those don’t quite satisfy like a new Jorn album though, so Bring Heavy Rock to the Land was eagerly anticipated.

Unfortunately, Bring Heavy Rock to the Land is something of a letdown. Sure, it’s Jorn doing what he does best, but the album seems kind of flat, like he really didn’t have much songwriting inspiration this time around and is just going through the motions. It says something that the album doesn’t really have a standout track until the fourth song, and that one’s a cover of Christopher Cross’s “Ride Like the Wind.” Jorn seems to be taking his cues from Saxon’s version, which is a good call. Jorn also offers another take on the Masterplan song “Time to Be King,” changing the arrangement so it’s more to his style of melodic metal. Of the new material, most of the songs just don’t stand out. Well, the title track does, but that’s more for its cheesiness than anything else. There are a couple of exceptions though. The slow build and powerful heaviness of “The World I See” is a song that makes you stop what you’re doing and really take notice, and “Black Morning” has a great AOR vibe, acoustic strumming and soulful, bluesy singing that just goes right to the heart.

Bring Heavy Rock to the Land isn’t a bad album by any means. The musicianship is tight, the production is pristine and of course Jorn sounds incredible. The songwriting just isn’t at the level we’ve come to expect from Jorn, and the result is probably the singer’s weakest solo album to date. Obviously if you’re a major Jorn fan, you’ll want to check it out, and there are at least 3-4 songs that will make it worth your while. Just don’t expect the usual Jorn magic this time.

Edition Notes: The physical release of Bring Heavy Rock to the Land comes in a digipack and features the bonus track “Live and Let Fly.”

Genre: Heavy Metal, Melodic Metal

Band:
Jorn Lande (v)
Tore Moren (g)
Willy Bendiksen (d)
Nic Angileri (b)
Tor Erik Myhre (g)

Track Listing:
1. My Road
2. Bring Heavy Rock to the Land
3. A Thousand Cuts
4. Ride Like the Wind
5. Chains Around You
6. The World I See
7. Time to Be King
8. Ride to the Guns
9. Black Morning
10. I Came to Rock

Label: Frontiers Records

Website: www.jornlande.com

Hardrock Haven rating: 7/10

Tore St Moren of JORN

by John Kindred
Staff Writer

In the Hard Rock and Metal communities, Tore St. Moren most notably is known for his role as one of Jorn Lande’s primary guitarists. Sharing this role in Jorn’s band since 2000, Moren has been featured on six studio albums, three compilation albums, two live albums and two DVDs, and a tribute album to Ronnie James Dio. However, his body of recorded work extends beyond his role in Jorn.

Hardrock Haven’s exclusive interview with Moren delves deeper into his musical past and sheds light on the future.

Hardrock Haven: Greetings from America Tore! It is good to talk with you.

Tore St Moren: Hey, nice to hear from you too. Greetings back from Norway!

Hardrock Haven: For those who don’t know by now, you have been one of the featured guitarists in Jorn Lande’s band for years. Can you briefly tell us what you were doing prior to joining Jorn? How did you land the gig with Jorn?

Tore St Moren: Before I met Jorn and the guys I was in a band called Street Legal for some years. We wrote their first album Thunderdome, but I decided to move on when Sid Ringsby, Jorn Lande and Willy Bendiksen asked me to join their band The Snakes after they had split up with Bernie Marsden and Mickey Moody. While writing material for the new album we traveled around Norway playing covers as Wild Willy’s Gang. When we had recorded the first three tracks for the album we found that they sounded quite different from what The Snakes usually did, so we decided to put them on the first JORN album instead. And the rest is history, as they say.

Hardrock Haven: How long have you been playing the guitar? Who are your influences?

Tore St Moren: I started playing when I was 11, and for the first couple of years it was just a hobby. I was also in the school marching band where I learned to play cornetto, tuba, and drums.
My first influences were Ace Frehley and Gary Moore, but when I heard Yngwie’s first solo album I was blown away, and I knew instantly that playing guitar was going to be my path in life. I’m also very much into Santana, Satriani, Iommi, Scott Gorham and Michael Lee Firkins just to mention a few.

Hardrock Haven: Tell me about playing the ProgPower VII Festival in Atlanta, Georgia (United States) in 2006 with Jorn? Was this your first trip to the U.S.? How did the audience react to the band and the live performance?

