Masterplan - MK II

I went to see Masterplan a week ago in a club in Bremen, at their first show with the new line-up (the "release party" for MKII actually) and I'm sorry to say it was pretty much a fiasco. They didn't have a light show, they played under the banner left over from the opening band Mob Rules, the voice and sometimes guitar were drowned in the bad sound mix... Most importantly, DiMeo didn't seem to know the songs too well, and they actually had a very embarassing moment during "Soulburn", when they mistakenly repeated a verse, then they skipped the second part of the song, ending up in an unsuccessful improvisation. Terrana is great on his monster of a drumkit and he obviously doesn't have any problems playing what he has to, but he seemed seriously pissed off during the show for the obvious de-synchronizing and poor sound conditions. I had to leave after 45 minutes, but I noticed that about half of the public was already gone at that point... I was left with a pretty bad aftertaste and it's the first time this happens.

I hope they recover and succeed in accomodating DiMeo into the band (especially live), as I think there's a long tour ahead of them. I admit I have a soft spot for Lande, but - regardless of that - it would probably be wise to rely mostly on older tracks at this point, since I don't think the new one is likely to raise too many eyebrows.

...Personal opinion, it's understood.