DOMINION

"Dominion" is the second full-length studio album by US power metal act Kamelot. The album was released through Noise Records in April 1997. It´s the successor to "Eternity" from 1995 and features the exact same quintet lineup who recorded the predecessor. It would however be the last album to feature lead vocalist Mark Vanderbilt and drummer/founding member Richard Warner.

Stylistically the material on "Dominion" is very similar to the power metal sound of "Eternity (1995)", which actually isn´t that odd as some of the material was written in the early 90s along with the material featured on the predecessor. The Queensrÿche influence is still pretty strong (especially in some of the vocal parts), and at this point Kamelot weren´t the most unique sounding act on the scene. The album also features influences from European power metal and from traditional heavy metal. There are for example a couple of galloping rhythm sections, which remind me of Iron Maiden. Again not the most unique stylistic element. They are however skilled performers and the songwriting is also of a relatively high quality. I write relatively, because overall the quality and memorability of the songwriting are slightly lower here than on "Eternity (1995)", which is a bit unfortunate considering that "Dominion" is a sophomore release, where an artist typically aims at defending won territory and also claim new land.

I´m not sure new land was conquered with "Dominion", and as the sound production is also slightly less powerful and well sounding than the sound production on "Eternity (1995)", it´s hard not to see "Dominion" as a step down in quality compared to the preceding album. The songwriting is consistent enough, but there aren´t many highlights to mention from "Dominion". Hard-pressed I´d probably mention "Birth of a Hero" as one of the standout tracks. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).