Their first full-length self-titled album Masterplan was released in 2003, produced by Andy Sneap. The band then consisted of Grapow and Kusch with Jørn Lande. The main part of the keyboard lines on the album were arranged and programmed by Roland and Uli. Keyboardist Janne "Warman" Wirman recorded some sessions for the album, but could not stay on as a full-time member due to his commitments to Children of Bodom. Axel Mackenrott replaced him on tour and soon after as a permanent member. Studio bassist Jürgen Attig (Casanova) helped with some bass lines on the recordings, but Grapow was the main bassist for the album. For tour and subsequent recordings, Jan-Sören Eckert was hired as a permanent member. The band received the "European Border Breakers Award" from the European Commission in 2004, for the debut album success around Europe.
In January 2005, Masterplan released their second album, Aeronautics once again produced by Andy Sneap and the band. After two successful albums and their respective tours, during the writing of the third album the band parted ways with vocalist Jørn Lande, citing "musical differences" as the reason for the split. The split was amicable enough that Jørn agreed to perform four previously arranged live appearances before departing although two of these were eventually cancelled by the promoters.
On 4 October 2006, Uli Kusch announced his departure from the band in an interview with Darkside.ru. Although not discussing the details of what had happened, he mentioned the democratic principles of making decisions in the band as one of the reasons of his leaving – according to him, it often made getting a consensus nearly impossible. Three days later, Masterplan announced their new line-up through their official web site: Grapow, Mackenrott, Eckert, with new members Mike DiMeo (Riot, The Lizards) and Mike Terrana (ex-Artension, ex-Rage, Metalium, ex-Axel Rudi Pell). The band toured with Saxon as an opening act for Saxon's Inner Sanctum tour.
The band's third album, suitably titled MK II, was released on 26 February 2007. It was produced this time by the band's actual leader, Roland Grapow himself, at his own studio in Slovakia. It was recorded in September and October 2006.
On 11 January 2009, Mike DiMeo confirmed on his MySpace page that he had parted ways with Masterplan. On 25 July 2009, the band finally revealed that Jørn Lande has made his return to Masterplan. On 16 April 2010, a single titled Far From the End of the World was released to precede the band's new fourth album, Time to Be King, once again produced by Roland Grapow. On 13 July 2011, the band announced on their official website that they were writing songs for a new album. The album was set to be released in March 2013.
In July 2012, it was announced that Martin Marthus Skaroupka (Cradle of Filth drummer) will play on the new Masterplan album. In early November, it was announced that Rick Altzi and Jari Kainulainen would replace Jorn Lande and Jan Eckert on the upcoming album. In November 2012, during an interview with Metal Shock Finland's Chief Editor, Mohsen Fayyazi, when talking about Jorn's departure from the band, Roland stated the following: "Everybody always expects something special from Jorn, but it's a very unstable situation. To keep happy it's not easy and to be honest I've not heard from him for 2 years. Don't get me wrong, we're still friends but we just don't have much contact."
On 21 February 2013, the new album was announced. The title of the album is Novum Initium and it was released on 14 June 2013 through German record label AFM Records.
In an interview made in Italy, on 16 September 2016, Roland Grapow confirmed the addition of At Vance member Kevin Kott as the drummer of the band replacing Martin Marthus Škaroupka whose commitments with his other band Cradle of Filth prevented him for playing shows with Masterplan.
They also announced the release of a new album consisting of re-recordings of Helloween songs written by Roland Grapow from the time he was in the band. The album, PumpKings, was released on 28 July 2017. Grapow stated that the album was not any kind of revenge for being fired from Helloween, or not being invited to their Pumpkins United World Tour in 2017: [fans] all thought it was kind of a revenge or something... now I remember. To me, it's just a relaxing situation [...] I never had this in my mind. It's just a bit coincidental because I delayed this album for two years and it came out at the same time when the reunion tour came.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masterplan_(band)
Studio albums
Masterplan (2003)
Aeronautics (2005)
MK II (2007)
Time to Be King (2010)
Novum Initium (2013)
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In the 1970s, a soul combo called Masterplan recorded "Clinton Park" and other tunes on the De-Lite label.
