Masterplan Set Out a True Master Plan in Enjoyable Music.
Germany's Masterplan were one of the few bands at the lower end of the line-up who I had heard of before coming to this years Bloodstock Open Air. Known for producing quality no frills Power metal, they certainly did not disappoint when it came to producing the goods live. Featuring former members of power metal stalwarts Helloween, Masterplan certainly had a lot to live up to and I am glad to say that they put on one of the most enjoyable shorter sets of the weekend.
Mixing traditional rock sounds with more modern power metal stylings Masterplan provided an interesting and most of all enjoyable sound that carried throughout their hour long set. The vocals provided by Jorn Lande are enjoyable and unlike in some other sets of the weekend are actually fully audible. The synths provided by keyboardist Axel Mackenrott are also fully enjoyable and unlike many other live power metal acts are actually distinguishable from the overall sound making Masterplan's songs stand out from the crowd. Unfortunately the guitars, bass and drums were not as memorable but there is little to fault against them besides the fact that they all ended up falling into the "generic power metal" side of music without offering much to set them apart from the other power metal acts of the weekend.
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The band had good energy onstage and clearly enjoyed playing. The entire set was artfully performed and the band were impressively tight for such a young act (Masterplan have only 2 albums currently). However it did take a while for this to become evident and during the first few songs of the set the band were mostly stationary.
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Overall then, Masterplan put in a good - if unvaried - set and there is little to fault them on. They only fall out of favour truly when compared to the excellent sets provided by the four bands following them. I doubt a Masterplan show will ever go down as anyone's all time favourite but they undoubtedly provide an enjoyable hour of power metal.
To view all photos taken during this set click here. There are 11 available.