Some reports stated that because of the recent personnel changes, the international fan community had concerns that Masterplan 2007 may not be able to continue with the exceptional standard of their first two releases. Never fear, for not only have they effortlessly reconfirmed the compositional class of the first two albums ‘Masterplan' and ‘Aeronautics', they have raised the bar even higher. ‘Mk II' is the third offering by the band founded by former Helloween axeman Roland Grapow. It features twelve haunting, breathtaking songs that are a credit to the melodic metal genre and delivered with dynamism and enthusiasm. On the first spin the two tracks that immediately stood out were first single ‘Lost and Gone' and ‘Call the Gipsy'. I confess that as a metal fan I do love my keyboards, but in my humble opinion the vocals and harmonies on this album are nothing short of exceptional and in fact reminded me very much of the style of DC Cooper. During a recent promotional trip to Europe, Dawn Irwin, accompanied by Roland Bearne (fellow Metal aficionado and resident guitar geek) who shall hereafter, for the sake of sanity be referred to as Roland 2, had the chance to meet the man of the moment and get the whole story, accompanied by lots of beer!

Roland, good to meet you, and congratulations on the album. I was immediately struck by the quality of the sound. The drums are thunderous but still every performance is beautifully clear in the mix. Did it make a difference that you produced all the tracks yourself this time?
I guess so, yes, and that I had a band behind me which is totally listening to me. If you are surrounded by very strong characters and they are not open minded then of course a good producer is just sitting there hitting rewind and pause. But when Mike (DeMeo) came, the vocal melodies and lyrics (except ‘Lost and Gone') were a bit too far away from Masterplan and it sounded quite a lot like Riot on Masterplan songs. He wasn't quite getting the catchy melodies and the harmony arrangements. He wanted different ones – in his experience he normally makes harmonies along the top, you know, main voice then 1, 2, 3 so it sounded like Toto or the Eagles or something. Beautiful harmonies, but I wanted more of Jorn's approach. Jorn used a main voice and then an octave lower. A good effect to keep! You take a beautiful song and just add something underneath, then you make one harmony there, and sometimes one on top, and it sounds nice but don't overdo it – not too beautiful! Finally we were recording the voices many, many times like we always did anyway with Jorn and (Mike) was totally happy with this. He said "Man I've never had this situation" and finally melodies changed or we did it together like teamwork. It was absolutely great, he was always smiling when the song was finished, so that was worth it. When it came back from mixing we heard the songs through for the first time, everybody together in The Ballroom in Hamburg, we got really excited. And for me, for the first time being the only producer on the album was a fantastic feeling. But I had fear like hell. I wasn't secure about myself or how the whole thing would come together.

So taking on the production role yourself was a huge challenge?
Yeah, I really felt the pressure on my shoulders. Andy Sneap didn't do all the production before, but he started the basics like the drums and the rhythm guitar. I always worked in parallel, doing the top voice and my rhythm guitar, doubling up to 4 times (that's an Andy trick kinda like Metallica is doing!). Finally I learned everything from him and just said okay, I'll try it. But he did force me into this situation. When Masterplan really needed him, he said he had a good 2-3 months work lined up with other bands he had also worked with before (for example he did the Megadeth mix). I only needed 3-4 weeks and the schedules collided. So he said "That's great, you can finally take it on". So I was like "Please can you help me, I can't do this shit alone!" but he reassured me and finally I said okay, but please help me with one thing – check my new studio. It was so new I hadn't even played one note there! One week before he came to check it I was still building it and putting in the main cables. It wasn't even 100% of what I needed for production. Finally he came for 4-5 days and I said please make my guitar set-up again, like putting the cabinet in the right place in the room, and the microphone. It's not much work for him, but I know myself, I'm a guy who will try something and it sounds good, then I'll move the microphone a bit, then I never stop doing this! Sometimes I go in the wrong direction and it sounds shit and then think "But the first time sounded the best" and then I can't remember what position it was any more! So he said okay and did it. He tried it 2-3 times and said it sounds great. It was much easier than in my old studio and sounds even better than the first two albums.