Tore St Moren: The PP VII was an awesome gig for us! That was in fact our first, and so far the only, trip to the US, so we didn’t know what to expect. The audience was fantastic – unlike anything we’d anticipated. Obviously we have quite a few fans over there, so it’s really sad we haven’t been able to come back yet.

Hardrock Haven: The band (Jorn) just released the DVD, double CD release of Live in Black, are there any good stories about that show?

Tore St Moren: The show was really an awesome experience. We have a good following, and our fans are very dedicated. That, however, turned out to be a bit of a problem for the festival and their security routines. The passageway between our stage and the main stage where Aerosmith played was a bit on the narrow side, so we were instructed by the festival management to cut our set short by 10 minutes in order to move all 22,000 people safely to the Aerosmith gig in time for their show. That’s why we didn’t play “Song For Ronnie James” that night, as it was the last song on our set list.
But Sweden Rock Festival is always a very cool place to be. You get to hang out with both old friends, colleagues, and your heroes at the same place. Y&T were on before us, so I finally got to see them live and meet Dave Meniketti. That was pretty awesome.

Hardrock Haven: Can you tell Jorn fans what is like working with him? How do you guys write the songs? Do play any part in writing the lyrics?

Tore St Moren: Usually someone brings an idea to the table. For me it’s usually a riff or a composition that I record and give to him. Then we work through it and fit it to one of his lyrics or melodies.
He, on the other hand, usually has got most of the song done in his head by the time he presents it to the rest of us, so we just tag along and add our personal touch to it.
As far as lyrics go I’ve participated once when I came up with the title Worldchanger and presented the concept that I read into it.

Hardrock Haven: Now I discovered Jorn through the band Masterplan, then went back and discovered Jorn’s solo music. And after hearing the music and your guitar performances captured on those releases, I now count you as one my favorite guitarists to listen to. Do you see yourself as a “guitar hero” or just someone who is good at his craft?

Tore St Moren: Thank you. The term guitar hero suits me just fine. When I grew up there was nothing cooler than to be a guitar hero. But in the ’90s when the trends changed and the establishment decided that people like Kurt Cobain etc. were the coolest guitar players in the business, most guitar players jumped on the grunge-train. I didn’t. I still went on stage every night with my long ’80s hair, no shirt on and long pants, playing solos the same way I always did, never compromising my style. What I do both musically and visually is a natural part of who I am. I believe that’s the key to success. Be true to who you really are.

Hardrock Haven: What inspires you to write music?

Tore St Moren: I get inspiration from many different sources. Sometimes it’s a song I’ve heard, sometimes things I hear on the news. I very often get inspiration from places I go to and the people I meet. Other times it’s just a feeling I get inside, or a sound I hear when I’m out and about.

Hardrock Haven: You have released two singles on iTunes, “The Journey” and “Benedicte’s Song,” in preparation for releasing your first solo CD. What has been the response been from fans and critics to your music?

Tore St Moren: The response has been awesome. Although instrumental music is a much smaller niche than the traditional classic hard rock that we play with Jorn, I see that people enjoy my songs. Mainly because I focus more on melody, I suppose, rather than technique and speed. Although I love to listen to shred music I personally prefer to play a more bluesy and melodic style.

Hardrock Haven: Shredguy Records is the label that is releasing your solo music. How did you hook up with Michael McDowell?

Tore St Moren: We made contact through old myspace, and he put “Instrubrutal” from the first Carnivora album “Judas” on the Shredding Across The World album. We started talking about the future as I was in the early stages of writing material for my upcoming album. I wanted to release one song to see if there was a market for me out there. Michael put out “The Journey” on iTunes and Amazon. I made it on to the charts, so we decided to release one more track called “Benedicte’s Song” (which also charted), and now I’m about to finish off the album.

Hardrock Haven: What can fans expect to hear from you musically that maybe you don’t to express in Jorn or your other projects?

Tore St Moren: I think the main difference will be that I get to work my way through a whole melody, and not just the 20 to 30 seconds I usually get per song for a solo. This allows me a lot more space for musical expression and atmosphere, and I think it really lifts the whole experience for the listener. I also get to play more diverse musically. This time it’s really about the guitar melodies and not about fitting into one specific genre or sound-scape as you will always have to when you’re in a band or with a singer.

Hardrock Haven: Can you tell us about some of your other past projects? Rain is one that comes to mind, still have the promo of Stronger from 2006, there are some great tunes on there.

