Kamelot - The Expedition (2000)

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Kamelot - The Expedition (2000)

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Kamelot has a very bright future ahead of them. Vocalist Roy S. Khan and guitarist Thomas Youngblood are the best songwriters in the genre, and their fourth album, aptly titled The Fourth Legacy, deserved the attention of a live release. That's where The Expedition comes in. It's one of the better live metal albums in terms of "feel." Khan is a lively, spirited frontman with added intensity generated by the live setting, and his interaction with the crowd improves the listener's (illusory) involvement. Even the tepid songs from Siege Perilous ("Millennium," "Expedition") are utterly energizing in this stunning live delivery. Double-bass driven speed metal cuts like "Fourth Legacy" and "Until Kingdom Come" are aflame like they never were on the studio recordings. The beautiful acoustic "A Sailorman's Hymm" becomes a soaring power ballad when Youngblood's power chords electrify the chorus. If rated solely on performances, The Expedition is an awesome live disc worthy of five stars.
Unfortunately, there's not nearly enough live material. Despite having four albums of songs, there's only about 45 minutes of live music here. That's meager. I'm reminded of Spock's Beard's Don't Try This At Home, which was great for live music, but way too short. That same problem tags Kamelot here. At least the three "rare" tracks compensate for this somewhat. "We Three Kings" is an instrumental Christmas tune, "One Day" is a pretty ballad which is soo good because Khan's voice is amazing, and "We Are Not Separate" is an up-tempo metal cut.

All Kamelot fans should have this. It's great to hear the Seige Perilous songs with the intensity they deserve, and "Call of the Sea," from their first album, is about 40 times better than the original (Khan is a better singer than Vanderbilt, of course).

~ Lord Chimp, Amazon Review

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Kamelot - The Expedition (2000)

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Kamelot:

Kamelot was founded in 1991 by guitarist Thom Youngblood and drummer/school mate Richard Warner but it took until August 1995 for their debut album, Eternity, to be released. Signing to Noise Records Germany in Spring 1994, fans and critics alike praised Kamelot as being one of the most promising newcomers in Metal. Their second album, Dominion, 1996, received even more attention, because it showed the variety of the band, spanning all the way from European metal to classical music and progressive. The fans and sales for Kamelot would grow over the year and the group was being touted as one the new leaders in Melodic Metal from the U.S.. Not resting on their laurels the group went back to work on their 3rd and most important release. But obstacles were ahead, Kamelot 1997, a year of major changes. After the success of Dominion, many tour opportunities came to Kamelot. Unfortunately, drummer Richard Warner and vocalist Mark Vanderbilt could not tour, and there seemed to be no light at the end of the tunnel for the two to ever tour. Kamelot's first goal was to find a new drummer. After one audition Casey Grillo was the man. Local music veteran at the age of 21, Casey was a perfect fit for the opening. After listening to between 75 and 100 audition tapes of vocalists the band was a standstill. A whole record had been written but no one worthy enough to grab the mic. Enter Norwegian born Roy Khan. Khan's former group, Conception, had split up the year before that was the genesis of the new Kamelot. Before he was taken on as a band member though he had to pass a final test, he had to skydive with the other members of Kamelot.

Apprehensive at first, he came through with flying colors. The Chemistry was perfect from the beginning and it is a great sign of what's to come from this union . New vocalist Roy Khan and drummer Casey Grillo were enlisted and the record "Siege Perilous" was now a reality. The record spawned great reviews from fans and critics led to the groups first tour of Europe in late 1998. Upon returning to there hometown of Tampa, Florida . The band decided to take some time off and write and relax. The journey for The Fourth Legacy would begin. This journey began in December 1998 after the Kamelot tour. Writing began in Tampa, Florida but after a month of work Thomas Youngblood decided to relocate to the mountains of Virginia to concentrate on songs get a different vibe for the record. After 3 months of ideas, Thomas traveled to the small village of Sorsgebyja, Norway in March 1999. Home of vocalist Khan. 3 weeks of isolation in the snowy village proved the songwriting team of Youngblood/Khan to be a new Force to reckon with. Now to find a producer, Sascha Paeth was first on the list. His work with Rhapsody and Angra called attention to Thom's wish list and a few phone calls later the deal was set. Final preproduction would need to done, where else but the home of Kamelot in Tampa Bay Florida. For a month the group worked out the kinks of the new songs with producer Sascha Paeth. Recording began in Wolfsburg Germany in August 1999 and continued til October. Choirs, real string sections and guest keyboardist Miro would round out the final songs to a beautiful blend. Mixing would be done over the next month and final mastering complete in November. The new record will set a new standard for Kamelot and the Melodic Metal genre.

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Kamelot - The Expedition (2000)

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Kamelot - The Expedition (2000)

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