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Kamelot > Dominion > Reviews
Kamelot - Dominion

One day Kamelot'll win - 70%

Demon Fang, May 20th, 2023

With some more experience and a bit more money to their names, Kamelot re-enter the studio to unleash their sophomore effort in Dominion. Already, it shows with more varied compositions in just the first two tracks. “Heaven” maintains the more riff-laden nature of their debut while “Rise Again” gives us a snippet of what would become of Kamelot with its symphonic bits and grander-scale riffs. Granted, both songs have the riffs build off one another to create some overly melodic joints. It’s just that the former rides on the riffs harder with Youngblood cycling through various mid-paced and clean riffs to unleash some powerful white collar USPM while the latter’s riffs combine with Pavlicko’s keyboards to provide this epic-sounding track. But what really showcases these qualities to a tee is actually the following track. Like, I wouldn’t be too surprised to learn if they had drawn influence from “One Day I’ll Win” to put together The Black Halo’s opening number, “March of Mephisto”, given its bombastic symphonic… well, okay, keyboard-laden opening and strong grooves throughout. The song floes magnificently to create this seamless melody, even if it does consist of some groovy rhythms and keyboard pieces. It stands heads and toes above not just the first two songs but most of the rest of the album as a stellar piece of power metal.

Throughout the album, Pavlicko becomes more and more of a standout member with his penchant for majestic keyboard melodies elevating the songs to something more regal. As much as people would point to Siege Perilous or especially The Fourth Legacy as Kamelot transitioning to their signature sound, frankly, it’s more like they were already doing that as early as their second album right here. Songs like “We Are Not Separate” and the instrumental “Creation” use them to add flavor to the riffs, while “Rise Again” and “One Day I’ll Win” are composed with the keys more in mind. Even balladic tracks like “Birth of a Hero” and especially “Song of Roland” use them to help convey more emotional layers. Yeah, this is definitely a far cry from their debut where Pavlicko laid down some keys on the first song and then basically took a backseat for the rest of it. Here, his talents shine through to add layers to the music, and the music itself is definitely more filled out as a result – and then there are the general improvements.

Not only does it make more usage of keyboards, but the songs differentiate themselves more, there are more riffs at play throughout, and even Vanderblit’s vocals… are a bit more tolerable. He still belts out the odd warbly and shaky high, but he’s still no James Riviera. Safe to say, Venderblit’s vocals were the weak (if at least rarely charming) parts of the debut and, well, also the weakest part of Dominion. Youngblood’s riffs have only gotten tighter, mixing neoclassical riffing with smoother lines to craft some highly melodic rhythms. Warner still nails the percussion, tying a lot of the rhythms together through some rather tight beats whilst accentuating them to give them more life. Pavlicko found his voice and filled in the ambient sections quite well. Vanderblit… is just kinda there at best and bordering on being quite drab, which lead to them generally being nothing to write home about, besides the odd high register bit. For better or for worse, usually worse.

Vocals aside, there are certainly some real standout songs that pump Dominion up. “One Day I’ll Win”, like I mentioned, has these strong fucking grooves and bombastic keyboards that make for a hell of a song. “We Are Not Separate” has a similarly strong groove during the verses with its neoclassical riffs, the keys add flair and grace to them, and Vanderblit’s clumsy highs actually drive the chorus further into the big and catchy side of things. “Song of Roland” kickstarts Kamelot’s journey into being one of few power metal bands that could pen a ballad worth a damn thanks to the soulful guitars and keyboards, and even Venderblit’s vocals have some emotional weight to them. But I don’t think you can cap off this list without the “Call of Ktulu”-tier instrumental, “Creation”. Boy, this is quite a good instrumental that perfectly showcases the various talents of the bands, with even a smattering of Barry’s bass. So many different motifs, cycling between USPM riff heaven, the Europower-ish keyboard and rapid-fire strumming, and overly melodic rhythms. Yet they all build off each other so splendidly, with smooth transitions and epic refrains that make it an excellent instrumental on the whole.

Which isn’t to say that the rest of the album is bad or anything, but it’s more that the earlier portion of the album is better than the later one. Earlier on, things are typically a bit more focused, a bit more melodic and generally a bit more memorable. Not great, but certainly better than most anything on the debut. The arse end of the album have a few clunky transitions and nothing melodies, showing some ongoing developmental pains in what would be their sound, despite some other songs already showing sharp development. Just not quite enough material for a full album.

Look, a few overall mediocre songs don’t drag Dominion down the depths, but it does prevent it from being the excellent album that it could have been too. I really wanted to go through this retrospective and say at least the second Vanderblit album is a classic, but the reality is that only half of this album really hits that mark while the other half ranges from being quite good in and of themselves, or mediocre and half-baked. Underrated? Yeah, definitely. Essential? Not quite. Still, thanks to songs like “One Day I’ll Win” and “We Are Not Separate”, Dominion can stand tall as a pretty swell album.

Better than Eternity, but still lacking vocal-wise - 60%

CardOfDoom, January 5th, 2014

Kamelot did not exactly get off to a superb start. Their debut album Eternity was decent in most regards, but was unfortunately rife with sub-par vocals. For better or worse, Eternity was not a major release, not even being released in America at the time, and thus did not likely reach the ears of very many people, giving Kamelot another chance to prove their worth with Dominion.