Tore St Moren: Yeah – I’ve always liked “Stronger”. It’s a good album with strong melodies and the production is quite good as well. Sadly we ended up being too busy working with other projects, so the band kind of disintegrated I guess. Street Legal is another band that I’m working with at the moment. I co-wrote the first album with them, but decided to put my efforts into JORN, so I didn’t play on the album. I play gigs with them whenever I can, and it looks like we’re going to make a new album this winter. I was also in Arcturus for a while. I recorded one album with them called Sideshow Symphonies, and we also released a live DVD called Shipwrecked In Oslo.

Hardrock Haven: Besides your solo CD soon to be released in the fall or early spring, are there any other cool projects in the works? Any comment on the next Jorn release?

Tore St Moren: As I mentioned before it seems like we’re writing a new album with Street Legal this winter. I’ve also just written and recorded one song with/for Lance King, so you might wanna check that out later this year. The new JORN album is in progress, and the release will be sometime early 2012. We’re currently writing the new material, and recording will start in November. I also did a guest appearance on the debut album from a Czech band called Sebastien earlier this year, and I might do something on their next album as well.

Hardrock Haven: Any thoughts on the passing of Ronnie James Dio? Was it an emotional writing and recording “A Song for Ronnie James?”

Tore St Moren: What many people don’t know, and some don’t want to understand about that song and the “Dio” album is that we had already been working on it for almost two years, in between our other albums when he was first diagnosed with cancer. The video was filmed three months before he passed away. Jorn and Ronnie were really fond of each other; they spent quite some time on the road together when Jorn toured with Yngwie opening for Dio some years back. Jorn wanted to show his appreciation for the man he considers being the greatest hard rock singer of all times, so it was truly a sad day for all of us when we got the news about his passing. That same night was the first time we played “Song For Ronnie James” live.

Hardrock Haven: Tore it was great to get the chance to talk with you? Is there anything else you might want to say in wrapping up the interview?

Tore St Moren: It’s been nice talking to you too. I would also like to add a big thank you to the fans – You guys rock – SHRED IS NOT DEAD!

Tore St Moren artist page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tore-St-Moren/260658053960
Tore St Moren fan group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/torestmoren/
Tore St Moren website: www.torestmoren.com (Under construction)
Jorn website: www.jornlande.com

Jorn | Live in Black

by John Kindred
Staff Writer

If the late Ronnie James Dio, the voice of hard rock and metal, were to pass the “metal” torch to anyone then he most certainly passed it to Jorn Lande, to keep the flame burning brightly for all to see and hear. He was indoctrinated with the honor of taking the stage with the voice of rock, Glenn Hughes, at the final Heaven & Hell concert in Victoria Park, London. Joining Heaven & Hell (Black Sabbath) the founding fathers of metal on stage, he lifted his voice in tribute, to the then recently departed Mr. Ronnie James Dio.

Yes, the torch has been passed. It most certainly has gone to a man with a resume to be proud of. After starting his career with Ronni le Tekro in the band Vagabond in the ‘80s, Jorn Lande then dived head-first into the world of music. Lande has appeared on many CDs and on stage with many of today’s top-flight music-acts such as, Millenium, Ark, Avantasia, Beyond Twilight and Brazen Abbot. He has worked with Russell Allen on three successful CDs. Teamed with guitarist Roland Grapow (former Helloween), Lande is the voice and frontman in Masterplan. With all this notoriety and success, Lande has had a successful career fronting his own band on eight critically acclaimed studio releases.

Following up on Jorn’s last studio album, ‘09s Spirit Black, the band delivers its second live opus, titled Live in Black. Recorded two weeks prior to Lande’s appearance with Heaven & Hell, Live in Black was captured on video and audio at the Sweden Rock Festival in Solvesborg. In front of 20,000 crazed metal fans, Jorn Lande and his current band lineup, comprising guitarists Tore Moren and Tor Erik Myhre, bassist Nic Angileri and drummer “Wild” Willy Bendiksen, delivered 14 songs that were culled from his catalog of music. The set lists also included guitar solos by Tore Moren and Tor Erik Myhre (got to love these Viking names) and a drum solo from “Wild” Willy Bendiksen.

