Jorn: Live On Death Road (Frontiers, 2019)

It’s been a while since we’ve seen a live release from Norwegian vocal god (and “striking Viking”) Jorn Lande, so he served up a new one earlier this year. It’s called Live On Death Road, and there are all sorts of formats to choose from, so you can see the show as well as hear it.

Live On Death Road is a 16-song journey through Jorn’s material as a solo artist, and since it’s Jorn we’re talking about, there’s a cover song or two. He and the band (including guitarist Tore Moren and keyboardist Alessandro Del Vecchio) hit all of the highlights you’d expect, like “Stormcrow,” “Out To Every Nation,” “Blacksong” and “Lonely Are The Brave,” plus newer favorites like “Life On Death Road” and “Walking On Water” from that goofy Dracula concept album. This time around the covers are Christopher Cross’s “Ride Like The Wind,” Ozzy’s “Shot In The Dark” and of course a pair of Dio/Sabbath tracks: “The Mob Rules” and “Rainbow In The Dark.”

The band sounds great here, and of course Jorn himself sounds amazing. If you’ve seen his other live DVDs (or better yet seen him live), you know how charismatic he is as a frontman, and that comes through quite clearly on Live On Death Road. The show was recorded last year in Milan, and the crowd seems very energized throughout. The footage is crystal clear, especially on the Blu-ray version, and they get a lot of interesting shots and angles.

It doesn’t dethrone Live In America for me (mostly because I was lucky enough to be at that show), but Live On Death Row is a very satisfying live release from one of the most entertaining frontmen in heavy metal. If you’re a Jorn fan, this one will not disappoint. Between this set, the recent box set and his Avantasia performance, Jorn is making sure no one forgets about him between albums.

Version Notes: You can grab this one digitally, but that’s no fun. Get it on Blu-ray for the best visuals, or the DVD/CD set for the complete audio/visual package.