Kamelot - Ghost Opera
Steamhammer/SPV
Melodic Power Metal
11 songs (43:59)
Release year: 2007
Kamelot, Steamhammer/SPV
Reviewed by Al
Album of the month

I’ve always had a somewhat strange relationship with power metal. At times the general cheesiness and oft suspect subject matter (I mean let’s be honest, how often in everyday life are you accosted by a bona fide fire breathing dragon questioning your might which of course you must slay, using said might? With the absence of some severely psychotropic drugs the answer you’re looking for is ‘not often’) set my teeth on edge and put me off. Other times and in other moods however, the style has a habit of sweeping me up, brightening my mood and generally impressing me with the technical virtuosity that often goes hand in hand with the genre. There is an exception to this though and that is the existence of a few bands within the genre which consistently impress me time and time again and there will always occupy a space in my record collection. I count Kamelot among them.

For the uninitiated, Kamelot are an interesting prospect. Their style is first and foremost that of power metal, soaring melodic vocals over a barrage of equally soaring and occasionally speedy riffs. There is however, far more to it than that. The band have famously introduced another element into their sound in every release, making each one unique. Their 2005 masterpiece and breakthrough album The Black Halo took the power metal elements of their previous sound and seasoned the whole thing with lavish gothic and vaguely progressive tones, resulting in a sound that was both accessible and utterly unique not to mention balls out brilliant. Obviously this would be a tough act to follow for any band and many who enjoyed The Black Halo, myself among them, have been waiting with baited breath to see if the band could follow through with this success and pull another masterpiece out of their hats. The day of reckoning has arrived.

On the first few listens through there are a few aspects of the sound that immediately leap out at the listener. The gothic elements, the prevalence of the keyboards and the often orchestral feel of The Black Halo are often present in just as much strength on this album, as is Roy Khan’s typically brilliant vocal style which soars above the top of all this. So far, so 2005. Despite this there are immediate differences to be drawn. Much of the album features uncredited and, as the album title suggests, vaguely operatic female vocals and instead of some of the longer (over 5 minutes) songs present on the previous album which interspersed with the interludes gave the whole affair a more drawn out feel, the songs flow past at a much shorter and more to the point pace. That is not to say the epic quality of the music is detracted from, the tone of the album exudes atmosphere and bombast from every pore as I have come to expect from this band but it does leave little room for the winding journeys such as Memento Mori the band can do so well. It is also worth mentioning that as the band’s music has become infused with other influences over the years, so too has the lyrical content. The lyrics have moved away from typical power metal content and while the concept and storytelling aspects linger on, Kamelot’s subject matter is now a far more down to earth affair.

On the basis of individual tracks there is a decent amount of variance throughout, in my eyes something that is always laudable but a palpable melancholic atmosphere holds everything together. The typically bombastic orchestral strains and powerful chugging riffs of intro Solitaire and the first track Rule the World hark back to everything the band is good at. Things often spin off in different directions, The Human Stain begins with an industrial sounding riff, somewhat jarring at first, but blends this with awesome vocal melodies to brilliant effect. Love You to Death is perhaps most reminiscent of the previous album’s sound, conveying a similar tone and pulling together every musical device on the album, prevalent keyboard melodies, the female vocals and a heavy base of riffs. Throw Kahn’s best vocal performance of the album over the top of this and the result is the best offering off this release, which baffles me somewhat as to why the title track was chosen as the lead single, as while it is far from bad, it falls short of the aforementioned three. Some of the other tracks are not quite as enticing, Anthem is the album’s token ballad and it comes off as simply average and a bit dull, while Mourning Star just seems to grab me less than the other offerings and repeated listenings have done little to change that. As I mentioned previously, I would have also enjoyed a slightly longer running time on some of the tracks. My favourite track from The Black Halo was Memento Mori which was well over 8 minutes so I know the band can pull it off well and I guess I’m a little disappointed that there was nothing in that vein here.

All in all this album stands alone as a damn good offering, both in terms of the band’s previous output and metal in general. It’s not perfect nor is it quite as good as The Black Halo (but in my eyes not that much is) and while I would have liked to have heard a slightly bigger departure from the aforementioned in some ways I have absolutely no qualms in recommending this to anyone with even a passing interest in the band. I have a feeling that this lot are going to find themselves among the upper echelons of the scene sooner or later, and if they keep producing material of this quality, they damn well deserve to be.

Killing Songs :
Rule the World, The Human Stain, Love You to Death
Al quoted 90 / 100
Other albums by Kamelot that we have reviewed:
Kamelot - Siege Perilous reviewed by Ben and quoted 75 / 100
Kamelot - Dominion reviewed by Ben and quoted 66 / 100
Kamelot - Eternity reviewed by Ben and quoted 50 / 100
Kamelot - Haven reviewed by Joel and quoted 93 / 100
Kamelot - Silverthorn reviewed by Cory and quoted 84 / 100
To see all 13 reviews click here
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