Your studio is in Slovakia. What attracted you to set up there rather than stay in Germany?
Two reasons. Firstly, my girlfriend is from Slovakia and she loves her country and would prefer to stay there. I love it too, beautiful people, nice nature. We're a little bit in the mountains, so that's 650 metres high and when you drive for 40 minutes you are already at the height for skiing!

Do you like skiing?
Not really, I never did any (much laughter)! But it's a ski resort and many people come for holidays there. I am not starting now (shudders at the thought) .... I don't want to injure myself! The other reason is that house prices in Germany are too expensive. As I've left my ex-wife I needed a house with a studio and I was searching around for something suitable. First one that I found was a church – not very old, but very beautiful, but the bank turned me down because it would be too difficult to re-sell – what family would want to buy a church? But it was really cheap – just outside Hamburg. And the bank also said you are a musician, you don't have a stable income so we can't support you. Then they offered a house to me, like a sure investment, same price, but a normal family house, same age as me, and looked like shit! I said no way, I don't want that. So finally I said I don't have a chance here, so I went to Slovakia and found an old building. I thought first about it just for the studio as I still live with my girlfriend's parents. They have a big house and they have enough space. I brought all my equipment there and all their rooms are full of it! But then on this space of about 5-6,000 square metres there was a big L shaped house which had been used for animals in the past. It was 100 years old, and 4 years ago the roof fell down because of the weight of the snow – it was so old and had poor construction. So my girlfriend's parents said if I could re-build it I could have it. I thought what? I don't know how to build a house and where am I gonna get the money for this! But they promised me that it would be cheap to get the workers and the materials. Finally, we agreed to start it and it's more than half finished now. Nice roof on the top, and we have two storeys now instead of one. The old part was just wood but now it's all concrete and we have living space, the studio and a garage. Altogether it's about 600 square metres. The house itself is 35 metres long!

Suffice it to say that: Roland's new Studio/Home is all his own work, supported staunchly by his new (almost) parents-in-law and that if anybody wants to invest in property, you could do much worse than check out Slovakia !!! Anyway, back to Roland's answer.
My studio has a Myspace address (Check it out at www.myspace.com/rolandgrapowstudios) and if you go there you will see some great pictures. The house is still looking a bit rough because the top storey is still to be finished. But the roof looks fantastic! Black with different angles and stuff ... anyway, I'm talking about houses and not guitars! Oh, and I have two dogs and the garden too!

Ah, I was going to ask you about dogs, too, but we'll get to that later. From houses to dogs! How rock and roll is that? Anyway, you are about to start a 50 date tour as support to Brit metal legends Saxon. How would you describe the mood in the Masterplan camp?
Everybody's really excited, especially me because I'm on a promotional trip and can't learn the songs! (laughs). I know Mike (Terrana) has learned the songs already and when he comes into the rehearsal room he expects top quality. Masterplan is famous for quality but sometimes lack of time... too busy... I mean I'm supporting this album now, but I'm getting back to Slovakia next Tuesday just for 5 days and I'll have to really learn the new songs then.

Do you think you'll change the arrangements for the old songs for the two new Mikes in the band?
No, I don't think that's going to be necessary. Mike T can play what he wants, he can copy everything on the drums. Also Mike DeMeo is getting close to Jorn's performance. The melodies and also the bluesy kind of vocals are natural for him. But the aggression Jorn had sometimes he doesn't copy exactly. If he can do it, fine, if he wants, but he shouldn't destroy his voice just to copy Jorn. You've seen the schedule of how many shows we have? I just did a radio interview and they pointed out that there is no day off at all, so we are all going to be busy and Mike will have to really take care of his voice.

