Roland Grapow was born August 30th, 1959 in Hamburg, Germany. He is mostly known as the guitarist in Helloween. But he got fired from that band, and are now in a band called Masterplan. But here we're gonna concentrate on his solo-albums.

THE FOUR SEASONS OF LIFE (1997) REEF

  1. Prelude No. 1 / Presto - instrumental
  2. The Winner
  3. No More Disguise
  4. Show Me The Way
  5. I Remember
  6. Dedicated To...? - instrumental
  7. Searching For Solutions
  8. Strange Friend
  9. Bread Of Charity
  10. The 4 Seasons Of Life
  11. Finale De Souvernir - instrumental

Line-up:

Roland Grapow: Electric & Acoustic Guitars, Sitar, Vocals

Uli Kusch: Drums

Markus Grosskopf: Bass

Ferdy Doernberg: Keyboards

Roland's first solo-effort doesn't really differ much from Roland's then main band, Helloween. It is of course a little bit more solo-guitar oriented, and thus adding an Yngwie Malmsteen feel to it. His band consists of various friends, from other known bands like Blind Guardian, Axel Rudi Pell and Rough Silk. And it's a fine collection of tunes here. Roland is really a fine songwriter. The only drawback has to be the man's voice. He is just not a very good singer. He manages to get through it without completely making a fool of himself. But I'd prefer it if he'd just kept his voice in the background, and hired a "real" singer instead. Still it is cool to hear that such good songs can't be ignored, even with a less then mediocre voice. The obligatory instrumentals are OK too.

Killer tracks: The Winner, Show Me The Way, I Remember, Strange Friend, Bread Of Charity

KALEIDOSCOPE (1999) SPV/STEAMHAMMER

  1. Walk On Fire
  2. Under The Same Sun
  3. The Hunger
  4. A Heartbeat Away
  5. Hidden Answer
  6. 'Till The End
  7. Kaleidoscope
  8. Angel Face
  9. Listen To The Lyrics - instrumental
  10. Reaching Higher
  11. Lord I'm Dying

Line-up:

Roland Grapow: Guitars

Michael Vescera: Vocals

Mike Terrana: Drums

Barry Sparks: Bass

Ferdy Doernberg: Keyboards

Guest musicians:

Jens Johansson: Keyboards on 9, 19

Tammy: Howling intro to 10

I guess I was not the only one who complained about Roland's voice on his first solo-album, because on his second one, he brings in Mike Vescera (Yngwie Malmsteen, MVP, Loudness) to handle the throat-job. Other changes in the crew includes new drummer Mike Terrana (Rage, Metalium etc.). This album is also a good one. But I think it takes a little bit longer to take off. All the songs are fine, but the really good ones doesn't appear until it's halfway through, with the title track being the highlight. 'Kaleidoscope' doesn't remind as much of Helloween as 'The Four Seasons Of Life' did either. It's more melodic, and I would compare the sound to Axel Rudi Pell. A nice guest appearance by keyboard-wizard Jens Johansson (Stratovarius etc.) doesn't hurt either. Another safe buy.

Killer tracks: Under The Same Sun, 'Till The End, Kaleidoscope, Angel Face

Roland Grapow guest appearances:

Axel Rudi Pell - 'The Wizards Chosen Few'

Kotipelto - 'Waiting For The Dawn'

Tribuzy - 'Execution'

 

Barry Sparks guest appearances:

Scorpions - 'Unbreakable'

 

Related artists:

Helloween, Masterplan, Blind Guardian, Axel Rudi Pell, Yngwie Malmsteen, Metalium, Rage, Loudness, Rough Silk, Dokken, Grave Digger, Zillion