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LycanthropeMoon
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2014 11:53 pm
Posts: 2296
Location: United States
PostPosted: Thu Jan 12, 2023 12:57 pm 
 

Album art:
Image

Track listing:
1. Overture (Intro)
2. The Great Divide
3. Eventide
4. One More Flag in the Ground
5. Opus of the Night (Ghost Requiem) feat. Tina Guo
6. Midsummer's Eve feat. Tina Guo
7. Bloodmoon
8. NightSky
9. The Looking Glass
10. New Babylon feat. Melissa Bonny
11. Willow
12. My Pantheon (Forevermore)
13. Ephemera (Outro)

Single:

Positives about the new single:
- It's without a doubt more high energy than the singles for "The Shadow Theory" were.
- They do appear to be trying something a little different with this one.
- Most certainly an ear worm that'd probably be fun live.
- I can imagine working out to this I guess.

Negatives:
- Strong contender for the most vapid lyrics in a Kamelot song. I do miss Khan's storytelling, though Tommy can be pretty good at that too (see: "Silverthorn") so I don't see why he doesn't do that more with these guys.
- Chorus is a little buttrocky in some ways... though again, it's pretty damn catchy so I'm not sure if that bothers me as much as it should.


I do like this "mysterious teaser"!

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Empyreal
The Final Frontier

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PostPosted: Thu Jan 12, 2023 1:02 pm 
 

This isn't too bad. They at least have some heaviness in the rhythms and the chorus isn't awful like a lot of the ones on the last album. It doesn't really sound anything like their classic stuff, but they seem to have gone to some totally other place these days.

I don't like the cover and hate this stupid YA dystopia aesthetic they do now.
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tobi is an animal
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue Mar 20, 2018 1:29 pm
Posts: 145
PostPosted: Thu Jan 12, 2023 4:39 pm 
 

I am very much looking forward to this.

description of the songs from the press release:

Tracks honoring KAMELOT trademarks like cinematic "The Great Divide" and darkly hopeful eternal farewell to a loved one, "Eventide", prove that while "The Awakening" stays true to the aural foundations fans have embraced for decades, equally addictive outputs like "One More Flag In The Ground" — a radio-ready anthem about overcoming seemingly unbeatable illness and the mental challenges we all face, featuring additional vocal layers from Juno Award-winning musician and producer Brian Howes — showcase a band devoid of sonic stagnancy. Profound compositions are plentiful, like stage-ready, operatic "Opus Of The Night (Ghost Requiem)", which features a hair-raising dual solo from Youngblood and Guo, as well as epic, synth-laden "New Babylon", elevated by the dynamic vocal attack of Karevik and Bonny. Further balancing darkness with light, grooving, heartfelt "NightSky" and ode to conquering one's adversities "My Pantheon (Forevermore)" boast some of the album's heaviest moments and most complex guitar solos, while pensive hymns such as Celtic-infused "Midsummer's Eve" and ebbing-and-flowing hymn of cherished memories "Willow" provide necessary balance to an album fittingly primed for spectacular performances to come.

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Ace_Rimmer
Metal freak

Joined: Wed Jun 14, 2017 11:30 am
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 12, 2023 4:55 pm 
 

I just don’t like Karevik’s vocals. Sure he is technically a strong singer, something about his tone just comes across as weak to me. But I could overcome that if I thought the music was strong but it hasn’t been in a while. I’ll give it a listen when it comes out though and see if something catches me.

And yeah, the image of Kamelot these days isn’t that good IMO. Maybe my favorite PM band during the Khan era but havne’t been at all thrilled with them since then. Silverthorn was decent I’ll say.

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Smoking_Gnu
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Joined: Sat Mar 15, 2008 11:22 pm
Posts: 4797
PostPosted: Thu Jan 12, 2023 11:51 pm 
 

Empyreal wrote:
I don't like the cover and hate this stupid YA dystopia aesthetic they do now.


It's interesting, because they were definitely starting to explore that...I dunno, "pop goth" look/atmosphere a bit from Ghost Opera through Silverthorn, but they still kept it classy with quality songwriting to boot. As for now...oof.

Interesting single. It does kind of feel like they're upping the electronic elements pretty heavily, which I guess ties into the new style.
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Empyreal
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 13, 2023 12:12 am 
 

Ghost Opera and Silverthorn were a bit cooler to me since they had a bit of the romantic Gothy aspect to them. I was an English major in college - it fit at the time. Now it's like they are trying to be a faceless dollar store Hunger Games ripoff.

It's just crazy that this has become a band I have to actually sample for free before buying the album.
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Dullahan
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue Sep 27, 2016 9:17 pm
Posts: 193
PostPosted: Fri Jan 13, 2023 12:12 am 
 

I'm aware this is not a commentary on the song, but holy shit, is this trend of music videos (mostly from mainstream bands) that rely too much on CGI and green screen getting stale or what? I can remember when they made one for The Great Pandemonium twelve-ish years ago and it was already so silly and dated. It's easier to stomach it coming from the likes of Dragonforce because they obviously don't take themselves too seriously, but come on.

