Kamelot discography

Kamelot: A Metal Writeup

Well, I'm finally getting around to writing this up. I've had it saved in my drafts for a while—I listened to Kamelot in January and February—and if I let it go for much longer, I'm going to forget my thoughts on the various albums and then this will have all been for nothing.

Anyway. Kamelot's pretty awesome. They have 11 studio albums (with 3 different vocalists), they've been around since 1995, and they've done some impressive things within the power/symphonic metal genre. They're a staple if you like that type of music, and I figured it was about time I really get into them.

I purchased the deluxe version of their latest album, Haven, on its release date last year, after hearing a couple of the singles and knowing that it'd be an album I'd love. I was right, and I'm glad that, six months later, I at last followed up and listened to the rest of their stuff. I'll go in reverse chronological order (mostly) since that's the order I listened to the albums (mostly).

Haven is probably my favorite album of theirs, though there are contenders. It's dynamic, bombastic, powerful, varied, and technically impressive—everything symphonic power metal should be. It's got some great great vocal spots and some really strong singles (check out Liar Liar (Wasteland Monarchy) and Insomnia). The orchestral accompaniments are very tastefully done, and the real treat of this album comes with the deluxe edition, which offers 15 piano, instrumental, and orchestral versions of the songs on the album—and they're fantastic. They'll appeal to non-fans as well, I think, which says something about how well the album was composed. Haven is definitely a high point in Kamelot's career and I'm excited to see what they do down the road to follow it up.

Okay, now to discuss the different vocalists Kamelot's had over the years. I'm a relatively new fan, so I don't have any of the old allegiances to different singers, but from what I've seen most people are pretty accepting of the change given its circumstances. Kamelot started out with Mark Vanderbilt singing, which he did for two records. After that, Roy Khan took over, and he's the one most people associate with Kamelot. Seven pretty great records leave an impression, I guess. But in 2011 he had what he called "major burnout" and announced that he'd be leaving the band to recover and focus on spending time with his family. It was an amicable split, and most fans seemed to understand that it was a choice made for his health and were supportive. The band's recently commented to say that Khan's doing well with his family in Norway, so all's well that ends well. Kamelot grabbed Tommy Karevik, who'd done a lot of metal singing with other bands previously, to fill the role, and they've released two albums with him so far.

I can tell the differences between the vocalists, of course, but I have to say I'm not particularly drawn toward any of the three—well, more on Mark Vanderbilt later, but I like both Khan and Karevik and I think their voices are great and they still embody the idea of Kamelot despite the lineup change, probably because the music & lyrics are still done by Thomas Youngblood. So there's that.

Before Haven came Silverthorn, Karevik's first album. It's pretty similar to Haven but not quite as in-your-face or polished. Similar sound, though, and still quite enjoyable.

Poetry for the Poisoned, Khan's last album, is pretty creepy. It's got some dark themes, which Kamelot has always dealt with, but particularly so on this album. I love the nightmare imagery, and the four-part opus title track is wonderful start to finish.

Ghost Opera before it has similar themes, but took them down more of a romantic path, and I think it works pretty well. There's a dark beauty to a lot of these songs, and the balance of light and dark, hope and despair, joy and sadness really makes the songs memorable.

And now we come to Epica and The Black Halo. These are Kamelot's true masterpieces, released in 2003 and 2005, companion albums that retell the story of Goethe's Faust, which is one of my favorite pieces of classic literature. (I really need to reread it sometime soon.) I won't wax poetic over these two, but they do a magnificent job of telling the story, the music is compelling, the lyrics are clever and evocative, the guest spots are perfect, and the overall feel of the story, especially knowing the source material, gives the listener a lot to think about for a long time after listening. These two vie for the number-one spot against Haven in my personal ranking. Really, really impressive.

It feels like kind of a letdown to talk about the rest of the albums, just because Epica and The Black Halo are so good. But Karma's personal stories and vaguely Renaissance feel, the world travel and exploration themes on The Fourth Legacy, and the Arthurian legends of Siége Perilous are nothing to forget about—they're great albums in their own right.

And now we get to their first two albums, the ones with Mark Vanderbilt. Album #2, Dominion, captured my attention a little more than Eternity, but both are essentially straightforward power metal with shoutier/rougher vocals typical of the time period (mid-90s). They're not bad albums, by any means. I still like them. But the rest of Kamelot's discography overshadows them by so much that I almost forget they exist. I guess it's just a testament to how much they improved as musicians in developing their sound, and that's the important thing—everybody hopes their latest work is their very best, and Kamelot have definitely nailed that.

Overall, I'm a big fan of Kamelot, I'm glad I finally listened to everything they've done, and I look forward to revisiting their albums in the coming months and years while I wait for the next great album to be released.