Kamelot
Silverthorn
SPV
2012
Floridian prog power metallers Kamelot fatefully reach their tenth release, the first with their new vocalist, their third so far, Seventh Wonder’s Tommy Karevik. The band that now has been going on for a little over two decades has on average been releasing a pretty solid if not stellar album every other year without fail, which has made them, really respected and established them as one of the bigger names in the genre, leaving in the dust even such luminaries, and bands that initially they seemed to be inspired by like Crimson Glory or Queensryche, who were both struggling greatly lately the former to come up with anything and the latter to come up with anything remotely metal.
Kamelot, manage to gracefully handle the vocalist departure, by producing Karevik in a way that’s way too similar to the way that Khan was produced, with tons of reverb and lots of effects. The way the vocal melodies are structured too, is also very similar to the Khan-sung Kamelot ones, so one has to consider whether Khan was writing his own melodies or was just given ready ones to sing over. While Karevik is no Khan, he’s good and while the dude from Circus Maximus might have been an even more perfect match, Karevik, fits really, really, well with the band. His hiring is one of these good substitutions (Mr H, LaTorre, Ripper, Doogie White, Khan, Jorn, Kelly “Sundown” Carpenter, Nick Maeder, Arnel Pineda, Kelly Hansen etc ie, a case where a band can validly carry on making music and not you know the Blaze or Paul Rodgers type of choice where you’re left thinking, what the hell were they thinking, even though you may possibly be able to figure out where the idea came from originally to hire them).
“Silverthorn” continues the tradition by staying true to the bands well established, almost cast in stone, lyrical and luscious, symphonic prog power metal style that has become very recognizable, thanks to Sasha Paeth’s immaculate productions that really underline the bands strong points and bring them to the fore. While, the “Thorn” sounds like the logical successor to the “Poetry of the Poisoned”, I suppose that Tommy’s entrance, shuffled the deck a bit, and so while the album sounds quite predictably as it “should” as not to estrange, longtime fans, there’s also a new fresh perspective in the proceedings.
“Manus Dei” is the more predictable than something very predictable indeed intro of this type of album, that’s a must and it leads nine out of ten times and you make no mistake, here as well, it holds quite true, to a mid-quick paced composition with occasional bursts of double bass drums.
“Sacrimony”(Angel of Afterlife) the album’s lead of single is a superb track, that owes a lot to “Center of the Universe” but also has its own character. Amaranthe’s Elize Ryd, that doubles as Kamelot’s lead female singer, backs TK, complimenting him quite capably and really putting to shame all the previous “Kamelot” male-female duets with ease.
“Ashes to Ashes” is a way more thumbing and quirky song with intense syncopated drumming and it. Karevik, opts to interchange between his own voice and a tone that mimics that of Khan’s. The two singers’ voices are not a million miles away, but, I suppose on his SW material, Karevik sounds a lot lighter and a lot clearer. Here, he’s effect ridden, double tracked at the least and goes for a baritone delivery that he seems quite capable of delivering, even if I suppose he might be one of those guys that has the range of a tenor, but who knows what the hell his placement is normally?! (Unless you hear him talking normally).
“Torn” is another track that tips more towards progressive metal, rather than power metal and while, some of its melodies, harken back to the bands early days, it’s done so well, that I can’t even be bothered, to sit down and try to figure out – if it’s a keyboard passage from “Nights of Arabia” or even something earlier, back from the “Vanderbilt” era that, I think I am hearing... it’s rather good as I said so...
“Song for Jolee” (Angelina?) hahaha – is simply a jewel of a ballad. One of those amazing, little miracles that Kamelot seem to be able to pull out of thin air, once every so often...
“Veritas” is a track that is more symphonic in nature. It begins with some strings and some nice riffs and then after some verses it begins to build in intensity through a choir – orchestra hit, Tommy interplay. At the point where it would have run into the danger of becoming tiresome, there’s a very clever change in pace, as Elize intervenes, and there’s also a very interesting celebratory if not a bit medieval fair/folkish inspired solo, right there, with Elize, doing another bit and then some more of that Choir/Orchestra/Tommy thing and the thing comes to a conclusion with some accordion... wow, you can’t complain – or call them dull!
“My Confession” not only rips off a Conception title, but would have been otherwise forgettable, if it weren’t for a little melody that seems to carry it on. It’s one of the lesser songs of the album, without actually being, bad.
