ETERNITY

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Walking in the path of a maiden

Eternity takes us back to where it all began for Kamelot. This is therefore the first of just two albums by them to feature Mark Vanderbilt on vocals, as he and drummer Richard Warner would quickly move on after the recording of the following Dominion.

While the music here may not be that which now defines the band, there are nevertheless strong indications of their potential. The symphonic intro to the opening title track for example offers the reassurance that the band are confident enough to embellish what would otherwise be a straightforward rock/metal number.

The sound is that of Iron Maiden and the myriad of bands who have followed in their path. Vanderbilt has a strong voice which is suited perfectly to the style the band adopt here. His delivery is very much in the Bruce Dickinson way as he delivers suitably imaginative lyrics. The track actually has a reasonably prog structure, but while the guitar work of Thomas Youngblood is impressive, it is very much in the multiple notes to the second vein of the metal style.

Despite some rather predictable sound effects, Call of the sea is one of the album's highlights, the powerful anthemic riff supporting some fine guitar work and a compulsive hook. Red sands also shows a willingness to develop a track beyond the simplicity of its basic structure, perhaps not to the extent of becoming a prog epic, but the softer core of the song makes for a pleasing diversion.

The tracks are all of a similar pattern in terms of composition and arrangement, each falling within a narrow 4-6 minute running rime. Personally, I would have liked to have heard a bit more variety, especially in terms of the guitar soloing and the under exploited keyboards. Towards the end of the album, we do finally find that variety. What about me is a well constructed rock ballad with fine acoustic instrumentation over orchestral keyboards. A brief acoustic guitar and flute (sound) interlude Etude Jongleur link this to the final track The Gleeman which returns us to the substance of the album.

Overall, this is a highly competent first album from a band who would go on to greater things. Recommended for those who enjoy melodic metal.

Eternity is Kamelot´s debut album. I have read much about Kamelot since the mid-nineties but only listened to a few songs here and there at friends houses and on online radiostations. With a name like Kamelot I always assumed they were a fully fledged euro power metal band of the german school ( Helloween, Gamma Ray etc.). I see now that I was wrong in my assumptions and it´s good that I have given Kamelot a chance to prove me wrong as this album is really good.

The music does have some euro power metal tendencies ( double bass drums) in the influence from classical music, but there are more traditional heavy metal tendencies and a few progressive metal tendencies here than power metal IMO. Bands like Iron Maiden and especially Queensrÿche ( just listen to Call of the Sea and you´ll know what I mean) have not lived in vain. The singer on Eternity Mark Vanderbilt has a very strong voice that sometimes sounds like Geoff Tate ( Queensrÿche) and sometimes remind me of Bruce Dickinson ( (Iron Maiden). Besides the really strong vocals you should also notice the really excellent, raw and melodic guitar playing from Thomas Youngblood.

The songs are of equal high quality throughout the album but the title track which opens the album is my favorite. It´s such a heavy song.

The musicianship is excellent. Everything works here.

The production is really good. The guitars have bite which is something that is sadly missing from many heavy metal productions.

The cover artwork is a bit boring and again I´m deceived into believing this is a euro power metal album.

Now with all the good things I have said about Eternity why do I only give it 3 stars ? Well first of all this is not very original music and I must say that I think the album does get a bit trivial towards the end. Song for song this is a great album, but the style just bore me a bit over the course of a whole album. With that said I did consider giving Eternity 4 stars for a long while but decided that it´s a big 3 star album for me in the end.