Allen/Lande
The Great Divide

Two of the most frequently used voices is hard rock has once again joined forces for another album together. Last time we heard them in this outfit was in 2010 but since then things has definitely soften up and slowed down. Previous three albums by the duo are all part of a triology called "The Battle, The Revenge & The Showdown" and was led heavy and jet-engine fast. The last part (the only one with a Hallowed review) got awarded with four points but as previously mentioned - this time it's a bit toned down and fairly soft in comparison. Could that really be a winning concept for two such powerful and heavy voices.

Russel Allen has since the beginning in Symphony X been a frequent guest on different albums and also been part of side projects like this one and Adrenaline Mob. Jørn Lande has since really making it to peoples consciousness with Masterplan completely taken over the hard rock community with his voice. He started out in a band called Vagabond but before striking big with Masterplan it was probably his solo or Ark that people knew him from, if they knew him. Since Masterplan it's more or less everything that has had his appearance on it, regardless of what. This band, though, is not a collaboration between the two despite carrying both their names but a project suggested by the Swede Magnus Karlsson for Frontiers who - naturally since it's a bunch of old men that's been doing music for 20+ years - thought it was a good idea and brought it together. Now Karlsson has left the band along with the drummer Jaime Salazar and instead we have two Finns in the band: Jami Houvinen, whom we got to know earlier this year with Ring On Fire and thier 'Battle Of Leningrad' (an album I wasn't particularly fond of) and Timo Tolkki, who shouldn't need a further introduction after all we've written about him already. The natural thing is to blame the new guys for the change of sound, so let's do that!

In all honestly I don't find Lande and Allen to have that different voices because they are both powerful vocalists that use more feeling, emotion and charisma than pure quality. Sure, they are both qualified vocalists - no doubt about it and particularly Russel Allen - but it's still the passion they have in their voices that's made them the giants they are. Scaling down the music, as been done on this album, makes the vocalists even more important and particularly the voice quality is something that gets apparent when you rely on them the way they've done here and I have to say that it backfires on them a few times on this album.

We have the slower songs: Dream With Me, Lady Of Winter, The Hymn To The Fallen, The Great Divide and Bitter Sweet. We have the fast ones: Down From The Mountain, In The Hands Of Time and Dream About Tomorrow. And then we have a few that are neither fast or slow (or both, I don't know): Soild Ground and Reaching For The Stars. In other words it's five slow, three fast and two tracks that's something in between. The funny thing about it, especially considering how heavy it used to be, is that the slower the songs get the better they are. But at the same time, when they aren't slow it gets better the faster they play. The troll under this bridge is actually the mid-tempo tracks and what makes the already funny thing about this even more funny is the fact that Timo Tolkki used to be a master in doing mid-tempo tracks back in Stratovarius. However, he also made some really great ballads and fast songs as well, so maybe it's not such a big deal after all. I guess the surprise is why everything hasn't worked here in Allen/Lande when Tolkki has been such a champion on these kind of songs previously?

While we let that carrot of a question grow, let's focus on another part of the music and how it sounds instead, As already mentioned, it's softer this time compared to 'The Showdown' and also slower. Had the two vocalists sounded more like Timo Kotipelto I'd almost thought I'd travelled back in time with a Delorean to the late 90's and the albums 'Visions', 'Destiny' and 'Infinite' by Stratovarius. The only thing that seems to be missing from those albums is the mega epic track that used to end these albums - all the other ingredients are there from the peak of Mr Tolkkis musical career. There's a few things that differ though, except the vocals, and it's mainly the epic fast drums and the roller coaster of keyboards and despite the fact that I loved those albums it's never a good thing to go backwards.

The worst thing with this carbon copy of some of my favorite albums is the fact that they were so much better than this. Had this been an improvement then that would have been more acceptable but seeing how it's not then what's the point with them? Both Allen and Lande - especially Lande - should stay out of Stratovarius territory and the only reason why I don't thrash this album completely is the fact that it has two of the greatest vocalists in the world doing songs by one of the greatest song writers in the world and backed by two of the greatest musicians in the world. I don't think I need to say that this isn't a bad album - that should be obvious - but it's a massive disappointment as it could have been so much better!

My favorites on this album are Lady Of Winter, Dream About Tomorrow and Bitter Sweet. Most of the other songs are also pretty good but they can't help me from feeling this massive disappointment over the fact that they've wasted such potential. Acceptable, but with some restrictions.

HHHHHHH