Royal Hunt
In the Heart of the City (Best of 1992-1999)

Royal Hunt celebrates twenty years this year and this is something that is cause for celebration, for Scarlet Records the celebration comes in form of a “best of” collection of songs from their first five albums. These albums were released from 1992 to 1999 which is a bit of strange period considering it is not half their career or even half of their albums released, and what makes it stranger is the fact that there are two songs from each album in a chronological order. For anyone who knows Royal Hunt will then know that it is not a collection of the best songs from this era but rather a document showing what they did during that era. I would say that the title seems a bit off, the name would be something like “a document of Royal Hunt” or something similar and not something with “best of” in it. All things considered though, it is a collection of Royal Hunt so it is definitely worth looking into and there aren’t really any compilations of the band yet so maybe it is time for it.

Royal Hunt are known for their majestic, neoclassical, slightly progressive, slightly symphonic melodic heavy rock music. There isn’t too easy to describe them in words but theatrical and majestic in sound is probably the closest I can get. Five albums are represented here with ten tracks that plays for 56 minutes and there are three singers singing in these tracks, one is the most acclaimed of the Royal Hunt singers, DC Cooper who does four tracks. To be honest though, listening to the songs like this, he isn’t really that spectacular compared to the other two singers, the thing that sets him apart is that he sings on the best two albums by the band. I think this actually fits together quite well and you could actually confuse it for a “real” album, and in true Royal Hunt tradition there is quite a bit of variation in the songs.

I would say that it is an interesting collection of songs but it is not really a “best of” album album. I would also say that for you who already is into this band and owns some albums with them already there isn’t really a point in getting this album as it offers nothing you don’t already have. That said though, I would say for anyone looking for a rapid introduction to the band’s earliest work this is the best way to do with the best songs from each of the five first albums displayed in a chronological order. And these songs are great songs and together they of course form a great album, unfortunately for the Royal Hunt fan these are songs you already own and have heard many times. So the point of this album will vary depending on what relation you have to this band, if you don’t know them it is amazing, if you know them you have heard it all before and probably already have all of it in you collection.

Royal Hunt has a history to be proud of and twenty years is respect and why not celebrate with a “best of”, but this isn’t really a best of and it represents a strange time period, why not ten years? why not selecting the best songs of the era? Nevertheless it is hard to just overlook how good these songs really are, so congratulations Royal Hunt, twenty years is respect and these songs is a testament to how good you are. So, if you are looking to get to know a great band, look into this album. If you already know the band, you have their latest work from december last year to look at instead.