Speaking of Mike DeMeo I understand you found him on Myspace?
Well, it was funny because a couple of months after Jorn left I was searching pretty hard for singers. Word got around and offers came in, some of which were very funny, like the Russian singer for example. I thought he was joking!! He was singing 2 Helloween songs like a comedy version of Andi Deris. He was announcing the songs during his audition with his funny dialect and had a big reverb like a big stadium, then the song would start with the original voice... he was just singing over the top. We have collected some crazy people already. Maybe we'll put them on a bonus DVD or something (laughs).....

I was wondering if there was ever the temptation, having had Jorn, to go for a big name singer to replace him?
In the very beginning, yes, even before Jorn left I was already in contact with some guys because I had the feeling that he would be leaving. I just said I was looking for a great singer for my solo album, which wasn't really true.

Did you have a feeling that Jorn might move on from Masterplan eventually, even when you hired him?
No, I hoped he would stay. Not really a feeling. Of course, I felt a bit unhappy to see how many projects he made but I couldn't say anything and didn't want to destroy his business because he makes lots of money doing it, and he needs it - Jorn is expensive! Beer in Norway is expensive!!

I couldn't help noticing that on the inside cover of Aeronautics he is wearing a t-shirt with his name on it.
That always made us laugh! Andi Deris always has a Helloween shirt on, and he said next time, with the new line up, Mike DeMeo should also have a Jorn shirt on! But honestly, to go on stage with a shirt and a leather jacket with Jorn on the back ... I thought something is wrong, we're not supporting the Jorn band. I have one shirt from Japan that came from a promo tour of my first solo album, when they printed a Roland shirt. Perhaps I should find it again and start wearing it (more laughter). I would never do that, though. Masterplan is a band, there is no reason to put your own name on a shirt to support your solo career.

Did you ever think of saying anything to him?
I made jokes, yes, but I'm not the guy who is going to say it to someone – I made jokes about it like "I see you still have your shirt on". He'd answer "Yeah, what about it?" But then when I saw the Aeronautics pictures, I was going to ask that they make the shirt black, but finally I was afraid to do it because... (Here, grinning broadly he draws a hand across his neck in mock fear of Viking retribution!). Actually, he may look scary but he's a pussycat really!

Anyway, back to Mike DeMeo ...
Ah, yes, back to the Myspace story. He has a girl taking care of his page and she added me. So I wrote back when I heard his songs. Actually I didn't know him at all, nor did I know Riot. I always confused them with Quiet Riot. I was looking for the blonde guitar player! Finally someone told me it's the wrong band. Then I wrote to him, then he wrote me back and said thanks for getting in touch. Finally we were in contact. I complimented him on his voice and when he answered, I wrote and told him that Masterplan is looking for a singer, would he be interested? He got back straight away with a yes, so he sent me a number and I called him. At first Uli (Kusch – ex-drummer) and I said we should send him a take of one song, and get him to sing on it, to see if his style really fitted with Masterplan songs. So we sent him ‘Killing in Time' - Jorn's version and the instrumental version which was from the demo and is different to how it is now. Maybe we could put it on the DVD!

Do you think that having a singer based in the USA will have much impact on the band? Obviously DC Cooper makes it work with Silent Force, but it's a long distance and there have been bands in the past who have had difficulties. Do you see this arrangement working out well?
I don't know. I hope that it works because nowadays I am in Slovakia and the other guys are in Hamburg, and Mike No. 2 ... (by the way Terrana is called Mike No. 2 now because the singer has to be Mike No.1!) has a Danish girlfriend, so he lives in Copenhagen. Anyway, Mike No.1 has a Greek girlfriend so you never know. When I went to the mixing in Greece, he flew from Slovakia to Greece. The plan was for him to stay for two weeks and then go back to New York. AFM (the label) said, maybe there's a chance to shoot a video after the mixing so to keep him in Europe would be cheaper. As she's in Greece, maybe he can stay one week longer and come to Hamburg then? So finally we did, and maybe there's a chance that he'll move to... hmmm, maybe not Greece (laughs)... but he likes Slovakia as well, you know?

