Eternity

Kamelot’s certainly had an interesting history when compared to what they have become over the past 30 years. Before The Fourth Legacy launched them onto the map with its grandiose compositions, The Black Halo glossed it to a sheen and then they’d effectively spent the past decade stripping down their sound, rounding off the edges and basically getting rid of everything that made their prime material so interesting, they were but a mere US power metal band. Perhaps one that still yearned for massive compositions here and there if the MIDI orchestral introduction to “Eternity” and the occasional soaring hook are kind of indicators, but much of the material found itself rooted in what bands like Crimson Glory and Queensryche were doing. By 1995, it was a bit old hat. But even when it came full circle and everything old became new again… and with Kamelot being a big deal, you’d think that Eternity would be a rousing debut everybody regrets having slept on for so long.

Well… here’s the thing – while it has a promising start, Eternity eventually succumbs to its generic, by-the-book nature. It’s like you’ve heard these riffs and these arrangements done before and done much better back in the 80s. It’s something to where once you get past the novelty of Kamelot performing more riff-centric material, it starts to basically fade into the background because not much about it particularly stands out. It’s got a real workman-like quality to it. They always show up on time and put in the hard yards during practice for the most part. They’re there for all the meets and… maybe they don’t win necessarily, but they put in respectable performances nonetheless. That’s what they come across as here.

It’s not to say that they’re without merit – certainly not from a talent perspective. Youngblood does come in strong with some hard and heavy mid-paced riffs – oftentimes dipping between long drawn-out fare and more intricately picked stuff, followed with the occasional bit of clean guitars to accentuate or just build up to the following heavier riffs. Add in some killer guitar solos and you’ve gone some pretty good guitar work. Warner’s drumming may not lead him to becoming the next Scott Travis, but he generally keeps the songs operating at tightly-paced timing. Far from flashy, but certainly a tight rhythmic drummer, especially the riffs come in hot and hard. I guess the only caveat to all this is Mark Vanderblit, as his vocals here are like if old school Geoff Tate flailed about with reckless abandon. There’s a certain charm to it that can occasionally lift the spirits of the songs when he accidentally stumbles upon a truly soaring vocal line like with the chorus to “Proud Nomad” or just generally belt it out like he means it. It’s like a weird mix of being idiosyncratic and just not exercizing proper technique like the others are. Still, you’ve got a talented instrumental section that can push out some good material, so what’s the issue here?

With songs like “Call of the Sea”, “The Gleeman” and especially “Eternity”, it can find itself in a kind of “solidly remarkable” category. “Eternity” especially stands out as it riffs hard, it solos hard, it sings hard, and it all culminates into some catchy jigs. Unfortunately, you start to head into the likes of “One of the Hunted” and “Fire Within”, and it starts sinking in what the issue is. Basically, every song is like some kind of variation on “Eternity”. I don’t blame them – that song is full of dynamic riffing, the hooks are razor-sharp, and it’s got Vanderblit’s warbly vocals the most on-point. But every other song is like an inferior version of that. “Call of the Sea”, for instance, is still an enjoyable enough song, but it runs through many of the same tracks and rhythms “Eternity” did – just not as strongly put together. Not nearly as catchy, but there’s some life to the compositions that give them some level of presence when they’re on nonetheless. But oh boy, then you get something like “One of the Hunted” which is like Insania levels of generic power metal. It’s really amazing what happens when you perform subtle sonic variations of your hit song in a way that robs it of its energy and dynamics to create fucking background noise! Not much in the way of atmosphere, either. It’s basically riffs and hooks, except only one song really excels at them, a few at least have the right idea if not quite executed that well, and the rest ain’t really got it.

