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Review: Masterplan - Masterplan (20th Anniversary Edition)
Masterplan
www.masterplan-theband.com
Masterplan (20th Anniversary Edition)

Label: AFM Records
Year released: 2023
Originally released in: 2003
Duration: 1:04:50
Tracks: 14
Genre: Power Metal

Rating:
3.75/5


Review online: December 8, 2023
Reviewed by: Michel Renaud
Readers' Rating
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Rated 4.33/5 (86.67%) (6 Votes)
Review

I skipped on Masterplan when this album first came out 20 years ago, for whatever reason, and never bothered to look into the band later. With this 20th Anniversary Edition, I figured I could rectify the course. This is crunchy, melodic power metal like it was being done back in the day (well, duh). There's a mix of more upbeat, fast songs and some slower, more solemn and epic numbers and that mostly works, though I find it breaks the mood on occasion. The vocals are top-notch, clear and powerful while not deafening, the singer not showing off for the sake of showing off. The ballad "When Love Comes Close" has a bit of a Whitesnake vibe to it, at least in the vocal delivery. It's kind of mellow and doesn't gel all that well with the album; there's nothing wrong with the song per se, though it closed the original edition of the album and I can't imagine that having worked all that well (not a big fan of closing ballads). This edition contains three bonus tracks, including a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog" as a closer. It's a cool cover and, well, there's a risk with picking such a classic to cover and doing it well; it kind of sticks out more than Masterplan's own songs on the album. I'm usually not big on bonus tracks, on reissues or special editions, but in this case, not ending on a ballad is an improvement and the bonus tracks don't sound out of place. The CD version includes a bonus DVD with a show from 2003. I can't comment on it as I don't have it, but that might make the CD version worth getting. By now, any power metal fan will either have heard this or lots of albums that sound like it, so it's either for completist fans or people who don't have it yet. It's not something I'll feel the urge to listen to, but if it pops in my face, I like it enough to be tempted to give it more spins.

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- CD edition includes a bonus DVD with Masterplan Live in Gothenbury (2003 - 52:23) and Masterplan Off Stage (47:42). Total duration 1:40:05
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