It was quite evident after the release of the band’s sour apple of a third album “MK II”, which saw the departure of Norwegian powerhouse vocalist Jorn Lande and the addition of Mike Dimeo (Riot, The Lizards), that the band was in big trouble. The magic created on those first two albums was just not present and it appeared the band had made a wrong turn off the highway towards greatness and hit a dead end. I personally did not think "MK II" was as bad as fans (and especially Roland Grapow) made it out to be. I just feel that it is hard for anyone to fill in the shoes of a guy who could potentially replace the late great Ronnie James Dio in Heaven and Hell should Tony Iommi decide to carry on with that band. While it was not quite the same I still appreciated Dimeo’s efforts.

Opening cut ‘Fiddle of Time’ starts off with a power metal punch to the face with fast paced guitars and menacing keyboards. Jorn Lande’s David Coverdale meets Ronnie James Dio vocal lets off a "Yeahhhhhhhhhhh yeahhhhhhhhhhh, Oooooohhhhhh ohhhhhahhhhright!" and it just gave me that feeling the album could go down as a classic. ‘Blow Your Winds’ is one of my favorite cuts this band has ever done. The opening keyboards give off that Helloween ‘If I Could Fly’ type of vibe but are quickly injected with some crunchy guitar showcasing perfect balance between the two. Speaking of Helloween, I draw a lot of parallels between “Time To Be King” and the German’s 2000 platter "The Dark Ride" (which was hated by many but one of my personal favorites due to its heavy and darker vibe). ‘Far From the End of the World’ was released as a single shortly before the release of this album and while a solid tune I feel the above mentioned ‘Blow Your Winds’ would have been a more solid pick.

The title track is a super hard with dark symphonic progressions throughout. Without listening to this song and just reading the lyrics and a line like "I am the devil below, torching the ground of the holy" would have you thinking Watain or Marduk were behind the writing. While I am not a huge fan of anti Christian messages, Masterplan deliver it with a sense of class instead of desecration. ‘Blue Europa’ is another favorite as it takes for many what would be a typical traditional power metal arrangement into uncharted territory. Masterplan just all around raises the bar.

There is not a weak track on this album and the band may very well be at their best right now. I am curious to see what the future holds however because like mentioned above Mr. Lande could be the next singer of Heaven and Hell and will be joining Tonmy, Geezer, and Vinny at the upcoming High Voltage festival. Only time will tell as this is all speculation but for the time being it is "Time to be King"!