{"id":52836,"date":"2016-09-05T16:19:17","date_gmt":"2016-09-05T21:19:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=52836"},"modified":"2016-09-05T16:19:17","modified_gmt":"2016-09-05T21:19:17","slug":"kamelot-where-i-reign-very-best-of-the-noise-years-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2016\/kamelot-where-i-reign-very-best-of-the-noise-years-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Kamelot | Where I Reign: Very Best Of The Noise Years"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Franco Cerchiari<\/span>
\n– Sr. Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"kamelotreign\"Formed in Tampa, Fla. by Thomas Youngblood and Richard Warner in 1988 as \u201cCamelot,\u201d by 1991, the band would change their name to \u201cKamelot\u201d and sign a deal with Noise Records and release their debut Eternity<\/em> in 1991. Which brings us to this, their first \u201cbest of\u201d package from their days signed to the Noise Records label titled Where I Reign, The Best of the Noise Years, 1995 \u2013 2003<\/em>, featuring tracks from the band\u2019s 1995 Eternity<\/em> on through 2003’s Epica<\/em>, released on the Nuclear Blast label. <\/p>\n

While a release that also featured tracks from Kamelot\u2019s incredible The Black Halo<\/em>, Silverthorn<\/em>, and Haven<\/em> would have been an amazing offering, this does show the beginnings of one of America\u2019s great Symphonic\/Power Metal bands. The term \u201cbest of\u201d is entirely subjective of course, but there are a few issues to be brought up. First, is the sound and a wonder why some of these tracks weren\u2019t given a re-mastering that is available with today\u2019s studio technology. \u201cWe Are Not Separate,\u201d and it seems \u201cEternity,\u201d the opening track, could have been even louder and fuller than what was heard here. Second, for a CD to be called \u201cThe Very Best Of\u201d it stands to reason, that it is just that \u2013 The Best Of. \u201cWe Are Not Separate\u201d a rather forgettable track from their 1997 release Dominion<\/em> should have been replaced by \u201cBirth of A Hero,\u201d a gorgeous, soaring, loud, Queensryche\u2013esque song with a sensational piano and acoustic guitar accompaniment. The monster \u201cFarewell\u201d from their Epica<\/em> release should have made its way onto this \u201cbest of,\u201d and well, so should have been the bombastic Metal track \u201cFire Within,\u201d the lush \u201cWhat About Me,\u201d both from Kamelot\u2019s debut Eternity<\/em>, and the omission of \u201cKing\u2019s Eyes\u201d from Siege Perilous<\/em>, and the epic \u201cGlory,\u201d from The Fourth Legacy<\/em> was a disappointment. But, all day long this could be done \u2013 what could have been, what should have been, and what is. The end result is, this still is a look into Kamelot\u2019s early years, and when looked at it in that regard, Where I Reign<\/em> does hold up. <\/p>\n

Worth a listen is, of course, the towering \u201cKarma,\u201d the pure power of \u201cUntil Kingdom Come\u201d and the guitars, towering vocals, and galloping refrains of the heroic \u201cWings Of Despair,\u201d and the sensational \u201cThe Edge of Paradise,\u201d were both this CD\u2019s highlight. \u201cRise Again\u201d with its loud drums was a standout, the furious \u201cThe Gleeman,\u201d the head nodding, \u201cIII Ways To Epica\u201d the strings of \u201cRhydin,\u201d and the synthesizers of \u201cDescent of the Archangel,\u201d were all great. Not to minimize or take anything away from the other members of this band, but a note must be made for original vocalist Roy Kahn, who is truly one of Metal\u2019s best, and most prolific voices. <\/p>\n

There are threes versions of \u201cWhere I Reign\u2026\u201d available for purchase, single disc, 2-disc, and a 3-CD set, with the first two CDs being the band\u2019s chosen songs, and the third disc being a compilation of songs by other Nuclear Blast heavyweights, Tankard, Helloween, Kreator, Grave Digger, Running Wild, and Skyclad, all of whom have recently released similar Best of the Noise Years compilations. <\/p>\n

Fans of Sonata Arctica, Angra, Avantasia, Hibria, Almah, Stratovarius and Shaman will all find something to love about Where I Reign<\/em>, but who also should give this a listen are those who are only familiar with Kamelot\u2019s later releases. This is a look into the band\u2019s early years, and with a different lineup. Of course, nothing that will be heard on useless American radio airwaves, but overall a good selection of songs are part of this \u201cbest of.\u201d <\/p>\n

Genre: Power Metal, Symphonic Metal, Progressive Metal<\/p>\n

Band Members: (vary with each album featured)
\nRoy Khan \u2013 vocals
\nGlenn Barry \u2013 bass
\nGlen Tibbetts – bass
\nThomas Youngblood – guitars
\nRichard Warner \u2013 drums
\nCasey Grillo – drums
\nDavid Pavlicko \u2013 keyboards<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\nCD 1<\/p>\n

1. Eternity
\n2. Black Tower
\n3. Call Of The Sea
\n4. The Gleeman
\n5. Ascension
\n6. Heaven”
\n7. Rise Again
\n8. Creation
\n9. Millennium
\n10. Expedition
\n11. Where I Reign
\n12, Rhydin<\/p>\n

CD 2<\/p>\n

1. The Fourth Legacy
\n2. Desert Reign
\n3. Nights of Arabia
\n4. Until Kingdom Come
\n5. We Three Kings
\n6. We Are Not Separate
\n7. Wings of Despair
\n8. The Spell
\n9. Karma
\n10. Center of the Universe
\n11. The Edge of Paradise
\n12. Descent of the Archangel
\n13. III Ways to Epica<\/p>\n

Label: Noise Records, BMG<\/p>\n

Website: www.kamelot.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven Rating: 8\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Franco Cerchiari – Sr. Columnist — Formed in Tampa, Fla. by Thomas Youngblood and Richard Warner in 1988 as \u201cCamelot,\u201d by 1991, the band would change their name to \u201cKamelot\u201d and sign a deal […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":52838,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13652],"tags":[12625,2317,1389,12627,1097,1098,12729,1100,1565,12728],"class_list":{"0":"post-52836","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2016","8":"tag-bmg","9":"tag-cd-review","10":"tag-kamelot","11":"tag-noise-records","12":"tag-power-metal","13":"tag-progressive-metal","14":"tag-roy-khan","15":"tag-symphonic-metal","16":"tag-thomas-youngblood","17":"tag-where-i-reign-very-best-of-the-noise-years"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52836"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52836\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}