To Cry You A Song - Kamelot

I didn't learn about Kamelot until the Fourth Legacy, which was, not surprisingly, their fourth album. Prior to that, the band was still struggling with their identity. But everything started to come together on their third album, Siege Perilous, which featured new singer Roy Khan. But on Fourth Legacy, the band solidified their sound, and have been instrumental (damn, that was a bad pun) in pushing the boundaries of progressive power metal ever since.

What you have here are my favorite Kamelot songs, which, I believe, are also representative of their sound and style. I considered adding a song from Siege Perilous (there are some good ones on the album), but I didn't want to sacrifice a better song to do that. Also, FYI, Desert Island songs are marked with an *.

Kamelot Tracks:
1. New Allegiance (0:54)
2. The Fourth Legacy (4:55)*
3. Silent Goddess (4:15)*
4. Desert Reign (1:39)*
5. Nights of Arabia (5:26)*
6. Lunar Sanctum (5:57)*
7. Regalis Apertura (1:57)
8. Forever (4:07)*
9. Mirror Mirror (Elizabeth Part I) (4:22)*
10. Requiem For The Innocent (Elizabeth Part II) (3:46)*
11. Fall From Grace (Elizabeth Part III) (4:15)*
12. Prologue (1:08)
13. Center of the Universe (5:27)*
14. Farewell (3:41)*
15. III Ways to Epica (6:17)*
16. March of Mephisto (5:28)
17. When the Lights are Down (3:41)
18. Solitaire (1:00)
19. Rule the World (3:41)*
20. Ghost Opera (4:06)
21. Silence of the Darkness (3:43)
Disc length - 79:45

Albums:
Tracks 1 - 6: The Fourth Legacy (2000)
Tracks 7 - 11: Karma (2001)
Tracks 12 - 15: Epica (2003)
Tracks 16 - 17: The Black Halo (2005)
Tracks 18 - 21: Ghost Opera (2007)

Rock Island - Chapter Seven

Everyone's exhausted after a long day of fighting off a tribe of headhunters. They didn't look that threatening with their silly war-painted faces and straw skirts, but they fought hard. You're not sure how, but everyone finally scared them away. Now you're relaxing, nursing a few minor wounds and drinking coconut milk (yuck), and wishing it was spiked with something from Dovey's hidden stash.

Cinnamon sits down next to you, also drinking coconut milk (the fresh water ran out long ago and it takes time for the infrequent rains to replenish the supply). She asks you about other songs on your MP3 player. You pick up from where you left off:

• Guns 'n' Roses - Welcome to the Jungle; Sweet Child O' Mine; You Could Be Mine
• Heavenly - Chapter One: Lust for Life
• Helloween - Time of the Oath; Departed (Sun Is Going Down); King for a 1000 Years; Occasion Avenue; The Bells of the Seven Hells
• Iced Earth - I Died for You; Melancholy (Holy Martyr); Devil to Pay; Hold at All Costs; High Water Mark
• Iron Maiden - Remember Tomorrow; Wrathchild; Killers; The Number of the Beast; Run to the Hills; Hallowed Be Thy Name; Where Eagles Dare; Flight of Icarus; To Tame a Land; Aces High; 2 Minutes to Midnight; Powerslave; Rime of the Ancient Mariner; Seventh Son of a Seventh Son; Tailgunner; Futureal
• Jaguar - Eighties
• Joe Stump - Blackmore's Boogie
• Jon Oliva's Pain - Through the Eyes of the King
• Judas Priest - Victim of Changes; Sinner; Exciter; Hell Bent for Leather; Breaking the Law; Hellion/Electric Eye; Freewheel Burning; Love Bites; Painkiller; Night Crawler
• Kamelot - The Fourth Legacy; Silent Goddess; Desert Reign; Nights of Arabia; Lunar Sanctum; Forever; Mirror Mirror (Elizabeth Part I); Requiem for the Innocent (Elizabeth Part II); Fall from Grace (Elizabeth Part III); Center of the Universe; Farewell; III Ways to Epica; Rule the World

It's late and everyone's tired, so once again it's time to stop. But it's good to look forward to tomorrow (as long as there are no headhunters).

Rock Island - Chapter Three

You're sick of coconuts. Coconut milk for breakfast. Coconut-crusted fish for lunch and dinner. Big hairy balls of... and suddenly you're lost in thought. Big Balls. AC/DC. But it's not on your MP3 player. Should it be? It's a great song. You'll have to consider adding it. And then the thought passes as Cinnamon asks if you want to join her in gathering coconuts. You immediately say yes, you love coconuts.

She asks about the music you listen to. You smile and tell her you're a metalhead, and rattle off some classic metal bands. You have Mötley Crüe, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Megadeth, Metallica and Scorpions with you. But wait, there's more. You also have some great Euro-metal bands like Helloween, Gamma Ray, Kamelot, Nightwish, Stratovarious, and Threshold. "I'd love to hear them sometime," she says. You leave happy, in spite of the coconuts.

Top Ten - 2000

Euro-metal ruled the releases in 2000, including the top eight albums. Perhaps many U.S. bands were taking a break or on tour, but seeing as I only rated 41 albums, I have a feeling the numbers will increase, if not change, as I review other releases from 2000. (Update: Anthem took over the top spot with their excellent re-recording of older material featuring Graham Bonnett on vocals.)