All of Lande’s band mates are high-caliber musicians from prominent hard rock and metal European acts. Tore Moren has worked with Rain, Carnivora and Arctutus. He currently is working on releasing solo material on Shredguy Records. Tor Erik Myhre founded the Norwegian band Symphony, which later became Northwind and has been a part of Norway’s music scene for years. Nic Angileri is a rock/fusion bassist who has worked as a side/session bass player. He has an extensive resume that features TV projects, clinics and endorsements. “Wild” Willy Bendiksen is kind of a cult figure in his home country of Norway. Lending his name to the band Wild Willy’s Gang, the group is a revolving door for some of Norway’s top musicians. The group released a studio album in ’05 titled Camouflage. With TNT’s own Ronni le Tekro on guitars, this is a first-rate heavy metal CD you definitely should check out.

Live in Black captures Lande and his band mates in fine form as they rip through their set of heavy, hard rock anthems. This set list is strictly originals, except for the inclusion of Thin Lizzy’s “Are You Ready.” Fans are treated to heavy doses of majestic hard rock compositions in the guise of songs, such as “Road of the Cross,” “We Brought the Angels Down,” “Stormcrow,” “Tungur Kniver,” and many, many more. A review of the double CD release means that not much is revealed in regards to the visual energy of the masses that was gathered before the band. Knowing what was delivered on the Live! In America DVD helps build the mental image of 20,000-plus fans pumping their fists in the air. A must-have for fans? Yeah. You know it. Hopefully reviews such as this helps reveal the brilliance of Jorn Lande to the shores of the U.S.A., as North Americans truly have no idea what they have been missing.

Genre: Hard Rock / Heavy Metal

Band:
Jorn Lande: Vocals
Tore Moren: Guitar
Tor Erik Myhre: Guitar
Nic Angileri: Bass
Willy Bendiksen: Drums

Label: Frontiers Records

Web: www.jornlande.com

Track Listing:

CD 1
1. Road of the Cross
2. Shadow People
3. Below
4. We Brought The Angels Down
5. Stormcrow
6. Spirit Black
7. The Inner Road
8. Man of the Dark

CD 2
1. Blacksong
2. Guitar Solo (Tore Moren)
3. Tungur Knivur
4. Guitar Solo (Tor Erik Myhre)
5. Rock and Roll Angel
6. Drum Solo
7. Soul of the Wind
8. Are You Ready
9. War of the World

DVD
1. Road of the Cross
2. Shadow People
3. Below
4. We Brought The Angels Down
5. Stormcrow
6. Spirit Black
7. The Inner Road
8. Man of the Dark
9. Blacksong
10. Guitar Solo (Tore Moren)
11. Tungur Knivur
12. Guitar Solo (Tor Erik Myhre)
13. Rock and Roll Angel
14. Drum Solo
15. Soul of the Wind
16. Are You Ready
17. War of the World

Features:
Bonus Material: Song for Ronnie James (videoclip), Man of the Dark (videoclip).
Stereo mix 2.0 / 5.1 – Screen 16:9
Format: NTSC Region Free

Hardrock Haven rating: 9/10

Tore St. Moren : The Journey / Benedict’s Song

by John Kindred
Staff Writer

In the Hard Rock and Metal communities, Tore St. Moren most notably is known for his role as one of Jorn Lande’s primary guitarists. Sharing this role in Jorn’s band since 2000, Moren has been featured on six studio albums, two compilation albums, one live album and video, and a tribute album to Ronnie James Dio. However, his body of recorded work extends beyond his role in Jorn.

Moren founded the band Carnivora in 1999 and released two albums, ‘04’s Judas and ‘06’s Re-Incarnal on Facefront Records. In 2003, he became a member of the band Rain and in ’06 recorded the album Stronger. He also appeared on the album Sideshow Symphonies, which was released by Arctutus ‘05.

With such a busy schedule, one might ponder the question as to “… what will Moren do next?” And the insight you might glean from that question is a solo instrumental album, which Moren started working on a year ago.

Joining forces with Shredguy Records, Moren’s dream to release his first solo studio album slowly is coming to fruition. As that day approaches, the label has and will release a few songs from the upcoming album. In February, the first song, “The Journey,” was released and was made available in digital format at iTunes and Amazon. Following that release, the label this month dropped a second song titled “Benedicte’s Song,” which also is available online. Both songs give us a glimpse of what we might expect for this as-of-yet untitled studio album.

Of the two songs, “The Journey” is the heavier one. The arrangement features some nice dynamic changes that highlight both the lead and rhythm guitars. Furious lead playing intermingles with the use of the WAH pedal and exotic scales. Moren blends in harmony guitar parts throughout the song, providing another nice dynamic within the context of the music.