“Eternity” shows Eternity brimming with promise before it dissipates into songs that either barely exist or wind up forgotten within your next poo break. I really wanted to come out of this being able to say it’s some overlooked and underrated masterpiece and Kamelot secretly dominated the latter half of the 90s like they overtly did the first half of the 2000s. There’s clear talent – mostly intentional – and I like a lot of the elements at play here. But no, it’s just a mediocre debut with one killer song, a few decent ones, and then… well, you get the picture at this point.

Okay, first off, let me say I am a huge fan of Kamelot. They are one of my favorite bands and I consistently rank their albums as some of my favorite. However, their debut album from 1995, "Eternity" is hardly a sign of what is to come.

Now, "Eternity" has that weird American heavy metal feel to it that modern Kamelot does not have, despite being an American band. There are some power metal riffs here, but overall, the album feels like a generic garage band recorded it. Yes, our founder and guitarist, Thomas Youngblood was very young when this album was released, but there have been a lot better debuts from even youngest artists.

Okay, so this album gets flak for a lot of things, but the most notorious of all are the vocals of Mark Vanderbilt. Did this guy just ingest a lifetime supply of helium before recording this album? Seriously, listen to the track "Black Tower" on here. The song itself has become a notorious meme within Kamelot's fanbase over this guy's bizarre banshee wails. One thing Kamelot is known for today are their great vocals, and Thomas must have known he could do better, because one album later, Vanderbilt is out, and Roy Khan is introduced into Kamelot.

There are some okay moments on the album. Emphasis on okay. Ironically, "Black Tower" has an alright guitar solo, especially compared to the rest of the album. Doesn't save the song because right after the solo, Vanderbilt is back to grace us with his helium seduced vocal cords. Some of Youngblood's riffs are actually okay as well, which brings me to my point. Thomas Youngblood is a fantastic and talented man, and yes, this is his debut album for a band that will soon become a leader in the power/symphonic metal subgenre. However, I feel like the album was just lazy and had maybe a few good guitar moments, and that does not make a metal album. I am truly glad that Youngblood stepped it up a bit on later releases, both instrumentally and with his vocalists.

Overall, this is an album I can only recommend if you are looking to own every Kamelot album or are listening to Kamelot's entire discography. Other than that, there is literally no good reason to listen to this album, as it has nothing redeeming in the instruments (save for a few okay guitar moments), or vocally (thanks to Mark Vanderbilt's wailing).

2%

When I think of power metal, I think of blazing, alt-picked riffs, a barrage of drums, blistering solos, and a soaring vocalist. When I first heard Eternity, I was met with something much different than the usual Land of the Free that blasts from my speakers. The majority of the album is darker, much slower, and armed with chugging or swinging riffs; rather than a gauntlet of speed that I'm used to with power metal. Right off the bat, this reminds me of some Stratovarius material. The song structures are tinged with a slight progressive touch, and the drums are a bit technical in delivery which makes for some interesting rhythms. The vocalist is very over-the-top and the whole band brings a decent slab of talent to the table; as a whole, Kamelot's first studio release - Eternity - isn't bad at all, but it is a little on the boring side.

The album is somewhat of a run-of-the-mill power metal album, those who are experienced power metal fans will enjoy this while also knowing what to expect. Eternity does bring a darker, somewhat more straightforward approach to the classic power metal formula, but as a whole it remains entirely inside the box, if you will. Never will you hear something jaw-dropping or unique, all of this is straightforward and simple in design. This can spell doom for a metal band of any style, but luckily Kamelot are good at what they do. They manage to bring a plate full of competent power metal to the table, and while it is seasoned rather mildly, it's still pretty tasty.

While the album definitely isn't bad, it does have a major fault. It is caught in a sort of tempo limbo, so to speak. Eternity rarely picks up and goes into overdrive. As a power metal band, you'd expect them to have a dose of aggression, but they don't. The album meanders on at a steady mid paced tempo that gets a bit bland after a while. Steady songwriting and structuring is one thing, but it loses its charm if that's all you've got. Eternity suffers from a lack of drive and creativity that keeps it from achieving greatness. While this is the album's main issue, it is a big issue that hurts it in the long run. All being said, it doesn't ruin the album, just don't expect anything fantastic.