I guess Mike Terrana was your obvious choice for a drummer, given his impressive back catalogue, your long-standing friendship and the fact you'd worked together on ‘Kaleidoscope'?
He was the only choice. I didn't even think about getting somebody more unknown or to get a metal drummer, this guy rocks you know! I like playing together with him. I have still got a tape of our first session in Hamburg, just two guys in a rehearsal room together. We played some Yngwie stuff, some Rainbow, and I still have it on my minidisk because it sounds so great. I told him to offer what he had to Masterplan and to be honest I like his drumming more than Uli's. Uli is always very tricky and bits and pieces are very fast, but Mike plays more like Bonham or Powell. He leaves more space, and the music is more open.

Yes, it sounds like he's accompanying every single member of the band while he's playing – he is incredibly musical...
Yes, like ‘Heart of Darkness' which is a typical Bonham beat. When he's playing he does air drumming (Here he does impression of Mike Terrana which has us all in stitches).

He describes Masterplan as "four humans and a troll" – which one is the troll? (more laughter). Had Mike already left Rage when you offered him the job?
He told me immediately that he wasn't happy because it wasn't working out any more, and I said "Mike, I don't know about the future of this album, this band, I am just the motor and I'm running out of money here, especially after the Japanese deal has gone because they don't trust the "left-over line-up" but he was more than happy to join us. He is a great friend and we have a lot of respect for each other.

Uli is documented as saying that Masterplan was so democratic that it was difficult to get decisions made through consensus. What prompted you to decide to operate as a democracy when you could have adopted a much more controlling approach?
Yes, I had real trouble because sometimes I would say let's play this show or this festival, and then I would have to call Jorn, call Uli, and when they agreed I would call the other two guys and they would tell me they had commitments with their job. It was a bit tricky, you know. Now I say okay guys, this is a company now. Mike Terrana even said "For God's sake dude, make the decisions – I don't want to be involved". I think it's the best way, not that I want to be the asshole leader or anything, but I guess someone has to be the managing director. For a while when I was trying to make this band bigger, for about two years, I was really disappointed about this situation. I seemed to be doing everything for the band where the rest just did live performing and songwriting but didn't help out in any other way. I'm not talking about the other two guys, Jan Eckert and Axel Mackenrott who do play a large role in the song writing, but they have day jobs, so I can't blame them. I was book-keeping, talking to the taxman, arranging the shows and making invoices etc, etc, etc. So I asked for help, said it was too much, it was getting out of control. For example, the website; I asked if somebody could take care of the homepage. Jorn used to complain that the page wasn't up to date and I'd say, well go and do it – or find someone who can. Our webmaster left three years ago, and since then nobody took care of it. Finally I asked Axel to arrange the gigs, and I lost interest because they weren't doing anything extra.

Is Mark II therefore, not only a re-launch of the band with the new line-up, but also a new outlook and future for the band?
Yes, totally. It's a new era for the band. Everybody has their own input. Mike Terrana has offered his help as stage manager, which he always did in Rage. At the moment we don't need it, but maybe we will in the future. Mike DeMeo, I don't know, we will see what he can do but I said to him that as he lives in America he can take charge of promotion there. He has more contacts over there than us. The bass player (Jan Eckert) is a professional lighting engineer – he was on tour with the Rocky Horror Picture Show and did the programming for the lightshow. Maybe he could do something for us – we will see. And Axel (keyboards) is very talented in computer and video. He makes video cuttings for television and porn movies (much laughter).

How would you describe the writing process in Masterplan? Were the tracks written already? Who came up with the lyrics?
Well, the songs were already written mostly by me. When Uli left he kept the songs he'd written except for one – ‘Masterplan', which I like a lot. Of course I paid him for his contribution and of course two drummers have been paid. This is why the cash for the project was drying up.

