All you need to know about the seventh studio album by Norwegian singer Jorn Lande’s solo band Jorn is made loud and clear by the title—Bring Heavy Rock To The Land. Jorn’s previous albums are more in the power metal realm but this one is pure “heavy rock,” as heard on classic ‘80s-era tapes by Scorpions, Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy, Rainbow and, especially, Dio. Jorn had made no secret of his love of Dio, as witnessed by his 2010 tribute album, simply called Dio.
Opening song “My Road” is a ballad reminiscent of the elegant Coverdale-era Deep Purple song “Soldier Of Fortune,” which sets up the fist-pumping title-track with majesty and class. I can just picture an enormous European festival crowd holding torches aloft in the darkness before the stage lights explode and heavy rock is brought to the faithful on the muddy earth. Even though the emphasis is on “heavy rock,” songs like “Chains Around You,” “Time To Be A King” and “Ride To The Guns” will thrill fans of Manowar and Iron Maiden. The eight-minute “A Thousand Cuts” brings to mind the splendor of vintage Rainbow. Curiously, Jorn decided to revisit Saxon’s cover of the Christopher Cross song “Ride Like The Wind.”
Bring Heavy Rock To The Land is a 10-song crusade to restore walls of Marshall cabinets to every stage in the world. Soaring vocals, thunderous drums and screeching guitar solos will be reinstated as law. The CD also contains a great bonus track called “Live And Let Fly” that would sound great echoing from a vintage Camaro as it does a victory lap around a high school at the end of the year. The lucky fans in Japan get a great version of the (Dio-era) Black Sabbath classic “Mob Rules” in its place.
In A Word: DIO
