ETERNITY

"Eternity" is the debut full-length studio album by US power metal act Kamelot. The album was released through Noise Records in August 1995. Kamelot was formed in 1991 and released a couple of demos before being signed for the release of "Eternity".

Stylistically the material on "Eternity" is melodic US power metal with both traditional heavy metal- and semi-progressive metal leanings. There are couple of Euro power metal elements in the music too, but on this album I´d put Kamelot in the melodic US power metal camp. Lead vocalist Mark Vanderbilt has a very strong voice and a commanding delivery and he sometimes sounds a lot like Geoff Tate (Queensrÿche) and to a lesser degree like Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden). Kamelot are a very well playing act on all posts though, and you´ll be treated to both a powerful playing rhythm section, tasteful use of keyboards, and the relatively hard-edged (for the genre) and melodic guitar riffs and leads by Thomas Youngblood.

The tracks are well written, epic, melodic and memorable, but still heavy and powerful, and the band generally strike a great balance between the raw and the melodic on the album. "Eternity" also features a powerful and detailed sound production, which suits the material perfectly and upon conclusion it´s a high quality debut album by Kamelot and a promising start to the band´s career. They haven´t invented the wheel or anything like that, but it´s a solid release and especially fans of early 80s Queensrÿche are recommended giving this album a listen. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).