Masterplan

Masterplan formed in Hamburg in 2001, put together by guitarist Roland Grapow and drummer Uli Kusch. Both had been members of Helloween — Grapow since 1989, Kusch since 1994 — and both were dismissed that year, in the aftermath of the darker, heavier The Dark Ride, when the rest of the band concluded the pair were more invested in their side project than in Helloween itself. The side project quickly became a full-time act, and Grapow's own studio in Hamburg became its creative base. Keyboardist Axel Mackenrott joined early and remains the band's only other constant member. The lineup was completed by Norwegian vocalist Jørn Lande, fresh from the breakup of Ark, whose powerful, Coverdale-inspired delivery defined the band's classic sound. The self-titled debut Masterplan (2003, AFM Records) was an immediate critical success, with "Enlighten Me", "Heroes" and "Spirit Never Die" becoming signature songs; Grapow has described its reception as feeling like vindication after Helloween. Aeronautics (2005) followed in a similar melodic, hard-rocking vein. Instability then set in. Lande left in 2006 amid disagreements over creative control, and Kusch departed the same year. Grapow rebuilt with ex-Riot singer Mike DiMeo and drummer Mike Terrana for MK II (2007), a bluesier record that divided fans. DiMeo exited in 2009, and Lande returned that July for Time to Be King (2010), widely seen as a return to form. The reunion proved short-lived: Lande was formally out by 2012. Grapow then recruited Swedish vocalist Rick Altzi (At Vance) and bassist Jari Kainulainen (ex-Stratovarius), a lineup that debuted on Novum Initium (2013). Next came PumpKings (2017), a collection of re-recorded Helloween songs from Grapow's era with that band, followed by a long silence filled by festival appearances and Grapow's production work. Masterplan returned in 2026 with Metalmorphosis, released 26 June via Frontiers Music — their first album of new material in thirteen years, and their first for a new label. The current lineup is Grapow, Mackenrott, Altzi, Kainulainen and drummer Kevin Kott. The band remains a respected fixture of melodic power metal, its Lande-era records still regarded as genre benchmarks.