Masterplan reunite with their original vocalist, Jørn Lande, for their fourth full-length studio release, Time To Be King. However, before the metal audience is given this next opus, AFM Records has issued the CD Single Far From The End Of The World, of the song "Far From the End of the World", which is a step in a different direction for both parties as an EP is usually customary. While it's great that this material will be available prior to the release of Time To Be King, it's really not all that fantastic a deal when you pop it into your player.

If you happen to grab this release from an MP3 retailer, you'll probably get it cheaper, and at the correct price for the quality of the material on here. First of all, the lead single off the album is what you would expect from Masterplan. "Far From the End of the World" is a catchy song, and it's great to have Jørn back helming as frontman to the group. The song itself is with a fast driving pace and a killer guitar solo. It's so good they offered it twice! Not only do you get the "Album version", which makes sense, but you also get the "Single version" which, really, doesn't sound any different, though it clearly is since certain parts of the song come in either sooner or later on the "Single Version".

The second track off here, "Lonely Winds of War", really brings in a different type of band. The material here isn't as driving as "Far From the End of the World", and it actually sounds a little different production wise, almost as if the song was run through some sort of static filter before being pressed. Hopefully this track is really a demo recording that has not been noted, or a poorly uploaded version of the song in the file the label provided for this review, and not the official final product. Both versions of "Far From the End of the World" also has this, but nowhere near as bad and sometimes not even really noticable. Either way, the song itself is powerful, but there's no real kick to it, leaving "Lonely Winds of War" as a song that will easily be forgotten and grow boring quickly.

Sadly, this CD Single doesn't pose much of an effort to make you want to buy it. Unless you are a rabid fan, or have a few bucks to blow on the MP3 versions, this is something you could easily walk by since the only non-album track is a slightly altered version that sounds remarkably identical to the original version. If you can hold off, the full-length Time To Be King will be hitting shelves in less then a month from this Single's release, so why not just save your money for the version that will probably be more enjoyable instead of buying this version which you'll really only listen to one song of.

	Masterplan: Far From the End of the World Power Metal AFM Records April 16th, 2010 Far From the End of the World (Single Version) - 3:22 Lonely Winds of War - 4:37 Far From the End of the World (Album Version) - 3:36 Links Band Logo Google Video Myspace Website AFM Records - Review Information Release length: 44:57 Review posted on May 16th, 2010 - Overall Score Comment on this review!
Discography Discography covers all information available up to day of review and is updated if future albums are reviewed. Full-Length(s): Masterplan (2003) | Aeronautics (2005) | MK II (2007) | Time To Be King (2010) EP(s): Enlighten Me (2002) | Back For My Life (2004) | Lost and Gone (2007) CD Single(s): Far From the End of the World (2010)
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