Most of the band have taken steps in the right direction on Dominion, and none more so than Thomas Youngblood, who provides more entertaining and creative riffs and solos, such as on "Heaven" and "We Are Not Separate". He has also expanded his technique by using an acoustic guitar on several songs, like on "Crossing Two Rivers", and "Creation". Bassist Glenn Barry gets several moments in the spotlight on this album on "Heaven" and "Birth of a Hero." Drummer Richard Warner still does not get many standout moments, but manages to shine on "Heaven." Keyboardist David Pavlicko even plays an important part of the song "Birth of a Hero", providing the basis for the rest of the band to follow. Pavlicko also creates a tense atmosphere on the beginning of "Sin."

However, much like Eternity, Dominion's main weakness is sub-par vocal performances. After listening to Eternity one would have thought (or rather, hoped) that vocalist Mark Vanderbilt would have gotten some constructive criticism, and would have gone off to take voice lessons before Kamelot recorded again. It appears that he has not, for his vocals have improved only slightly. He does not attempt his awful high notes as much, and he sounds a bit less shaky than before. He still does high notes though, most egregiously on "Heaven" and "One Day I'll Win". However, even Vanderbilt has his good moments on "Crossing Two Rivers", and "Troubled Mind".

The band also attempt to incorporate symphonic elements to their sound on "Crossing Two Rivers", "Song of Roland", and "Creation". These elements are a welcome addition, but only are fully utilized on "Creation", which can leave the other songs feeling a little incomplete at times. "Creation" is also notably the best song on the record, showcasing the entire band (except Vanderbilt) equally at some point or another. The song also provides the listener a much-needed break from Vanderbilt, which is quite helpful for making it through the album.

Dominion is certainly a step in the right direction for Kamelot, even if Vanderbilt still drags down what would otherwise be a solid album. However, Vanderbilt has learned his limits more, which is ultimately what makes Dominion an improvement over its predecessor.

(Originally written for sputnikmusic.com)

Looking back, it just doesn't do it - 70%

TheStormIRide, April 7th, 2006

Kamelot is an interesting band, historically. The band released some albums before the excellent vocals of Roy Khan were introduced, but many people seem to either forget they are on the market or brush them aside as meaningless. To start, this is not as groundbreaking or as brilliant as their other work, but “Dominion” is still a solid release.

The band definitely has a knack for writing intro tracks. Each album, I believe, has an intro to it; and they serve to set the tone for what’s to come. Well, this particular intro is very epic sounding, just like the rest of their intros. Does this intro set the tone for “Dominion” well enough? For the answer, let’s look further into the album.

When the first track, I have trouble believing it’s Kamelot; it’s not just the vocals either. Until about 40 seconds into the song, the typical Kamelot guitar tone is thrown in. For the uninitiated, there’s a lot of soloing over top of power chords. Usually Kamelot’s guitar work is far from typical power metal, though. There’s just an air of majesty in their guitar lines. But on this release, the majestic elements come across pompous and frilly, especially when the synthesizer is playing along (listen to the chorus of “Rise Again” for an example).

There are some really cool riffs and solos on this album, but they are spaced too far apart. I mean, you have this really, really awesome riff, followed by a slow part accentuated by extremely cheesy synth, followed by a solo, and so on. It’s very predictable, but still memorable in places. Some of the riffs are very memorable and can stick with you all day, but entire songs lost in the mix. I hate to rip on Kamelot even more, but aside from the vocals, everything else seems so typical.

One thing that bugs me on this album are the drum lines. The drums feel very uninspired, and just kind of there; even more noticeable when comparing this album to any of Kamelot’s newer work (from “Fourth Legacy” on). There are some interesting rolls and fills, but it’s just not enough for me. The drummer really lets it fly on the track “Creation”, but that seems about it. One thing that is nice about the drumming, though, is that it’s not just run-on-the-double-bass drumming, but it still gets old, as does that style.

The singer sure does have a different approach when compared to Kamelot’s other work. He reminds me a bit of the vocalist for Jag Panzer for some reason. Maybe it’s because I’m not used to a midrange approach in power metal. He certainly sounds like a bit like Khan on a few choruses though, especially the chorus on “Heaven”. I wouldn’t say he’s as good as Khan, but Khan is exceptional, so it’s almost unfair to compare the two. I mean he has a good voice, but his vibrato is lacking, and seems very forced instead of natural. When he goes for a more high pitched sound it works in his favor, so maybe he should stuck with that. Oh well, I guess you can’t have everything.

Production-wise, this album is good. It’s not spectacularly clean, and it’s not raw. Everything seems about right in the mix, so there are no complaints there. A bit more originality in the songwriting department couldn’t hurt, and a lot of the lyrics seem a tad typical and cheesy (“Heaven, is a heartbeat away!”). They definitely showed that they could write stellar tracks, like “We Are Not Separate”, but most of the tracks just get lost, they’re not exactly filler, but their not top notch quality either.

By far the best track on the album is “We Are Not Separate”, which definitely shows the good of what was to come from Kamelot. This is probably the most memorable, best written song on the album. It even holds its ground against their newer material, which is quite an accomplishment in itself. Another standout is “Creation”, and it may be because there are no vocals, so the band isn’t held back by mediocre singing.

Luckily Kamelot capitalized on the good elements from this album for their future work. I will only recommend this to die hard power metal fans and especially fans of Kamelot. I really ripped on this album, but it’s decent when compared to other power metal releases, but when compared to Kamelot’s other work, it just doesn’t cut the mustard.