The musicianship on Eternity is definitely adept, and the band shows a serious dexterity with their instruments. The strongest performers are without a doubt the drummer and the guitar player, while the keyboardist doesn't quite do anything worthwhile and the vocalist lacks direction and focus. The bass player isn't too bad, but he does only the bare minimum a bass player should be doing, only rarely letting fills and runs fly. I feel that if the guitar player and drummer had a better set of musicians to work with, they'd shine even more. The drummer pulls out lots of unique rhythms and fills, while the guitarist plays some decent riffs and great solos. They sound great together, and they steal the show on this album.

This album seems to receive a lot of flak due to the vocalist. I can totally see why, as he's not very good. He is a prime example of over-singing. He definitely has a voice, and definitely knows how to use it, but he uses it far too recklessly. He just takes the lyrics and has at them, no rhyme, no reason, just wailing. Thankfully, he does a decent job at this wailing, but he still oversteps his boundaries. It rarely happens, but when he restrains his voice and sings smoothly and with authority, he sounds amazing; it's a shame he didn't sing like this for the entirety of the album. However, the vocalist doesn't ruin the album for me, I still find it pretty enjoyable, if not a bit boring. The singer grows on you after a while, and you'll begin to enjoy his wild take at the vocals; in the end it's not an album-breaker, just a minor shortcoming.

Eternity shows a band with potential, and I'm excited to continue exploring their discography. This is a decent album, but it never goes for the gold. As a result, that's all it is: decent. The riffs are alright, the singer is okay, the songs aren't very memorable but when they're playing they're enjoyable. This took a bit to grow on me, but it surely did and now I see value in this album. Massive power metal fans should listen to this if they haven't already, as it'll appeal to them. For those who are expecting Gamma Ray, you'll be disappointed. Check this one out if you'd like, it's not bad at all. A promising start for Kamelot.

Power metal is a very love it or hate it genre. To its fans, power metal is full of epic songs with top-notch musicianship. To its detractors, power metal is cheesy and overdone, with overly fast guitar, and generic fantasy lyrics about slaying dragons. However, Kamelot has largely escaped the typical criticism that most power metal bands get, largely due to their successful albums Karma, Epica, and The Black Halo. Kamelot are even sometimes cited as one of the best bands in their genre. However, if someone were to listen to their debut album Eternity, they would fail to understand why.

Eternity is not a poor album. On the contrary, in most respects it is a decent album. Thomas Youngblood, while not being the guitarist he would one day become, still provides solid riffs throughout most of the songs, and has several entertaining solos, such as on "Red Sands" and "One of the Hunted." Richard Warner is a solid drummer that, while never really standing out, does a good job of keeping the band together and keeping the beat. His best work is showcased on "Warbird," where he plays some quite entertaining patterns in the beginning and end. Bassist Glenn Barry and keyboardist David Pavlicko mostly blend into the background, but still have their brief moments. All this would normally be acceptable, especially considering that this is that band's debut, and thus minor flaws and uneven points can be forgiven. However, one thing that cannot be forgiven is the vocals.

Vocalist Mark Vanderbilt is primarily responsible for the weakness of Eternity. He sounds like a complete Geoff Tate wannabe, while being not even close to Tate's quality. That wouldn't be so bad, but Vanderbilt is simply not a very good vocalist. He frequently sounds shaky, and when he attempts to pull off high notes, it sounds absolutely awful. The worst part of this is that he drags the whole band down with him. There are several moments on this album where is sounds as if the band will begin to rise above "decent", and then he comes back in with his awful high notes, such as in "Warbird" and "Fire Within". His sole passable vocal performance is on the ballad "What About Me", which is easily the best track on the album.

