In the field of Prog/Power, some of the greats definitely include the American KAMELOT! One of a kind band, who saw their signature frontman Roy Khan walking out the door, in 2011, to be replaced by Tommy Karevik, who shut the mouth of anyone was writing off the band, with “Silverthorn” (2012). 3 years of constant touring, he’s established as a part of the bands story, following the diversity that Roy had in his voice, not copying him, but being what Roy was and then some.
The album kicks in with a beautiful piano intro of “Fallen Star” which turns into a classic Kamelot single with a beautiful solo! “Insomnia” follows in a more symphonic sense and a middle eastern feel on the riff, to turn into a groovy song with another top notch solo. The album gets darker with the more atmospheric and midtempo “Citizen Zero” and its haunting chorus followed by a great keyboard solo. Trademark Kamelot track follows with the amazing “Veil Of Elysium” and its signature melody. Karevik shows what he can do in a lovely ballad called “Under Grey Skies”, where he’s in a duet with Charlotte Wessels (Delain), to slow down the overall pace of the album.
A keyboard driven intro brings us “My Therapy”, a classic mid-tempo Kamelot single (might be one of the videos in the future) with lots of electronic elements especially in the bridge of the song. After the “Ecclesia” orchestral interlude, “End Of Innocence” comes with its groovy emphatic intro, to give us room to headbang and lead into to a beautiful chorus and a nice little solo. The middle-eastern intro of “Beautiful Apocalypse” combined with the ever present electronic elements, darken the atmosphere once more relieving the listener with an atmospheric chorus. The electro influence is once more there, even right before the galloping “Liar Liar (Wasteland Monarchy)”, a mostly mid-tempo song with a pre-chorus break (another Kamelot trademark) and a more aggressive chorus, followed with a beautiful solo right after the second chorus and a dark mid-section backed up by Alissa White-Gluz (Arch Enemy) doing both the harsh and the melodic vocals of the final chorus. A very interesting track and the longest on the album, with lots of twists and turns.
The orchestra and piano intro comes as a contrast to the previous song, giving us a rise and fall feeling on “Here’s To The Fall” where Karevik shows time and again why he’s the right man for the job, taking our breath away with the smooth feel of his voice. The industrial elements are more than present on the riff-driven “Revolution” featuring Alissa once more, dominating its breakdown and then letting the song go full speed, before an a cappela part for Karevik to lead to the final chorus of the most aggressive song on the album. The acoustic outro “Haven” is the perfect way to end this great album.
Kamelot have experimented with industrial sounds, to give a darker feel to their orchestra-enhanced Power metal, and they have managed to do so! This is how you do it, well done!
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