It was the early nineties, and musical polymath Arjen Lucassen had begun working on several projects: a solo album, a progressive-rock opera and a rock album. Around this time, he watched singer Robert Soeterboek perform live with Bodine, his former early-eighties heavy metal band. “His vocals truly impressed me, a rarity!” Lucassen recalls. “He had the charisma and power of singers like David Coverdale and Robert Plant. Discovering that we really got along personally, we decided to collaborate on some songs, just for fun.”
 
They would meet daily in Lucassen’s small ‘studio’ – a bedroom with a mattress and an old 8-track tape recorder. There, they recorded around 20 basic ideas. They brought in Peter Vink on bass, Cleem Determeijer on Hammond, and Rob van der List on drums, who has since passed away, and attracted interest from producers and labels. In the early-nineties Grunge landscape, landing a record deal was challenging. Some labels were interested but hesitated due to fears about being able to sell albums in the era dominated by bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Eventually, the repeated rejections wore them down. “I decided to start working on my rock opera project, expecting it to be the last musical thing I would ever do. My Final Experiment, so to speak!” Lucassen adds.
  
Fast forward to 2022, and they revisited those recordings. They recently revealed the first song from the album,  Before The Morning Comes. The album encapsulates a glorious treasure trove of 11 original songs with a loving 70s and 80s nod. It’s a blistering romp through the good time rolling rocker of “Let It Ride”, the Beatles-esque “Doctor Robert’s Medicine Show,” the bluesy groove of “Annie Moore,” the chugging glam stomp of “High-Speed Chase” to the 80s metal of “Ice on Fire”, whilst “The Preacher” would fit on a number of Arjen’s back catalogue records. The bonus disc features all the demos and some more newly recorded tracks. 
 
Lucassen continues, “We wanted the best and most suitable musicians for this album who could tour with Robert. Koen handled the powerful drums. Rob van der Loo (Epica) laid down a solid bass foundation. The talented Irene Jansen delivered amazing backing vocals, as always. And, one of the world’s best guitarists, Marcel Singor, played the virtuoso solos with his immediately recognizable style.” 
 
The Long-Lost Songs are lost no more. Plan Nine is reborn, giving the long-lost songs a second life!

Track listing:
01 Doctor Robert’s Medicine Show
02 The Preacher
03 Annie Moore
04 Get Down To Bizniz
05 Before The Morning Comes
06 High Speed Chase
07 Let It Ride
08 Ice On Fire
09 Long Cold Night
10 Drunker Than Whiskey
11 Die With Your Shades On

Available Formats:
LP
CD
Comic
Digital