Where I Reign - The Very Best of the Noise Years 1995-2003

This is a release that I’m fairly surprised about. Not that it exists, but that it took this long to get here. Kamelot have been releasing albums since the mid-90s, so I find it strange that it took until 2016 to get a “Best of” type release from these guys. That being said, “Where I Reign” is a fairly well put together release as far as the band’s early work is concerned. It covers all of the band’s albums from 1995’s “Eternity” up to 2003’s “Epica”, and chronicles the band’s evolution from the early, more classical influenced releases to basically the point just before their landmark major release, “The Black Halo”, which saw the band make a big jump into more mainstream status, at least as far as power metal in general is concerned.

Musically, I think this release is a good way for new Kamelot listeners to enjoy the early work, but for me, it is not without one gripe. That gripe is the choice of songs used from some of the albums. Remember that this is intended to be a “Best of” release, which would mean that the best songs from each of these albums would be included. Now, of course what makes a song or songs the “best” from an album will be entirely subjective, but this review is based on my own personal opinion, so I will complain just a bit about the songs chosen. There are songs from each represented album that I would rather see here, but the songs present from “The Expedition” are probably my biggest complaint. “The Expedition” was a live album primarily, and two of the three songs here are studio tracks thrown on the end of that album. Only Until Kingdom Come is a live track; We Three Kings is not bad, just not “best of” worthy; and We Are Not Separate is a remake of an already crappy song from the “Dominion” album. We Are Not Separate is better than the original by virtue of featuring a superior vocalist alone, but I still find it out of place here. Scratch the studio tracks, throw in The Shadow of Uther and A Sailorman’s Hymn, and we would have had a winner. Even the third studio track from that album (One Day) is better than what we have here. I would have even settled for Call of The Sea again, because the live version with Kahn is pretty awesome.

Despite the choice of tracks, this release is pretty darn solid. It could have benefitted from a third disc, perhaps, to squeeze in some more Kamelot goodness. But at the end of the day, this is an enjoyable release, and newcomers will find it a good way to get into the band’s work pre-Black Halo. Long time fans of the band, however, may be left with minor disappointment from some of the tracks chosen.

Is it essential? Not at all; there is nothing new or exclusive here. But it is fun to listen to, especially if you want to sample the older albums before buying them. Good stuff!