2000 Top Ten:
91.67 -- Anthem - Heavy Metal Anthem
91.28 -- Domine - Stormbringer Ruler
89.80 -- Ayreon - Universal Migrator Part 2: Flight of the Migrator
89.72 -- Bow Wow - Beyond
88.64 -- Helloween - The Dark Ride
86.68 -- Iron Maiden - Brave New World
86.39 -- Tad Morose - Undead
86.15 -- Motörhead - We are Motörhead
85.92 -- UFO - Covenant
85.68 -- Mob Rules - Temple of Two Suns

Other 2000 releases:
85.65 -- Persuader - The Hunter
84.83 -- Seven Witches - City of Lost Souls
84.78 -- Symphony X - V: The New Mythology Suite
84.25 -- Stratovarius - Infinite
84.22 -- Kamelot - The Fourth Legacy
84.01 -- Fates Warning - Disconnected
83.90 -- Lefay - . . . _ _ _ . . . (S.O.S.)
83.39 -- Alice Cooper - Brutal Planet
83.39 -- Therion - Deggial
83.05 -- Mägo de Oz - Finisterra
82.89 -- Running Wild - Victory
82.32 -- Silent Force - The Empire of Future
81.13 -- Nightwish - Wishmaster
79.47 -- Hammerfall - Renegade
78.77 -- Axel Rudi Pell - The Masquerade Ball
78.03 -- Molly Hatchet - Kingdom of XII
77.01 -- Brainstorm - Ambiguity
76.93 -- Nostradameus - Words of Nostradameus
75.09 -- Gov't Mule - Life Before Insanity
74.77 -- Dark Moor - The Hall of the Olden Dreams
74.00 -- Dio - Magica
71.97 -- Angel Dust - Enlighten the Darkness
69.19 -- Pretty Maids - Carpe Diem
69.10 -- AC/DC - Stiff Upper Lip
69.00 -- Thy Majestie - The Lasting Power
68.23 -- Chinchilla - Madness
64.09 -- Heavenly - Coming from the Sky
63.03 -- Shadow Keep - Corruption Within
61.96 -- Mötley Crüe - New Tattoo
60.94 -- Praying Mantis - Nowhere to Hide
50.09 -- Cornerstone - Arrival

Top Ten - 2001

Five lesser-known bands made the top ten, along with solid efforts by veteran bands. And 49 album reviews without a single rating above 90 (unless you round up) may look like a down year in music, but that's misleading as many bands ended up in the 80 - 85 range. (For anyone who looked at this list previously, you may notice a change. I recently got a chance to listen to and review Anthem CDs, and as you can see, I liked Seven Hills a lot.)

2001 Top Ten:
89.83 -- Anthem - Seven Hills
89.71 -- Magnitude 9 - Reality in Focus
87.92 -- Wayne - Metal Church
87.77 -- Gamma Ray - No World Order
87.62 -- W.A.S.P. - Unholy Terror
87.25 -- Iced Earth - Horror Show
86.64 -- Labyrinth - Sons of Thunder
86.62 -- Racer X - Superheroes
86.47 -- Silver Mountain - Breakin' Chains
86.09 -- Threshold - Hypothetical

Other 2001 releases:
85.54 -- Annihilator - Carnival Diablos
85.13 -- Savatage - Poets and Madmen
84.63 -- Blue Öyster Cult - Curse of the Hidden Mirror
84.27 -- Mahogany Rush - Eye of the Storm
84.24 -- Aria - Chimera
84.11 -- Saxon - Killing Ground
83.85 -- Dogface - Unleashed
83.81 -- Edguy - Mandrake
83.20 -- Brainstorm - Metus Mortis
83.01 -- Falconer - Falconer
82.77 -- Cydonia - Cydonia
82.73 -- Wizard - Head of the Deceiver
82.54 -- Lost Horizon - Awakening the World
82.38 -- Helloïse - Fata Morgana
81.80 -- Kamelot - Karma
81.76 -- Megadeth - The World Needs A Hero
81.22 -- Silent Force - Infatuator
80.77 -- Angra - Rebirth
80.24 -- Iron Savior - Dark Assault
80.13 -- Primal Fear - Nuclear Fire
78.41 -- Heavenly - Sign of the Winner
78.17 -- Balance of Power - Perfect Balance
77.65 -- Rage - Welcome to the Other Side
77.32 -- Nostradameus - The Prophet of Evil
77.11 -- Sonata Arctica - Silence
77.10 -- Michael Schenker Group - Be Aware of Scorpions
76.89 -- Arachnes - Parallel Worlds
76.69 -- Goat Horn - Voyage to Nowhere
76.28 -- Ozzy Osbourne - Down to Earth
76.26 -- Avantasia - The Metal Opera
75.68 -- Alice Cooper - Dragontown
75.53 -- Blackmore's Night - Fires at Midnight
70.44 -- Anvil - Plenty of Power
69.76 -- Manilla Road - Atlantis Rising
68.88 -- Judas Priest - Demolition
67.77 -- Aerosmith - Just Push Play
67.26 -- Beto Vázquez Infinity - Infinity
65.82 -- Demon - Spaced Out Monkey
52.33 -- Bow Wow - Another Place