Yes, I wanted to ask you about ‘Masterplan'. Does it sum up what the band is about or where the band is at this present moment?
Well, we had the idea for it with Jorn when we had a meeting at his home in Norway. At that time we arranged all the songs. The chorus of the song has a rhythm part comparable to ‘Crawling from Hell'. I explained the situation to Mike DeMeo, that it was about Masterplan and he wrote the rest of the melody and the lyrics and when he sang it, it sounded a little operatic. Then I had a try but it wasn't working. Then finally I asked Mike Terrana if he could have a try – he has quite a strong voice. So Mike (1) and I do 20-30% together, and the rest is Mike Terrana, and we said "You'll have to sing it live, Mike". He does a great job and now, because he gets to sing he's happy!

Are there any plans for any summer festivals?
We have many plans, but it looks like people are scared to book us because of the new line up. It's the same situation as with Japan. Our agency is offering us for months already, and nothing is coming. We had one festival in France who has already worked out the deal. They told me two and a half weeks ago what the money was and it was very bad. Especially as we have to fly Mike in from the US. So, I've been advertising like crazy on the promo trip already. We have one show and they cancelled us. They said we took too long to confirm, and actually the situation was that they took too long and in the meantime got some other bigger bands instead. I don't know what it is at the moment, but it seems like some kind of mistrust.

Do you have a plan to do a headline tour on a club level?
It would be great to do around 15 shows in Europe. I want to be sure that the people will come, and that we wouldn't be playing in front of just one person!

What's the connection with the Headbanger's Ballroom (the Hamburg Ballroom)? Not only do you have a link on album 1, you have a song on album 2, and your latest video interview was conducted there.
Yes, it's definitely a big friendship between Otti (Ballroom manager) and me. Because Otti was already the Fan club leader for Helloween, and when we separated he was so disappointed because he likes us so much. He doesn't like Helloween now. I still like Helloween but they treated Otti badly because he supports Masterplan. So Helloween doesn't go to the Headbanger's anymore when they are in Hamburg, because Otti likes Masterplan!

Would this be down to Weiki, by any chance?
He is very negative and very manipulative, but intriguing. All the energy he spends on that makes him sick!

Michael Kiske sang ‘Heroes' on the debut Masterplan album which inevitably had a Helloween sound, both in terms of riff and vocals. Do you have any plans to work with him again in the future?
Yes, I've been in contact with Michael for 21 2 years and we are planning for this year to write songs. It will be after this tour, to see how we fit together, because Michael was very strict about not too much metal! So I don't know whether it will work or not but it has been a long time wish already. Michael, though, is renowned for making stupid statements in the press, like he's trying to ruin the future before we even get started.

Yes, he seems to put his foot in it quite a lot, like the whole situation about him leaving Helloween.
Well, he was fired. We fired him, especially Weiki, because he wanted to keep the pop stuff and we lost so many fans, we lost a deal with EMI with ‘Chameleon'. He wanted to be like the Beatles and Freddie Mercury, like on ‘Windmill' which is a Weiki song. I also did my best with ‘Chameleon' to put my pop influence there like ‘Crazy Cat', ‘Cry No More', ‘Music' and ‘Step Out of Hell'. It's not a bad album at all. Some people love it! It's nice to have so many different opinions. I always felt limited in Helloween especially later when it became typical German (he does a hysterical vocal impression of galloping German metal) with its typical melodies. When I started Masterplan I liked some stuff from Helloween, that's why we have some familiar sounding elements, but we are more colourful, we have some blues, some pop, rock, metal and heavier sounds, from Rainbow to oriental influences I think we package it up much nicer. And the inclusion of a good rock singer like Jorn or Mike is nice. I can even push my guitar again to much more of a metal sound and the nice voice over the top makes it a smooth sound again. That's how I see this content.

