  
Here is a band that kept cropping up as I followed
my longstanding favourite power metal band Firewind
but I’ve neglected to actually check them
out! So in preparation for this review I checked
out their back catalogue and I must say that even
though I’ve only been a fan now for a short
time I fully understand how devastating it is
to have lost long standing powerful vocalist Roy
Khan, from what I can tell though Khan had become
very ill and left for health and personal reasons
which is understandable. That however led to then
inevitably searching for a new vocalist to then
release their first album without Khan since 1998!
Changing a vocalist is an extremely difficult
transition for fans to get onboard with as once
the voice of a band has been established it is
incredibly hard to replace, I have seen it too
many times be a bands rapid undoing.
A positive sign was that they brought in an extremely
talented vocalist in Tommy Karevik (the voice
of Seventh Wonder) who has demonstrated he can
keep within close range to the usual vocal lines
we’ve become accustomed in Kamelot fashion
but hasn’t gone as far as to become Khan’s
vocal double, he is also credited with writing
credits on this album which when listening to
the material is incredible as it keeps true to
the longstanding style in which the band has prided
itself for years. The great thing about the material
is that it’s like a time machine back to
a band that was in its pinnacle moment of defining
itself before the ascension of fighting for survival,
thinking more “Ghost Opera” than “Poetry
For The Poisoned” in terms of structure.
The song’s really suck you in as they portray
to you a story that you can’t forget due
to the infectious nature the sound emits,
Karevik has held himself back this time to fit
what the band required of him, but I don’t
feel that it will last and rightly so because
a vocalist has his own voice and should push it
as far as it will reach, with his progressive
background he could really give future Kamelot
a huge push into realms they may never dreamt
of approaching. As far as this release goes though
they’ve continued to give us a quality that
is lost on many other bands these days and is
as consistently fantastic as ever.
4.5/5
Review by James Webb
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