Warthur Silverthorn is a business-as-usual release from Kamelot which I'm sure will please fans of their mildly symphonic flavour of power metal but doesn't quite hit the point where it's going to win you over to their style if you're not a fan of their earlier work. The album has a rather busy production style - there tends to be a lot going on at any particular point in the album, to the point where the instruments and the choir and the synthesisers and the orchestrations all get piled on top of each other in a way which, to me, just comes across as kind of messy. This tends to obscure the finer qualities of the album, in my experience, though Kamelot faithful may find they have more patience with it.

adg211288 Silverthorn (2012) is the tenth full-length album by US power metal act Kamelot. Silverthorn is a concept album about, in guitarist Thomas Youngblood’s words: “It’s the story of a young girl who dies in the arms of her two twin brothers, taking the three siblings’ big secret to her grave.” Although it’s only been a couple of years since the release of prior effort Poetry for the Poisoned (2010) Kamelot have gone through a pretty major line-up change as their long-time vocalist, Roy Khan, left the band in 2011. Replacing Khan is Swedish vocalist Tommy Karevik (Seventh Wonder). As anyone who knows a bit about Kamelot should be aware, Khan was often identified as an integral part of the band’s sound, so his loss hit the fanbase hard.

This said, in Tommy Karevik Kamelot have the best possible replacement for Khan as they possible could have done. While there are times during Silverthorn where Karevik runs the risk of being considered a Khan clone, it’s his very similar tone and singing style that make him the perfect man for the job. Sometimes when an artist changes their lead vocalist they came back with someone who sounds so different to their predecessor that it seems as if the whole band has changed. A good example of that is Finland’s Nightwish who changed from the operatic Tarja Turunen to the more rock/pop based voice of Anette Olzon. With Tommy Karevik on board however Kamelot does the exact opposite and I would say they have kept their sound intact, however that in itself would be a lie, as Kamelot has changed over the course of their last couple of albums with Khan to a more progressive metal based sound compared to what they had originally been known for, power metal, and Silverthorn is actually a restoration of that old Kamelot sound.

And yet, the sound of the album also shows that the band is not trying to revive their glory days as although once again Kamelot is playing power metal, they’ve also changed again and began much more symphonic than they ever were before, while retaining a few of the progressive metal elements that they had experimented with more recently. As such, the album is essentially the best of both older and newer Kamelot rolled into one, and the result?

Well, the result is the band’s best album in many years, specifically since The Black Halo (2007), and as far as I’m concerned they actually go one better. The return to a power metal sound easily has something to do with that, but another important factor to consider is that the compositional quality has also soared again. Poetry for the Poisoned was ultimately a solid release, but one that required a lot of time to sink in and only really earned a reasonably high regard from me after a couple of years of listening to it. Silverthorn is completely the opposite. It’s easy to get into, and more than that, it’s easy to get completely hooked on.

And really, it only takes the album’s lead single, Sacrimony (Angel of Afterlife), to realise that. This was a perfect choice to kick off promotion for the album. Not only a highlight, but one of the band’s best songs ever recorded, it showcases exactly what Silverthorn is all about; that return to power metal, the more prominent symphonic approach, the progressive undertones, and the amazing vocals of Tommy Karevik, not to mention the excellent vocal interplay between him and guest vocalist Elize Ryd (Amaranthe). Ryd also appears on Veritas and Falling Like the Fahrenheit later in the album. The former of the tracks features use of an accordion right at the end, one showcase of the experimental undertones present on the album. Other guest vocalists on the album are Alissa White-Gluz (The Agonist), who performs growling vocals during Sacrimony and clean vocals during Prodigal Son, a three part song which is a little reminiscent of Poetry for the Poisoned’s multi-part title track, only this time (thankfully) made as one track. The other guest vocalist, aside from choir performers, is Sascha Paeth, who performs the growling in Ashes to Ashes. Paeth also played additional guitars and co-produced the album.

I can’t say every song makes the same sort of impact on me as Sacrimony does, since for me the song is pretty much perfect, the song is hardly a fluke within the album as it does tend to deliver highlight after highlight, including Ashes to Ashes, Torn, Veritas, Solitaire (not to be confused with the intro track that appeared on Ghost Opera) and more. They also deal surprises out. Silverthorn’s title track features interesting use of the choir to create a haunting atmosphere, which is fitting with the concept of the album, and Falling like the Fahrenheit even features music that brings me to mind of the symphonic progressive rock genre during an instrumental section. And of course Prodigal Son is a three part track and at nearly nine minutes, is the album’s epic.

Kamelot really came back with a bang with this one. Not only a return to form, but in Silverthorn the band comfortably has a new masterpiece under their belt to sit alongside the likes of The Fourth Legacy (1999) Epica (2003) and The Black Halo (2005). A top tier rating is easily deserved. Welcome back guys.

