Masterplan is a German power metal band founded by guitarist Roland Grapow … Read Full Bio ↴Masterplan is a German power metal band founded by guitarist Roland Grapow and drummer Uli Kusch upon leaving Helloween in 2001. During Helloween's tour of their album The Dark Ride in 2001, members Roland Grapow and Uli Kusch (who had been in the band since 1989 and 1994, respectively) decided to form a side project. As the other Helloween members felt the two were more focused on their side project than Helloween at the time, both were later fired from the band. The name "Masterplan" was born out of the idea that they would be master musicians with the future in their hands, starting the newest power metal band of the new millennium. To fill out their line-up, Roland subsequently invited Children of Bodom keyboardist Janne Wirman. For vocals, Russell Allen was invited but he had to decline, being busy with his main band Symphony X. A second invitation was made for former Helloween singer Michael Kiske, who also rejected the proposal, claiming that he wanted to keep away from the metal scene. After being impressed with the vocals on the Norwegian band Ark's album Burn the Sun and a solo album titled Worldchanger, singer Jørn Lande was invited. Jørn accepted the invitation, completing the band roughly six months after the beginning of the project.

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.

Wounds
Masterplan Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I have walked this road before
So hard to find unopened doors
Lost my way but I have to stay for a while
I'll be searching for more

And my wounds are real
I must rise from the sorrow
And find my way out of the dark

I've cried my tears from pain
There's a new day tomorrow
I'll turn the hourglass again

Feel and trust your inner voice
Chase your dream with desire
Show the scars you've been hiding deep inside
And reveal who you are

Cause your wounds are real
You must rise from the sorrow
And find your way out of the dark
Cry your tears from pain
Face a new day tomorrow
And turn the hourglass again, yeah

And my wounds are real
I must rise from the sorrow
And find my way out of the dark
I've cried my tears from pain
There's a new day tomorrow
I'll turn the hourglass again

Cry your tears from pain

Face a new day tomorrow
We'll turn the hourglass again

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Masterplan's song Wounds speak about overcoming past pain and finding the strength to move forward. The opening lines "I have walked this road before / So hard to find unopened doors" suggest that the singer has faced difficulties in the past and has struggled to find new opportunities. However, they are determined to keep searching and become better because "I'll be searching for more."

The chorus of the song emphasizes that the wounds the singer has endured are real, but they must rise from the sorrow and find a way to move past the darkness. They encourage listeners to face their pain, cry their tears, and face the new day tomorrow. The final line "We'll turn the hourglass again" suggests that the singer is ready to begin again and move forward with a fresh outlook.

Overall, the message of the song is one of hope and resilience in the face of adversity. It reminds listeners that they are not alone in their struggles and that they can find the strength to keep going and overcome their pain.

Line by Line Meaning

I have walked this road before
I have experienced this situation before

So hard to find unopened doors
It's difficult to find new opportunities

Lost my way but I have to stay for a while
I feel lost but I need to keep going

I'll be searching for more
I'll keep looking for something better

And my wounds are real
I am truly hurt

I must rise from the sorrow
I need to overcome my pain

And find my way out of the dark
I need to find a way to escape my troubles

I've cried my tears from pain
I have let out my emotions

There's a new day tomorrow
Tomorrow is a new opportunity

I'll turn the hourglass again
I'll keep moving forward

Feel and trust your inner voice
Believe in yourself and your instincts