I understand your favourite band is Grand Funk Railroad?
In the beginning, yes. I was very impressed with the sound, and the guy looked good at the time. I liked his voice too, and the magazines in the 70's wrote that they were the loudest hard rock band on the planet. Now I realise they are just a blues rock band, and Mark Farner had such a clean voice, a bit like Glenn Hughes. Mike DeMeo likes them too. He didn't know them at first I played him some old stuff, and he said "He's a great singer". I told him "I'm singing the same" and played him my stuff from my cover band and said that's what I can sing. I tried on my solo album to sing like Michael Kiske... and it was wrong! It's a different technique, you know, they sing quiet but it sounds really strong. But Farner has a totally natural voice, high singing, clean, and not distorted at all. Michael Kiske once asked me "Why are you not singing like this on the album?" On the metal songs when I was singing, I tried not to be afraid. At that time I didn't see the concept, but now... you've just got to sing it! (He sings a few lines in a rich bluesy voice and I wonder for a moment if Lynyrd Skynyrd would work with a German front man!!)

It's got a very bluesy sound ...
I had it when I was 14. I learnt for two years and then I couldn't get it out of my system.

Do you think you'd handle lead vocals on an album again?
On a blues rock album, yes, or maybe something with Jorn again.

Well, there is certainly no animosity between you two, so I can't see a reason why not ...
Sometimes I've made statements that have been interpreted wrongly by interviewers. Someone in France said just yesterday – it was unbelievable, "It seems like you hate Jorn a lot." I said "What? Don't write anything bad about Jorn. I love the guy and we have a great friendship." He said "Yes, but you said Mike DeMeo is more active on stage, and you missed this and that...". I said "Well, it doesn't mean I was UN-happy with him, I was just missing it because we had great front guys in Helloween with Kiske and Deris. Jorn was sometimes so shy." But this French guy saw this as being totally negative.

Well, we've seen Jorn many times and he concentrates so hard that he doesn't engage the audience a lot ...
Well, I think people feel this a lot and they don't know what's wrong. They enjoy his performance, but even if he was in a good mood he wouldn't look it, and I would ask "What's wrong with you today?" and his reaction would be "Nothing! Why do you ask?!"

Who was it that inspired you at the age of 12 to pick up a guitar?
Well, Mark Farner as I said, and maybe a couple of years later Michael Schenker. He wasn't much older than me, just 3 years older, he was 16 or 17 when he started with Lonesome Crow, then he went to UFO and then of course his own band. He has such a sweet guitar tone – I searched all my life to achieve that. I also loved those early Scorpions albums, ‘Virgin Killer' and ‘In Trance' and the live album and then later, I don't know what it is, but Mathias Jabs sound just never really grabbed me by the balls.

At this point as we rejoice in the arrival of another round of beers and I change the tape over, the two Rolands seize the opportunity to dive into Guitar Geek territory, so here it is, everybody! THE GUITAR QUESTION ..... (loud fanfare)

Roland (2) - These days you play Les Pauls and with the style that you have, I have two questions: what pickups do you use and don't you find the heel (the bit where the neck joins the body apparently) gets in the way when you're playing on the top frets?
Yes, it does a little bit, because I'm still used to the Fender which I've played constantly for 10 years, not any other guitar. For a long time I did not have a Les Paul. I love the Flying V as well because it's really comfortable – it's kind of like a half strat half Les Paul. Pickups are a normal set up like Zakk Wylde, EMG 81 and 85. On my black one I have two 81s. Then a Mesa Rectifier (Big amp ...to the uninitiated!) which is a Roy Z trick and Andy Sneap made a special setting on the amp as I like it and a Tube Screamer (little green pedal ...Big Sound! ‘nuff said ) ...
The Rolands go into mind blowing detail about amp set-ups. I think something was said about it going up to 11 !! ...

... but for solos, I use something totally different, my red Strat which has a really big fat tone.