The other aspects of the album vary in their quality. One weaker aspect of the album is that most songs have some noticeable tempo change take place. While sometimes that changes are executed well, other times, most notably on "The Gleeman", the change is very sudden, and it can be rather jarring to hear it. The lyrics range from good to passable, never managing to stand out in either a good or bad way. Occasionally, the album suffers from lack of variety in the music, making some bits a bit tedious to get through.

Ultimately, Eternity shows how one member can seriously weaken the entire band. However, if the listener is willing to forgive Vanderbilt for his worst moments, Eternity is a solid debut record that features decent performances and songwriting, while leaving plenty of room for improvement.

(Originally written for sputnikmusic.com)

I’ve often questioned the weight that a person should give to a variant on the concept of originality that critics and reviewers often babble about, mostly because it tends to get thrown out as a way to rip on music that is otherwise quite enjoyable. Is something simply bad because it’s written in a style that has been done before? For me it seems more of an issue of whether you like the style or not, and if so if you like the quality of the product, since outright plagiarism doesn’t tend to get very far in the musical realm.

The first thing that one should understand about Kamelot’s “Eternity”, which is actually a rather excellent debut, is that it does not seek to push the limits of the genre in any way, shape or form. To the contrary, an album like this is stylistically more befitting of the year 1984 rather than 1995. If this album had been released then, this band would have been heralded as Brandeton Florida’s answer to Queensryche, rather than becoming an early rebel in the midst of a musical great depression. For any who doubts that this band had an uphill battle, consider what was considered to embody metal at the time (Metallica, Pantera, et cetera) and then look at the band pictures on here; these guys probably got booed off of many stages.

Not only do they look the part of a mid-80s Power/Progressive outfit, their music fits it to the point of being an 11 song cliché. Mark Vanderbilt’s voice is mostly pure Geoff Tate worship, especially on the opening title track and “Proud Nomad”, although he doesn’t quite have the ability to belt out high notes as often as his inspiration. On slower ballad sections of certain tracks and throughout “What about me” he sounds a bit more like Midnight (Crimson Glory), and occasionally on rougher edged vocal performances like “Warbird” he has a sound pretty much his own.

Thomas Youngblood, however, is the true point of intrigue in this outfit on this release. His lead playing isn’t really anything groundbreaking, mostly sounding like a slightly more technical version of Chris Degarmo with some occasional hints of Malmsteen. His riffs, on the other hand, are among the best crafted I’ve heard within the entire metal genre. There is a strong attentiveness to detail and a good sense of continuity between the riffs and their relationship with the other instrument parts, particularly their primacy over the keyboards (as opposed to being on equal terms with them, something more prominent in late 90s power metal). The greatest example of Youngblood’s signature riff approach is the main guitar line of “Call of the Sea”, a classic that currently enjoys the most live play of all the songs on this album.

The tricky thing about this album and the one that would follow it is that it is quite a far cry from the band’s work with Kahn. In truth, stylistically it is quite far removed from what is currently called power metal, which today looks more to influences from Helloween, Stratovarius and Blind Guardian rather than the old guard from the early to mid-80s in the United States and the United Kingdom. If you’ve heard nothing but this band’s well known work with Kahn, this music sounds like it’s from a completely different band cut from a different era, devoid of the constant double bass attack or the progressive instrumentation.

For fans of early Queensryche, Judas Priest, Fates Warning, Crimson Glory and Helstar, this is a faithful mid-90s homage to that seemingly still forgotten sound. It gets kudos from me for the year it came out, a year where playing 80s influenced metal was not only unfashionable, but often the subject of constant ridicule and derision. It is proof against any argument that Kamelot was ever a commercially oriented band, and are instead a success for their refusal to conform to the whims of the moment the way Dokken and Queensryche were all too willing to do at this point in history. But above all else, the songs kick ass and are well done. There was a Kamelot before Kahn, and unfortunately too many people shelf this album as being either derivative or obsolete, it is clearly neither.