Jorn--Starfire

Jorn--Starfire (2000/Frontiers) Rating--8.5

Singer Jorn Lande continues to add to his already-impressive resume with this solo release. He has sung for both Millenium and Ark, and has also been the touring vocalist for Yngwie Malmsteen's band. Lande's style fits somewhere between David Coverdale and Steve Perry, with minute dashes of Ronnie James Dio at times. This release has its share of good originals, but also features some great covers as well. In all, a refreshing and energizing musical experience.
A good chorus marks the title track, and "Gate of Tears" is a wide-open original. "End Comes Easy" has a mystical feel, and disc-closer "Abyss of Evil" is slow-chopping and dark.
Cover tracks abound, and several are vast improvements over the originals (in terms of distortion and vitality). A flowing, heavy base on the Journey track "Edge of the Blade" makes it an excellent treat, and rhythmic, cascading vocal parts are also added. Foreigner's "Break It Up" is given sharper guitars, and "The Day the Earth Caught Fire," a City Boy tune, has an Ayreon-like swagger.
Guitarist Tore Ostby (a fellow member of Ark) lends a hand on Deep Purple's "Burn" and Jefferson Starship's "Just the Same".
TRACK LIST: Starfire/Edge of the Blade/Break It Up/Forever Yours/The Day the Earth Caught Fire/Gate of Tears/Burn/End Comes Easy/Just the Same/ Abyss of Evil

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