:: Kamelot - Ghost Opera

Kamelot

Within the progressive power metal scene, few in recent memory have managed to consistently impress and improve with every new album the way Kamelot have. After three critically acclaimed and successful releases, the Florida based act returns with their highly anticipated eighth full-length effort ‘Ghost Opera’. Unlike their last couple of efforts, ‘Ghost Opera’ doesn’t follow along a conceptualised storyline, which in turn has allowed the group the freedom to focus on individual songs rather than the album as a whole. The result of this directional change has given ‘Ghost Opera’ an overall darker and heavier feel to that of previous efforts, without falling below the high standard expected of the band. The minute long violin/keyboard based instrumental ‘Solitaire’ essentially sets the mood for the opening track, with the instruments bleeding into ‘Rule The World’ seamlessly. ‘Rule The World’ is huge sound track that easily ranks amongst Kamelot’s best with it’s thundering drums, heavy riff structures, subtle orchestration/keyboards and Khan’s impressive melody structures and powerful vocals.
The faster title track ‘Ghost Opera’, featuring an appearance by female vocalist Amanda Sommerville, is no less impressive with its greater use of orchestration amongst Kamelot’s progressive power metal sound, while the power ballad ‘Love You To Death’ follows similar lines with the combination of orchestration and heavy riffs balanced perfectly.

The bass heavy ‘The Human Strain’, the dark ‘Blücher’, featuring female vocalist Simone Simons, and the piano/orchestral based ‘Anthem’ show a little more experimentation within the bands compositions with effects being utilised on both the musical front and Khan’s vocals, which successfully manage to open up Kamelot’s familiar sound a little further, while the powerful anthem sounding ‘Up Through The Ashes’, the fast paced ‘Silence Of The Darkness’, ‘Mourning Star’ and the dramatic closer ‘EdenEcho’ remain consistent to Kamelot’s sound from the last three releases. Although falling short of topping ‘The Black Halo’ off its pedestal as Kamelot’s crowning achievement to date, ‘Ghost Opera’ is another in a long line of releases that will help Kamelot maintain their position at the top as one of the progressive power metal scene’s best.