JORN LANDE To Tour South America In July

Norwegian powerhouse vocalist Jorn Lande (MASTERPLAN, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, ARK, THE SNAKES) has scheduled the following South American dates under the JORN banner:

July 09 - HSBC, So Paulo, Brazil
July 10 - Carioca Club, So Paulo, Brazil
July 12 - Trastienda, Montevideo, Uruguay
July 13 - Teatro nd Ateneo, Buenos Aires, Argentina

South American fans have experienced Jorn Lande live as frontman for MASTERPLAN and recently on the world tour with AVANTASIA "The Flying Opera", but for the first time he will visit South America under the JORN banner. Jorn says: "There have been several tours in South America with MASTERPLAN and AVANTASIA, and every time I'm there people ask when I will come with the JORN band. Finally it will happen and we're all really excited about it. The warm enthusiasm and dedication I have experienced on my previous trips to Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica and Mexico is unique, and this time around we have also included Uruguay in the tour plan. The response from the people of South America is like medicine to the soul and if life is sometimes filled with doubt, going there puts things in perspective and makes you wanna continue full force. "

The confirmed JORN lineup for South America is:

Jorn Lande: Vocals
Tore Moren: Guitar
Trond Holter: Guitar
Nic Angileri: Bass
Willy Bendiksen: Drums

In other news, a double CD of Jorn's live performance at last year's Sweden Rock Festival will be released on August 26. The concert was recorded on June 10, 2010 in front of more than 25,000 people. The set will also include a bonus DVD.

Lande performed with the surviving HEAVEN & HELL members Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice at a very special tribute to their fallen bandmate, Ronnie James Dio, at last year's High Voltage festival on July 24 at Victoria Park in London, England. The musicians were also joined by legendary former DEEP PURPLE and BLACK SABBATH man Glenn Hughes. Jorn also honored the musical legacy of Ronnie James Dio with a full-length album, which was released on July 2, 2010 in Europe and July 27, 2010 in the U.S. via Frontiers Records.

Handpicking some lesser known tunes of the Dio era, along with some of the true classics, Jorn offered a fine collection of songs that present the music of the man and the artist, with a unique twist. The CD also included an original song for which a video, shot by Thomas Tjader (PRETTY MAIDS, IN FLAMES),was produced. The album was mixed by Tommy Hansen at Jailhouse Studios.

In a recent interview with Brazil's Roadie Crew magazine, Ronnie James Dio's wife/manager Wendy Dio was asked about Jorn Lande's "Dio" album and other musicians who have paid tributes to Ronnie. "Ah I don't know. I was very upset about the fact that [Jorn's 'Dio' album] was released," he replied. "Yes, I was. When somebody dies, if you wanna record a couple of tracks [as a tribute to that artist], that's fine. But to do a whole album of Ronnie's songs? Why would you want to buy a reproduction when you can buy the original? There have been IRON MAIDEN songs dedicated to Ronnie live. That's a real tribute. Rob Halford [JUDAS PRIEST] was an incredible friend of Ronnie. He did many tributes to Ronnie. Ian Gillan [DEEP PURPLE] was another friend of Ronnie. Klaus Meine [SCORPIONS] was a friend of Ronnie. All these people were friends of Ronnie and they all paid tributes to him in their own way without cashing in on anything."

Lande last year spoke to U.K.'s Classic Rock magazine about criticism that his Ronnie James Dio tribute album was only released to cash in on the legendary HEAVEN & HELL/BLACK SABBATH/RAINBOW singer's death.

"It is a very sensitive matter," Lande said. "When Ronnie passed away so suddenly, It was decided that it would be worse to delay the release of the album by a few months rather than proceeding with the release as planned. By releasing the album as planned, it would be obvious that we didn't run into the studio to benefit from the situation, since it's not possible to make a good-quality album in such a short period of time.

He added, "Parts of the album were recorded last year, and some of the songs were recorded in October/November 2008. 'Song For Ronnie James' (which opens the record) was written in 2009 and recorded this winter. There are also a couple of tracks that were done in 2006/2007."

Regarding how he chose the tracks he's covered on the album, Lande told Classic Rock, "I picked most songs based on what I liked, and not based on which ones were the most popular ones. I also thought that the original versions of songs like 'The Last In Line', 'Holy Diver' and 'Rainbow In The Dark' were too obvious to record, plus the fact that the original versions of these songs sound so good that I believed they can't be done any better.

"I always favored the darker and heavier side of Ronnie's work, plus the more uptempo classic hard rock/metal songs. 'Shame On The Night' is an epic dark masterpiece that many people have forgotten, and 'Push' is a great song to remind us of the later Dio era. 'Stand Up And Shout' is a personal favorite and the ultimate metal song."

"I discovered Ronnie James Dio when he was in RAINBOW in the mid-'70s, and I played songs like 'Gates Of Babylon', 'Stargazer', 'Sixteenth Century Greensleeves', 'Man On The Silver Mountain', 'Starstruck' and 'Lady Of The Lake' over and over again," Lande told Classic Rock.

"It was the power, feeling and drama in Ronnie's performance that captured my attention. The impact he had on me when I was just a young boy was huge, and his royal roar made the hairs rise on the back of my neck."