The album’s namesake “Silverthorn” is a rather simple track, that’s quite intense as it sort of has a lot of repetition, in its earlier parts, and then when it occasionally speeds up, during the shorts leads and then resumes, it sort of becomes quite nightmarish and claustrophobic... it’s pretty good, but I was half expecting it to either be longer or part of a trilogy or something! (hehe)
“Falling Like the Fahrenheit” that comes next, is possibly, my least favorite track of the album, while it’s not dissimilar stylistically, than its predecessor, but it’s just the fact that its melodies don’t do a thing for me… it’s also rather unfortunate it’s right there towards the end, as it rather badly interrupts the flow of the record for me.
“Solitaire” was already either leaked or released, prior to the album’s release and it’s one of the better songs. While the song varies in tempi and mood – it swings nicely from one end of the spectrum to the other effortlessly, just like Tommy does with his voice and allures the listener...
In “Prodigal Son”, TK goes for a falsetto, that sounds quite airy, then is joined by a small choir, then sings normally along with an acoustic, then some percussion is added, then electric guitars, and later some proper larger choirs and some more aggressive percussion. While the early part of this this 8 minute composition is slow and rather tranquil the latter, experiments with more traditional metal forms and how to implement them to the songs fragile structure, without vandalizing it. I would say it succeeds rather nicely, apart from that persistent drumming towards the end or at least the way it sounds...
“Continuum” closes the album and is a one and a half minute outro that is followed by about a minute of silence and then maybe a couple of minutes of cello that sounds rather minor and sad and the significance of the inclusion of which I didn’t really quite get, but then again... who am I to decipher such great mysteries!
Well, apart from a couple of questionable tracks (that any release may have) and the fact that with even a new singer the band dares not, re-invent its sound, Kamelot have managed to well, replace a very respected and much loved singer such as Roy Khan with Tommy Karevik, a guy that can sound very close to him, should he wish to do so and he does so here, on “Silverthorn”.
This album will definitely be a kiss of life to their career – when all in all, a wrong singer’s choice, could have been like the kiss of death for them. The band seems to have gone through a major crisis without losing one step and that is quite commendable. Bravo, on so many levels. Bravo on choosing Tommy and getting the performance you did out of him, bravo on getting the talented and beautiful Ms Elize Ryd (you had the eye and foresight to do so), bravo for writing another good album and delivering it and having done so without fail for the last 20 or so years (unlike some other legendary bands with 4 albums in 25 years) bravo, bravo, bravissimo!
PS: A Limited Edition Box exists that adds a second CD with instrumental mixes and a 40 page comic/concept book?! A (double?) vinyl edition exists as well! More info on the band’s site or the company’s site I suppose! (Gone are the days when SPV bothered with promos in Greece, but after they were ripped off by a “criminal” local distributor... I doubt if I’d have bothered either as well.)
Kamelot, manage to gracefully handle the vocalist departure, by producing Karevik in a way that’s way too similar to the way that Khan was produced, with tons of reverb and lots of effects. The way the vocal melodies are structured too, is also very similar to the Khan-sung Kamelot ones, so one has to consider whether Khan was writing his own melodies or was just given ready ones to sing over. While Karevik is no Khan, he’s good and while the dude from Circus Maximus might have been an even more perfect match, Karevik, fits really, really, well with the band. His hiring is one of these good substitutions (Mr H, LaTorre, Ripper, Doogie White, Khan, Jorn, Kelly “Sundown” Carpenter, Nick Maeder, Arnel Pineda, Kelly Hansen etc ie, a case where a band can validly carry on making music and not you know the Blaze or Paul Rodgers type of choice where you’re left thinking, what the hell were they thinking, even though you may possibly be able to figure out where the idea came from originally to hire them).
“Silverthorn” continues the tradition by staying true to the bands well established, almost cast in stone, lyrical and luscious, symphonic prog power metal style that has become very recognizable, thanks to Sasha Paeth’s immaculate productions that really underline the bands strong points and bring them to the fore. While, the “Thorn” sounds like the logical successor to the “Poetry of the Poisoned”, I suppose that Tommy’s entrance, shuffled the deck a bit, and so while the album sounds quite predictably as it “should” as not to estrange, longtime fans, there’s also a new fresh perspective in the proceedings.
“Manus Dei” is the more predictable than something very predictable indeed intro of this type of album, that’s a must and it leads nine out of ten times and you make no mistake, here as well, it holds quite true, to a mid-quick paced composition with occasional bursts of double bass drums.
“Sacrimony”(Angel of Afterlife) the album’s lead of single is a superb track, that owes a lot to “Center of the Universe” but also has its own character. Amaranthe’s Elize Ryd, that doubles as Kamelot’s lead female singer, backs TK, complimenting him quite capably and really putting to shame all the previous “Kamelot” male-female duets with ease.
