When a fabulous singer like Jorn Lande releases an all-covers album like Unlocking The Past then two options are likely to occur: a) the album is a killer if the musicians are of 'parallel' level, b) the album is a killer if the originals (tracks or bands) are all-time classics, c) the album is mediocre if none of the two aforementioned cases do not exist. Well, keep the first two and - like it or not - praise the man's voice and will to fit the best in the landscape.
Including previously unreleased cover 'stuff' (originally considered to be 'leftovers' or additional bonus tracks for previous JORN albums) plus some brand new remakes, Unlocking The Past sees Lande enlisting various friends/collaborators of him during the past years - the names of Don Airey (OZZY OSBOURNE, RAINBOW, DEEP PURPLE), Ronni Le Tekro (TNT), Tore Moren (RAIN, ARCTURUS), John Macaluso (ARK, STARBREAKER, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN) and Ralph Santolla (DEATH, ICED EARTH, MILLENNIUM, SEBASTIAN BACH)must mean something to you! - for this project. Letting aside the obvious excellence of the whole team, it's also notable that the mood is fine; the musicianship is 100% pure as if a group of longtime friends sweat on their youth faves.
Not much to be said for the tracklist, though. Lande's throat kicks ass again - as if his credits with ARK, MASTERPLAN, THE SNAKES, MILLENNIUM and BRAZEN ABBOT wouldn't tell so - while the track selections are also brilliant. I particularly enjoyed tunes like Cold Sweat, Lonely Is The Word/Letters From Earth and Naked City while no remake (except maybe from the mediocre 'update' of Feel Like Making Love) left my ears unsatisfied.
Dealing with a variety of singing styles from a set of 'landmark' frontmen, this JORN release sees Jorn Lande occuping himself with what he knows best: singing beautifully. Apart from the artist's fans, Unlocking the Past is a good present for anyone willing to check out while Lande is regarded as a 'top' voice the last years in the Hard Rock/Heavy Metal scene. This simple.