96/100

(originally written for Heavy Metal Haven (http://metaltube.freeforums.org))

dtguitarfan Kamelot began in 1991 in Tampa, FL. During the history that followed, they have had a few lineup changes, but through it all have carved out a special niche in the metal world and gained a steady following of fans. Their strongest trait may be that their style is not easily grouped with just one sub-genre, but bridges the gaps between various like-minded styles, borrowing elements of Progressive, Power, and even a little doom or gothic metal, also integrating stylistic elements of classical and cinematic music. The overall effect of this combination of elements is a sophisticated, refined style of metal. Silverthorn finds Kamelot entering a new stage of their career, following the announcement of the departure of former vocalist Roy Kahn on April 21st of 2011. After all was said and done, Kamelot introduced Tommy Karevik, also the vocalist for Progressive Metal band Seventh Wonder, as their new singer.

Now I'm going to stop right here before telling my readers specifically about the new album to make a little confession: I have previously not considered myself a fan of Kamelot. I was more of a casual onlooker – occasionally checking out what they were up to, and then moving on to other music I was more interested in. I will also freely admit that not only is Seventh Wonder one of my all-time favorite bands, but I also consider Tommy Karevik to be one of my all-time favorite singers. He has a ridiculously silky-smooth, strong voice with an incredible range and a great sense of melody with on-the-money, perfect pitch. So of course when I heard he was the new Kamelot singer, I thought "well, I guess I'm going to have to check out the new album for sure then." Well let me tell you…I think this album has made a fan of me. It is really something special. For the Seventh Wonder fans, I will say that Kamelot utilize Tommy's voice in a completely different way, giving him a chance to explore his musical and emotional range in unique ways. For Kamelot fans, I think you will be pleased to hear that this album still sounds undoubtedly like Kamelot, as Tommy seems to channel, at times, former Kamelot singers, while still giving it a bit of his own spin – his style suits the band quite well, while still giving them new life in a sense.

Silverthorn is a concept album – according to guitarist Thomas Youngblood: "It's the story of a young girl who dies in the arms of her two twin brothers, taking the three siblings' big secret to her grave. The songs on Silverthorn talk about despair, a sense of guilt and the pursuit of truth. In this context, the silver thorn in the album title has a mysterious meaning, but it's up to the listener to unveil this secret."

Keeping this in mind, it's no surprise that the album has a strong dramatic, cinematic, and Progressive feel to it. There is a strong sense of story throughout the album, and not just in the lyrics but there is a journey-like feeling to the music as well. Also adding to this cinematic, story-telling feeling were the appearances of guest musicians: the band was supported at the studio by Elize Ryd, Eklipse, Alissa White-Gluz (The Agonist), Amanda Somerville, and others. One of the things I found to be a strong indication of quality here was the sense that the melodies in the album were very memorable, and ended up replaying themselves in my head hours after hearing the album. And as a big fan of Progressive Metal, I'd like to point out to others like myself that I noticed plenty of changes in the music as well as little classically inspired instrumental interludes that added to the sense of being taken along on a journey. I will say that personally, I felt this may be Kamelot's most progressive album yet, though there is still a strong Power Metal presence and a sense of accessibility, resulting in a blend that I think will appeal strongly to fans of multiple sub-genres. There is some very strong interplay between keyboards, guitars and vocals throughout the album, resulting in a rich, multi-layered feeling to the music. All said, I feel Kamelot has made a strong case both to fans and former onlookers such as myself that they are back with a vengeance, and the result is that they have produced one of the most exciting albums of the year.

Originally written for www.seaoftranquility.org

kluseba Kamelot are one of those symphonic power metal bands that loads of people seem to enjoy as they have rather progressive song writing and skip the overloaded elements and stereotypically charged joyful topics many of their European colleagues are focusing on. After the criticized predecessor "Poetry For The Poisoned" that had many dull moments and a lack of passion and variation, the band's Norwegian singer Roy Khan left the band and was soon replaced by another Scandinavian singer, the young Tommy Karevik from Sweden. Many people were expecting a return to strength but also a few changes but to my negative surprise nothing of this happened.

If I didn't know that the band had a new singer, I wouldn't have even recognized it as the new guy sounds like a pale copy of his predecessor despite many positive comments about the young man's old main band that are the Swedish progressive metal act Seventh Wonder. The lack of original vocals is though not the main issue on here. The problem is that this record is even more emotionless and overloaded than the previous one. We get way too many sound effects, an endless number of more or less impressive guest musicians and a too elevated number of artificially flavoured orchestral and symphonic instruments that make me think of a bad computer game soundtrack. When one hears a random female guest singer in one track that is followed by pointless choirs performed by a group of children just to kick off a pathetic and overlong kitsch symphony part, this is not only confusing but also mildly amusing. The songs sound directionless and random. Too many cooks spoil the broth in here.

There aren't any truly catchy or outstanding parts on this release to point out. I might cite that the diversity works best in "Veritas" but only because I really like oriental folk influences in general that are also included on this song. The calm and mysterious beginning of the epic "Prodigal Son" also seems quite promising but the songs turns out to go nowhere as time runs out and is way too long.

In the end, this new release is even a step down after the flawed predecessor. Blind fan boys will talk about multiple influences, progressive changes and many new faces and influences but I can't agree on that at all. The band just sounds lost on this release. The last album had at least a constant atmosphere and clear guiding line. Even if you're a regular fan of them, you should give this release a listen before you take the risk of buying it and have a very negative surprise.