“Ashes to Ashes” is a way more thumbing and quirky song with intense syncopated drumming and it. Karevik, opts to interchange between his own voice and a tone that mimics that of Khan’s. The two singers’ voices are not a million miles away, but, I suppose on his SW material, Karevik sounds a lot lighter and a lot clearer. Here, he’s effect ridden, double tracked at the least and goes for a baritone delivery that he seems quite capable of delivering, even if I suppose he might be one of those guys that has the range of a tenor, but who knows what the hell his placement is normally?! (Unless you hear him talking normally).
“Torn” is another track that tips more towards progressive metal, rather than power metal and while, some of its melodies, harken back to the bands early days, it’s done so well, that I can’t even be bothered, to sit down and try to figure out – if it’s a keyboard passage from “Nights of Arabia” or even something earlier, back from the “Vanderbilt” era that, I think I am hearing... it’s rather good as I said so...
“Song for Jolee” (Angelina?) hahaha – is simply a jewel of a ballad. One of those amazing, little miracles that Kamelot seem to be able to pull out of thin air, once every so often...
“Veritas” is a track that is more symphonic in nature. It begins with some strings and some nice riffs and then after some verses it begins to build in intensity through a choir – orchestra hit, Tommy interplay. At the point where it would have run into the danger of becoming tiresome, there’s a very clever change in pace, as Elize intervenes, and there’s also a very interesting celebratory if not a bit medieval fair/folkish inspired solo, right there, with Elize, doing another bit and then some more of that Choir/Orchestra/Tommy thing and the thing comes to a conclusion with some accordion... wow, you can’t complain – or call them dull!
“My Confession” not only rips off a Conception title, but would have been otherwise forgettable, if it weren’t for a little melody that seems to carry it on. It’s one of the lesser songs of the album, without actually being, bad.
The album’s namesake “Silverthorn” is a rather simple track, that’s quite intense as it sort of has a lot of repetition, in its earlier parts, and then when it occasionally speeds up, during the shorts leads and then resumes, it sort of becomes quite nightmarish and claustrophobic... it’s pretty good, but I was half expecting it to either be longer or part of a trilogy or something! (hehe)
“Falling Like the Fahrenheit” that comes next, is possibly, my least favorite track of the album, while it’s not dissimilar stylistically, than its predecessor, but it’s just the fact that its melodies don’t do a thing for me… it’s also rather unfortunate it’s right there towards the end, as it rather badly interrupts the flow of the record for me.
“Solitaire” was already either leaked or released, prior to the album’s release and it’s one of the better songs. While the song varies in tempi and mood – it swings nicely from one end of the spectrum to the other effortlessly, just like Tommy does with his voice and allures the listener...
In “Prodigal Son”, TK goes for a falsetto, that sounds quite airy, then is joined by a small choir, then sings normally along with an acoustic, then some percussion is added, then electric guitars, and later some proper larger choirs and some more aggressive percussion. While the early part of this this 8 minute composition is slow and rather tranquil the latter, experiments with more traditional metal forms and how to implement them to the songs fragile structure, without vandalizing it. I would say it succeeds rather nicely, apart from that persistent drumming towards the end or at least the way it sounds...
“Continuum” closes the album and is a one and a half minute outro that is followed by about a minute of silence and then maybe a couple of minutes of cello that sounds rather minor and sad and the significance of the inclusion of which I didn’t really quite get, but then again... who am I to decipher such great mysteries!
Well, apart from a couple of questionable tracks (that any release may have) and the fact that with even a new singer the band dares not, re-invent its sound, Kamelot have managed to well, replace a very respected and much loved singer such as Roy Khan with Tommy Karevik, a guy that can sound very close to him, should he wish to do so and he does so here, on “Silverthorn”.
This album will definitely be a kiss of life to their career – when all in all, a wrong singer’s choice, could have been like the kiss of death for them. The band seems to have gone through a major crisis without losing one step and that is quite commendable. Bravo, on so many levels. Bravo on choosing Tommy and getting the performance you did out of him, bravo on getting the talented and beautiful Ms Elize Ryd (you had the eye and foresight to do so), bravo for writing another good album and delivering it and having done so without fail for the last 20 or so years (unlike some other legendary bands with 4 albums in 25 years) bravo, bravo, bravissimo!
PS: A Limited Edition Box exists that adds a second CD with instrumental mixes and a 40 page comic/concept book?! A (double?) vinyl edition exists as well! More info on the band’s site or the company’s site I suppose! (Gone are the days when SPV bothered with promos in Greece, but after they were ripped off by a “criminal” local distributor... I doubt if I’d have bothered either as well.)