{"id":23673,"date":"2012-11-11T22:38:37","date_gmt":"2012-11-12T03:38:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=23673"},"modified":"2013-02-05T16:42:24","modified_gmt":"2013-02-05T21:42:24","slug":"kamelot-silverthorn-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2012\/kamelot-silverthorn-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Kamelot | Silverthorn<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines<\/span>
\n– News Editor\/Senior Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Kamelot\"It\u2019s been an interesting couple of years in the Kamelot camp. Longtime vocalist and Roy Khan abruptly left Kamelot almost immediately after the progressive\/power metal band\u2019s 2010 album Poetry for the Poison<\/em> was released, leaving the band to fulfill its touring obligations with fill-in singers like Fabio Lione (Rhapsody of Fire) and Michael Eriksen (Circus Maximus) before finally deciding on Seventh Wonder singer Tommy Karevik as their new front-man. Considering the role Khan played, not only as the voice of Kamelot, but as a key songwriter and part of their overall image, it\u2019s no exaggeration to say that all eyes (and ears) are on the band\u2019s latest album \u2013 Silverthorn<\/em> \u2013 to see if the Kamelot magic is still there.<\/p>\n

The obvious question is how does Karevik measure up, and is he a worthy successor to Khan. It takes maybe half of the first (non-instrumental) song \u201cSacrimony\u201d to determine the answer, and that\u2019s a resounding yes. Seventh Wonder fans already know that Karevik has a great range and is capable of conveying both power and emotion. Honestly, the band may have done him a disservice by having him try to fit Khan\u2019s vocal mannerisms here (and apparently his wardrobe). It ought to be a real eye-opener when the band writes an album that takes full advantage of what he has to offer.<\/p>\n

Of course this album is about more than just a new vocalist. Poetry for the Poisoned<\/em> was not very well-received by fans or critics, so there was additional pressure on the band to make an album that would maintain the very high standard set by previous Kamelot releases. Fortunately, Silverthorn<\/em> measures up quite well, quickly steering away from the darker, more sinister Poetry for the Poisoned<\/em> sound and back towards the grand and dramatic feel of Ghost Opera and the Black Halo. It\u2019s all about the interplay between the powerful melodies, pounding rhythms, sweeping orchestral elements and dramatic, emotional vocal performances, and in every one of those areas the band is in top form. Thomas Youngblood has come up with extremely addictive melodies as well as some very intense solos, and he and keyboardist Oliver Palotai seem to have an uncanny knowledge of just the right time to pass the spotlight back and forth between their two instruments. They each get to showcase their talents and it never once seems needlessly technical or over-indulgent. Through it all bassist Sean Tibbets and drummer Casey Grillo prove why they\u2019re one of the genre\u2019s best rhythm sections.<\/p>\n

As with the previous few Kamelot releases, Silverthorn<\/em> features some impressive guest performances. This time around the band is joined by singers Elize Ryd (Amaranthe), Alissa White-Gluz (the Agonist) and Amanda Somerville (Trillium), the string quartet Eklipse as well as producers Sascha Paeth and Miro, who contribute guitar and keyboards, respectively. Each guest adds another dimension to the album\u2019s overall sound and scope.<\/p>\n

\"Kamelot\"Silverthorn<\/em> is an extremely cohesive album, with each song maintaining the album\u2019s overall story and tone, but it does have some songs that stand out more than others. Chief among them is \u201cSacrimony,\u201d the album\u2019s first single, which instantly calls up the classic Kamelot vibe and makes a very effective introduction of the band\u2019s new singer. The tranquil \u201cSong for Jolee\u201d is another highlight, thanks to an absolutely gorgeous performance by Karevik that\u2019s probably the one moment on Silverthorn that recalls his work in Seventh Wonder. The wickedly catchy melodies and strong vocals make \u201cMy Confession\u201d another highlight. The album starts to flag a bit towards the end, but finishes strong with the nearly 9-minute epic \u201cProdigal Son.\u201d<\/p>\n

In terms of Kamelot\u2019s other releases, Silverthorn<\/em> is definitely a step above Poetry for the Poisoned<\/em> and is probably on par with Ghost Opera<\/em>. It doesn\u2019t reach the heights that the Black Halo<\/em> did, but it\u2019s not unreasonable to expect this revitalized band to top that in the years to come. Silverthorn<\/em> is a very strong progressive\/power metal overall, and while it\u2019s probably clich\u00e9 to say it grows on you, that\u2019s very much the case. Each time you spin it \u2013 and you\u2019re going to have this one on repeat for a while \u2013 you come to appreciate it even more. For those who might be on the fence about Kamelot without Khan; you can relax. It\u2019s still Kamelot; they just have a better vocalist now.<\/p>\n

Edition Notes: It\u2019s fairly common practice to see \u201cspecial editions\u201d of new albums that come in a digipack and have a live song or demo tacked on as a bonus track. Kamelot took this to a whole new level with the Deluxe Edition of Silverthorn<\/em>. Inside the surprisingly hefty box, you\u2019ll find the main album (in a thick and gloriously illustrated digibook), a bonus disc with the instrumental version of Silverthorn (in a much less glorious cardboard sleeve), another sturdy digibook with the full Silverthorn<\/em> story and large photos of the album\u2019s guest stars, and finally a nice poster of the band. This set really puts the \u201cdeluxe\u201d in Deluxe Edition, and is well worth the extra dollars over the standard version. Even those who have moved on to the MP3 format ought to be impressed by this one.<\/p>\n

Genre: Progressive Metal, Power Metal<\/p>\n

Band:
\nThomas Youngblood (g)
\nCasey Grillo (d)
\nOliver Palotai (k)
\nSean Tibbets (b)
\nTommy Karevik (v)<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tManus Dei
\n2.\tSacrimony (Angel of Afterlife)
\n3.\tAshes to Ashes
\n4.\tTorn
\n5.\tSong for Jolee
\n6.\tVeritas
\n7.\tMy Confession
\n8.\tSilverthorn
\n9.\tFalling Like the Fahrenheit
\n10.\tSolitaire
\n11.\tProdigal Son
\n12.\tContinuum<\/p>\n

Label: SPV\/Steamhammer<\/p>\n

Website: www.kamelot.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 8.5\/10 (album), 9.5\/10 (deluxe edition)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines – News Editor\/Senior Columnist — It\u2019s been an interesting couple of years in the Kamelot camp. Longtime vocalist and Roy Khan abruptly left Kamelot almost immediately after the progressive\/power metal band\u2019s 2010 […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6772],"tags":[1389,1097,1098,334,5918,1524,1859,1565,6182],"class_list":{"0":"post-23673","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-arcrvws2012","7":"tag-kamelot","8":"tag-power-metal","9":"tag-progressive-metal","10":"tag-review","11":"tag-silverthorn","12":"tag-spv","13":"tag-steamhammer","14":"tag-thomas-youngblood","15":"tag-tommy-karevik"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23673"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23673\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}