I'm vaguely aware of some mention of Seymour Duncan, an HS3 (thought that was a car !) and something about taking a chisel to the guitar in order to install a really aggressive Humbucker. I gather that this is a good thing because it makes it like Eddie Van Halen's! The pickup in question is from the Seymour Duncan custom shop and because Roland (1) is such a big EVH fan, it's built to Eddie's specification. It is more expensive and it has "just a sweet tone" -- I feel that I REALLY need to get back in control of this interview!

Your interest in cars – is it still strong (I ask with a commanding tone)?
Yes, I was a car mechanic. I also enjoyed watching Formula 1 with Michael Schumacher. But I like my Mercedes. I have a little ten year old 2-seater CLK 320. It's a little too small because I have to carry such a lot of equipment around. I'm driving a lot between Slovakia and Hamburg. I used to drive like hell, and I would end up totally stressed, but in this car I'm a lot calmer – still drive quite fast, but when I arrive I'm always totally relaxed. Okay, now is your chance to tell me about the dogs...
I have a Slovakian Cuvac. It's a special dog, very big, like a St Bernard, you know? He is very cool, very calm, enjoys jumping up on me – he is the same height as me. The whole band has fallen in love with this dog. He is called Toby, after Tobias Sammett (Edguy), and I am always teasing him about this (laughs). And the new one is a six months old White Shepherd called Eileen.

Ah, a beautiful Irish name. It was my mother's middle name.
Really? It's Irish? I didn't know that. How interesting.

What is your best tour memory?
Well, I have had many beautiful, good memories, but I think the first one was Helloween, when we toured America. From joining the band, rehearsing for America and a small tour. Michael Kiske was in the band, and it was a great line up. We played really well, we were so tight and professional. And then we had a break in America, a rehearsal room in LA for one week, and then we went to Japan and had also very good reception, lots of magazines with big features on Helloween.

Worst tour memory?
Well, at the end of our first tour I was very ill – I think I was infected by some water or something, and lost around 5 kilos, and of course on the tour bus you are not supposed to go to the toilet, so it was difficult for me. And then the time we were in Texas, I got too much sun, and got the worst sunburn of my life because I am blond. I was so burned all you could see was white teeth on stage and when the red light came on I disappeared! After one week my whole skin was made of leather. My English was so bad that I was looking at the bottles in the hotel, and I didn't have any sun cream, so I thought this bottle was sun cream but it was conditioner. I was too shy to ask someone for help – I think I was about 29 at the time.

What do you foresee as the long-term future for Masterplan?
Many people have already said that this is our year. I hope so. I am always a bit sceptical, you know, but I am expecting that the fans will accept this band as a stable quality band. Hopefully the line up will stay forever. If this band breaks, then I couldn't foresee me doing anything else, as it would not be the same. I am so happy with this album..

Well, we hope you stay around for a long, long time. I certainly haven't been able to stop playing the album since I got a promo copy. We will see you in Wolverhampton.
Ah, that is the third or fourth show. I hope we will be good enough for you, and that you enjoy the drum solo! (More laughing).

Hopefully we can meet up for a beer after the show?
Yes, we will. That's the best about being the support. As soon as we've finished we can party, but the headliners always have to work! The support band is always drunk and has all the girls, then the main band is coming off stage totally sober and tired, ha ha!

Have you met or played with Saxon before?
No, we've never directly supported them, I don't even know if we've played at the same festival with them. But definitely I'm looking forward to it.

Having stayed with us 15 minutes over his allotted time, Roland disappeared off to do some more telephone interviews, only to rejoin us later for... you can guess... more beer .... and a curry, his favourite, thus giving us the golden opportunity for more chat and humorous banter! He is very funny, charming, quite self effacing in many ways and is completely the opposite of the arrogant millionaire rock star. A true gentleman, and his album ROCKS. Masterplan are currently on tour with Saxon, hitting the UK on 14th May, finishing in Belfast on 23rd May. It's gonna be one hell of a show.