It's interesting to note that six Jorn solo albums have been reviewed here, all with different authors and, with the exception of the Dio tribute, all with very different scores. Spirit Black is the latest offering, sticking with the unmistakable 80's hard rock/metal feel. Due to the obvious Coverdale-style vocals, you could possibly consider this a modern interpretation of what Whitesnake would sound like today if they had kept a consistent stream of records flowing. If what you're seeking from Lande is a Masterplan level of speed and heaviness, this ain't it. The guitarwork is much more crisp and crunchy, a trademark of Jorn albums. Spirit Black seems to be a healthy mix of The Duke and Lonely Are The Brave, which is not a bad place to be.

Lande has an occasional habit of opening with particularly slow songs that don't grab you right from the get-go as an album opener should. The title track is a good example, a plodding, determined pace that Jorn is making a regular staple with his solo music. Below brings in more pronounced power chords, while Burn The Flame is actually a lively tune that works well as a rocking driving anthem -- in fact, it sounds very much like a Whitesnake number. One of the best songs on the album is World Gone Mad, with keys providing a great haunting verse, interesting chord progressions and expressive soloing. Another great driving song there! Also included is I Walk Alone - a remake of a Tarja Turunen solo track, albeit not quite as good as the original. Guitars with a flange effect, although unique, do not a string section replacement make. The original was lighter and almost floaty, and Jorn's heavy-handed touch doesn't bring the same quirky edge. At the end of the album is a cover of Thin Lizzy's The Sun Goes Down. Lande seems to enjoy covering their songs, and here the keys again create a thick atmosphere while Jorn uses some interesting quiet low harmonies, almost in an Ayreon-esque manner.

The problem here, ironically, is that Lande has been involved in such a range of terrific work in the last decade -- from his Beyond Twilight, Ayreon, and Avantasia appearances to the Masterplan and Allen-Lande albums -- that dropping back a step to crank out a string of competent-yet-similar-sounding solo offerings hardly seems worth the effort. The studio albums don't as a rule bring the same level of energy or attention-grabbing firy aggression as his work with other leading artists. His guitarists, for example, provide adequate riffage and soloing, but nothing that stands out. And perhaps that is the issue with most of Jorn's solo ventures: so little rises above. A "best of" compilation might almost be a better approach for all but the most diehard Jorn fans, as it would provide the great 80's metal taste that Lande wanted to convey, without having to skim through six or seven records of near-identical material.