MASTERPLAN guitarist Roland Grapow (ex-HELLOWEEN) is featured in a new interview with MetalMeltdown.com. Check out the audio here. An excerpt from the transcript is available below:

Feelings on YNGWIE MALMSTEEN's recent work: "I'm sometimes a bit frustrated to see my old friend, my old idol, which I'm not even hearing his music anymore, but his productions are getting worse and worse. I shouldn't talk about it - I see him tomorrow, by the way, on Saturday. We're playing after him (at Bang Your Head). But I would love to mix his album, something like that. It's not about money, it's just I want that he's sounding good again, you know."

How his taste in music has evolved over time: "I think that I was very into it because in the '80s and '90s it was still this kind of guitar hero thing, PAUL GILBERT and all these crazy RACER X guitar sounds and harmonies. I really liked it at that time, but now I'm not even impressed anymore. I can't even listen to it anymore. It's too boring for me. For me, it's about the song, the sound, you know. I'm more impressed about ZAKK WYLDE or JOHN SYKES and BRIAN MAY. MICHAEL SCHENKER still and ULI JON ROTH are my favorite guitar players, to be honest. And I love EDDIE VAN HALEN - this kind of energy you get out of your instrument. It's not about scales and playing fast all the time. It's not important for me."

Future of the new Masterplan lineup: "When you have like JORN LANDE, when somebody's complaining and always thinking he knows everything better, and there's no passion, no heart in it, it's just about something is negative all the time for him, that's not working. And I think now we have a lineup, I can say I don't have to tell them, 'But you have do this or that. You have to stay longer than 5 years' or something. I think we're pushing it in a way playing live now, and everything seems to be natural. You can't plan everything, but I think it looks pretty good that we're staying long together. And I'm looking forward for the next album, to be honest, because then, songwriting will start from the beginning with all the members."

Masterplan released their new album, Novum Initium, on May 21st via AFM Records on CD, limited digipak and limited vinyl. Novum Initium is the band's follow-up to their 2010 release, Time To Be King.

Novum Initium tracklisting:

'Per Aspera Ad Astra'

'The Game'

'Keep Your Dream Alive'

'Black Night Of Magic'

'Betrayal'

'No Escape'

'Pray On My Soul'

'Earth Is Going Down'

'Return From Avalon'

'Through Your Eyes'

'Novum Initium'

'1492' (digipak bonus track)

'Fear The Silence' (digipak bonus track)

The band have released their official video for the album track 'Keep Your Dream Alive':

Check out an album audio teaser below:

'The Game' lyric video:

The artwork for the limited digipak edition can be seen below:

Joining mainstay guitarist Roland Grapow (ex-HELLOWEEN) in Masterplan's lineup are vocalist Rick Altzi (AT VANCE, SANDALINAS, THUNDERSTONE), who replaces Jorn Lande, new drummer Martin "Marthus" Skaroupka (CRADLE OF FILTH), bassist Jari Kainulainen (ex-STRATOVARIUS, SYMPHONIA) and keybordist Axel Mackenrott.

More on Masterplan at this location.