{"id":30096,"date":"2013-06-07T09:44:10","date_gmt":"2013-06-07T14:44:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=30096"},"modified":"2014-02-08T08:36:18","modified_gmt":"2014-02-08T13:36:18","slug":"masterplan-novum-initium-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2013\/masterplan-novum-initium-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Masterplan | Novum Initium<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines<\/span>
\n– Senior Columnist\/News Editor–<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Masterplan\"It\u2019s been three years since the last Masterplan album (2010\u2019s Time To Be King<\/em>), and to no one\u2019s surprise, the melodic metal band has gone through yet another lineup change. This time around, founding guitarist Roland Grapow and keyboardist Axel Mackenrott are joined by bassist Jari Kainulainen (ex-Stratovarius) and drummer Martin Skaroupka (Cradle of Filth). The big change is of course the departure of on again-off again vocalist Jorn Lande. Rather than bring back one-time frontman Mike DiMeo, Masterplan has enlisted Thunderstone\/At Vance singer Rick Altzi.<\/p>\n

The new album, Masterplan\u2019s fifth full-length release, is titled Novum Initium<\/em>, which is Latin for \u201cnew beginning.\u201d It\u2019s an appropriate title given the lineup changes, but as to the music itself, not much has changed, which is a good thing. From their debut album Masterplan \u2013 whatever the lineup \u2013 has been one of the best bands in the European melodic metal scene, and that remains the case here. Novum Initium is a very strong album that follows in the path of previous Masterplan releases. Grapow is brilliant at balancing scorching riffs with sublime melodies, the rhythms are tight, and the keyboards are used (never abused) to great effect. Altzi is a great vocalist in his own right, and he fits Masterplan\u2019s sound perfectly. You don\u2019t really even miss Jorn until the closing title track, where Altzi seems to be doing a Jorn impression. It\u2019s still a monster song, clocking in at 10 minutes and with a great buildup. \u201cThe Game\u201d is another highlight, and one that\u2019s sure to get heads banging, and songs like \u201cBlack Night of Magic\u201d and \u201cReturn From Avalon\u201d would have fit perfectly on the Masterplan debut.<\/p>\n

Unless you\u2019re in the \u201cno Jorn, no interest\u201d camp, it\u2019s hard to imagine any Masterplan fan not enjoying Novum Initium. It\u2019s a very strong melodic metal album from start to finish, and is without a doubt worthy of the Masterplan name. Fans of Pretty Maids, Royal Hunt, Nocturnal Rites, Jorn and European melodic rock in general will not want to pass Novum Initium by.<\/p>\n

Edition Notes: The physical release of Novum Initium<\/em> comes in a digipack and includes the bonus tracks \u201c1492\u201d and \u201cFear the Silence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Genre: Melodic Metal, Power Metal, Heavy Metal<\/p>\n

Band:
\nRoland Grapow (g)
\nAxel Mackenrott (k)
\nJari Kainulainen (b)
\nMartin Skaroupka (d)
\nRick Altzi (v)<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tPer Aspera Ad Astra
\n2.\tThe Game
\n3.\tKeep Your Dream Alive
\n4.\tBlack Night of Magic
\n5.\tBetrayal
\n6.\tNo Escape
\n7.\tPray on My Soul
\n8.\tEarth Is Going Down
\n9.\tReturn From Avalon
\n10.\tThrough Your Eyes
\n11.\tNovum Initium<\/p>\n

Label: AFM<\/p>\n

Website: www.masterplan-theband.com<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 8.25\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines – Senior Columnist\/News Editor– It\u2019s been three years since the last Masterplan album (2010\u2019s Time To Be King), and to no one\u2019s surprise, the melodic metal band has gone through yet another […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":30097,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8704],"tags":[336,2491,1051,3439,7168,1097,334,1278],"class_list":{"0":"post-30096","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2013","8":"tag-cd","9":"tag-heavy-metal","10":"tag-masterplan","11":"tag-melodic-metal","12":"tag-novum-initium","13":"tag-power-metal","14":"tag-review","15":"tag-roland-grapow"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30096","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30096"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30096\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30097"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}