“Benedicte’s Song” is a melodic number, seemingly inspired maybe a bit by classic Michael Schenker. With a slower tempo this isn’t a tear-jerker ballad, the song has more of a rock opus feel that pushes forward to its majestic climatic chorus and has a pure, positive energy built on feeling and passion.

Although this is just a brief introduction to Moren as a solo instrumental artist, the songs highlight a mature and inspired musician. He can “shred” but understands melody and phrasing. He certainly knows how to let the music breath. He displays is well-rounded talent with high-caliber rhythm and solo performances. Fans will be impressed and will be licking their chops while waiting for the full album to be released.

Genre: Hard Rock / Metal Instrumental

Label: Shredguy Records

Digital Download available for purchase at:

iTunes

Amazon

Hardrock Haven rating: n/a

Discography:

Arctutus
Studio album: Sideshow Symphonies

Carnivora
Studio album: Judas · Re-Incarnal

Jorn (Lande)
Studio album: Starfire · Worldchanger · Out to Every Nation · The Duke · Lonely Are the Brave · Spirit Black
Live album: Live in America
Cover Album: Unlocking the Past · Dio
Compilations: The Gathering · The Dukebox
Video: Live in America

Rain
Studio album: Rain

Jorn Dio

by Justin Gaines
Staff Writer

Norwegian vocal god Jorn Lande, who somehow manages to get at least one new album out each year, is back with a new release, titled simply Dio. It’s a covers collection of songs originally performed by the late Ronnie James Dio. It’s no secret that Jorn knows his way around a good cover song. This isn’t even his first covers album (see the excellent Unlocking the Past). It is his first covers album dedicated to a single artist however, and he couldn’t have picked a more appropriate subject. Jorn Lande may sound like David Coverdale’s clone, but his songwriting style is completely Dio-inspired. Every time a new Jorn album comes out you end up thinking it’s what a Whitesnake album would sound like if Dio wrote it.

Dio kicks off with an original song, the tribute “Song For Ronnie James.” It’s completely respectful, but isn’t as strong as the average Jorn song. Still, you have to credit him for paying respect like that, and the video clip for the song is good. After that, it’s on to the cover songs. Dio has an interesting track listing. Jorn seems to have gone out of his way to choose lesser-known tracks from lesser-known Dio albums. Sure, he hits some of the big ones (“Stand Up and Shout,” “Kill the King”), but there are a lot of unexpected choices here, like “Push” (from Killing the Dragon), “Lord of the Last Day” (from Magica) and Dream Evil’s “Sunset Superman.”

Some of the songs work perfectly with Jorn’s voice. He absolutely slays on “Shame On the Night,” “Push,” “Don’t Talk To Strangers” and Rainbow’s “Kill the King.” There are also songs that don’t work so well. “Lord of the Last Day” and “Night People” just aren’t that memorable. Of course, they weren’t the strongest Dio songs to begin with. Still, Dio is way more hit than miss. Jorn’s voice fits Dio’s songs to a T, and his sheer love for the man and his music is contagious. The album closes with a live performance of “Straight Through the Heart,” which appears to be taken from his Live in the USA release.

The timing of this release, announced just days after Ronnie James Dio’s passing, raised some eyebrows, but Dio had been in the works for some time, and in the end it is a fitting tribute to a man that Jorn obviously owes a great debt to (as do we all, in one way or another). If you’re already a Jorn fan, obviously you need to own this album. It’s also a great way for Dio fans to discover one of Ronnie James Dio’s most devoted disciples.

P.S. – You have to wonder if he has a David Coverdale tribute collection coming at some point.

Genre: Melodic Hard Rock

Band:
Jorn Lande (v)
Willy Bendiksen (d)
Nic Angileri (b)
Tore Moren (g)
Tor Erik Myhre (g)
Jgor Gianola (g)

Track Listing:
1. Song For Ronnie James
2. Invisible
3. Shame On the Night
4. Push
5. Stand Up And Shout
6. Don’t Talk To Strangers
7. Lord of the Last Day
8. Night People
9. Sacred Heart
10. Sunset Superman
11. Lonely Is the Word – Letters From Earth
12. Kill the King
13. Straight Through the Heart (live)

Label: Frontiers

Website: www.jornlande.com

Hardrock Haven rating: 7.5/10