Bleeding Eyes
Masterplan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Memorizing my view of earth
And stained is the eye
Ambitions not where they should be
Out of focus, too much fantasy
Within hides the dreamer
From the north to the desert sand
And revelation was left behind us
Lost without a cry
A silent lullaby
And I'm waiting, waiting for the healer
I see with bleeding eyes
I carry the world on my shoulders
The load is heavy
And it's time for an awakening
The road is long, I've been told
But I think it's short
Time goes by, and I wonder how the world is taught
From the streets of Babylon
To the sound of a modern gun
I know the story but it doesn't come clean
I'm a superstitious man, fed the neon screen
Riding on the rise of tomorrow
Fading rainbow in the eyes of sorrow
I've read the script, rehearsed the dream
Faking death at the battle scene, yeah
I want to change it, I want to change it
I want to change it, And rearrange it
I want to change it, I want to change it
I see with bleeding eyes
I carry the world on my shoulders
The load is heavy
And it's time for an awakening
The road is long, I've been told
But I think it's short
Time goes by, and I wonder how the world is taught
From the streets of Babylon
To the sound of a modern gun
I know the story but it doesn't come clean
I'm a superstitious man, fed the neon screen
Riding on the rise of tomorrow
Fading rainbow in the eyes of sorrow
I've read the script, rehearsed the dream, yeah
Faking death at the battle scene
From the streets of Babylon
To the sound of a modern gun
I know the story but it doesn't come clean
I'm a superstitious man, fed the neon screen
Riding on the rise of tomorrow
Fading rainbow in the eyes of sorrow
I've read the script, rehearsed the dream, yeah
Faking death at the battle scene
I see with bleeding eyes
I want to change it, I want to change it
I carry the world on my shoulders
I want to change it
And rearrange it
The song Bleeding Eyes by Masterplan speaks to a sense of disillusion and disillusionment in the world around us. The opening lines, "Inside my camera is watching / Memorizing my view of earth / And stained is the eye / Ambitions not where they should be / Out of focus, too much fantasy / Within hides the dreamer" allude to a sense of detachment and distance from reality. The camera represents a sort of detachment from reality and a focus on a specific perspective, while the "stained" and "out of focus" eyes suggest an inability to properly process the world around us.
The song also touches on a sense of frustration with the state of the world. Lines such as "From the north to the desert sand / Chaos disturbed the land / And revelation was left behind us / Lost without a cry / A silent lullaby / And I'm waiting, waiting for the healer" suggest a sense of hopelessness and a desire for some kind of transformative experience or healing.
Ultimately, the song seems to call for action and change. The repeated lines "I see with bleeding eyes / I carry the world on my shoulders / The load is heavy / And it's time for an awakening" speak to a sense of responsibility and agency in the face of a difficult and uncertain world. The desire for change and rearrangement of the world suggests a belief in the possibility for transformation, however difficult it may be.
Line by Line Meaning
Inside my camera is watching
I am constantly observing and documenting the world around me.
Memorizing my view of earth
I am carefully storing my observations and experiences in my memory.
And stained is the eye
My view of the world is tainted by my own experiences and biases.
Ambitions not where they should be
I am not pursuing my goals and dreams in a meaningful way.
Out of focus, too much fantasy
I am struggling to stay grounded in reality and am indulging in unrealistic fantasies.
Within hides the dreamer
Despite my struggles, I am still a dreamer at heart.
From the north to the desert sand
No matter where I go in the world, there is always chaos and destruction.
Chaos disturbed the land
The world is in a state of turmoil and upheaval.
And revelation was left behind us
We have lost sight of important truths and insights.
Lost without a cry
We are drifting aimlessly without any clear direction or purpose.
A silent lullaby
We are being lulled into complacency and apathy by the chaos around us.
And I'm waiting, waiting for the healer
I am hopeful that someone or something will come along to heal the world's wounds and bring us all together.
I see with bleeding eyes
My vision of the world is clouded by pain and suffering.
I carry the world on my shoulders
I feel a heavy burden of responsibility for the state of the world.
The load is heavy
The weight of my obligations is overwhelming.
And it's time for an awakening
I am ready for a change and a new perspective on the world.
The road is long, I've been told
I am aware that the journey to a better world will be difficult and fraught with obstacles.
But I think it's short
Despite this, I remain optimistic and believe that progress is possible in a shorter timeframe than others may imagine.
Time goes by, and I wonder how the world is taught
I am constantly reflecting on the state of the world and trying to understand how we arrived at this point.
From the streets of Babylon
The problems facing us today are not new but have existed since ancient times.
To the sound of a modern gun
Despite advances in technology and civilization, we have not been able to solve these problems.
I know the story but it doesn't come clean
I am familiar with the narratives and explanations for the world's problems, but they don't seem to fully capture the reality of the situation.
I'm a superstitious man, fed the neon screen
I am susceptible to the influence of media and technology and it shapes my perceptions of the world.
Riding on the rise of tomorrow
I am hopeful for a better future and believe that progress is possible.
Fading rainbow in the eyes of sorrow
Despite this optimism, there is still a sense of sadness and despair in the world.
I've read the script, rehearsed the dream
I have heard all the promises of change and progress before, but am skeptical of whether they will ever come to fruition.
Faking death at the battle scene, yeah
I am weary of the constant conflict and violence in the world and want to escape it.
I want to change it, I want to change it
I am motivated to create change and make a positive impact on the world.
And rearrange it
I want to fundamentally alter the way that the world operates and bring about a more peaceful and just society.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JORN LANDE, ROLAND GRAPOW, ULRICH KUSCH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind