Jorn Lande, Norwegian vocalist extraordinaire, is releasing two new CDs full of older material which form a great collection of songs from (mostly) his pre-Masterplan days. This album, The Gathering, contains 16 tracks, mostly from his first three solo albums, but also a song each from old Ark, Snakes, Millennium and Allen/Lande albums. 

Jorn is universally acclaimed as having one of the very best rock voices around and this collection just reinforces that to those already familiar with his work, or serves as a great introduction to those who haven’t heard him before. 

Nearly all the songs have been remixed or re-recorded from scratch and all have been remastered, so even if you already own the original titles, these versions may sound slightly different or updated. 

The album kicks off with “Something Real” from 2004’s Out To Every Nation solo album, the first of four tracks from that particular platter. After the spooky Coverdale impression on “Gonna Find The Sun” from The Snakes’ Once Bitten album, we get the first of 6 tracks from the fantastic Worldchanger disc, in the form of “Bridges Will Burn”. 

Jorn has an incredible vocal range which is showcased throughout this release and he is able to change singing style seemingly at will to suit the song – from out and out metal screamer to rich bluesy or melodic tones. I’ve seen him sing live and amazingly he is able to do this for real on stage as well, totally shooting down any thoughts you may have that any of his ability is down to clever technical stuff done in the studio. 

Being a fan already and owning virtually his entire back catalogue, this release has limited appeal to me, but serves to tide me over until his next solo album and the much anticipated follow up to the Allen/Lande “The Battle” album which for many was album of the year in 2005, me included. 

If, however, you haven’t got much of his older work already, then this would be a great addition to your collection and a superb introduction to one of the true rock stars of the modern era.