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Lord_Of_Diamonds
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2018 5:23 pm
Posts: 1618
Location: United States
PostPosted: Fri Jan 13, 2023 12:25 am 
 

LycanthropeMoon wrote:
Album art:
Spoiler: show
Image


I could've sworn I was looking at a generic teenage dark fantasy novel cover for a second.
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Demon Fang
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Joined: Tue Mar 12, 2019 9:42 am
Posts: 538
PostPosted: Fri Jan 13, 2023 1:33 am 
 

Ace_Rimmer wrote:
I just don’t like Karevik’s vocals. Sure he is technically a strong singer, something about his tone just comes across as weak to me. But I could overcome that if I thought the music was strong but it hasn’t been in a while.

Not wrong there. It's not an issue in Seventh Wonder but I think they're a bit stronger there, and it wasn't something to worry too much about on Silverthorn precisely because of that. Him sounding like a 1:1 copy of Roy might've helped there, but he's been carrying that tune into two increasingly weak/mediocre albums and then into this one too.

New song's more in line with Haven than Shadow Theory. I dunno, just gonna have to wait and see on this one.

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nephilim80
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Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2022 8:49 am
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 13, 2023 3:51 am 
 

yeah cover is kinda atrocious. The single is ok. Kamelot have been a hit or miss for me since Ghost Opera.
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TitaniumNK
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Joined: Mon Nov 07, 2011 6:33 pm
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 08, 2023 4:18 pm 
 

When it comes to Kamelot's music, I believe the main reason why I'm more or less indifferent regarding their later works is Palotai's arrangements. Artificially busy, uncompelling, and Youngblood's riffs are getting more and more chugging and uninteresting. The last song that had that splendid The Fourth Legacy/Karma vibe is "Silence of the Darkness", a great underrated tune written... eh... 15+ years ago.

As for this new song, it's fine and catchy, but a bit lite. Youngblood's description of the album is so generic that I'm afraid we'll get The Shadow Theory 2.0 at best. Shame.

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Opus
Metal freak

Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2002 11:06 am
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Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Wed Feb 08, 2023 9:10 pm 
 

TitaniumNK wrote:
busy

That's what came to mind when I listened to the single. There are a lot of sounds crammed in there. I don't like it.
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Benedict Donald
Veteran

Joined: Tue Aug 24, 2021 10:36 am
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 08, 2023 9:37 pm 
 

Meh. this band have degraded into the Marvel movies of metal. All flash and special effects and light on substance. Pass.

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yungstirjoey666
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Joined: Mon Sep 23, 2019 8:47 am
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 08, 2023 9:46 pm 
 

I thought the first single was meh, but the other samples from the album trailer seem promising.

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LycanthropeMoon
Metalhead

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PostPosted: Wed Feb 08, 2023 9:55 pm 
 

I prefer the trailer over the single too, honestly. Feels more Kamelot-y I guess, lol.

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Empyreal
The Final Frontier

Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 6:58 pm
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Location: Where the dead rule the night
PostPosted: Wed Feb 08, 2023 11:34 pm 
 

Benedict Donald wrote:
Meh. this band have degraded into the Marvel movies of metal. All flash and special effects and light on substance. Pass.


It's really sad and baffling actually - at least Nightwish had the decency to slow their shit down so much that it became almost interestingly unlikable. This Kamelot stuff is like surface level slop. Fucking junk food. The Epica and Black Halo days are like night and day with this. I hope this album has some good stuff but I dunno. I can't really be sure yet I guess. Shame to have to say so!
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Eternal Unity
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Joined: Mon Apr 19, 2021 5:29 am
Posts: 275
Location: Israel
PostPosted: Thu Feb 09, 2023 1:21 am 
 

Attending the next tour. May 2023
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PrinceRhaegar
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Joined: Sun Sep 06, 2009 4:42 pm
Posts: 156
PostPosted: Thu Feb 09, 2023 2:04 am 
 

I'll be the first one to admit that Kamelot's more or less stuck to a formula since The Black Halo, especially on their last couple albums, but it's a formula that for some reason I never get tired of listening to, so I really don't mind it. Excited to hear new music from them again.
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tobi is an animal
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue Mar 20, 2018 1:29 pm
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 09, 2023 2:05 pm 
 

PrinceRhaegar wrote:
I'll be the first one to admit that Kamelot's more or less stuck to a formula since The Black Halo, especially on their last couple albums, but it's a formula that for some reason I never get tired of listening to, so I really don't mind it. Excited to hear new music from them again.


I thought maybe the next single was out when I seen this bumped back to the first page, but it looks like we might be the only two excited for the new album. I loved the last album and this was my favorite song from it.



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LycanthropeMoon
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2014 11:53 pm
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Location: United States
PostPosted: Thu Feb 09, 2023 2:33 pm 
 

I wouldn't say I have no excitement for the next one, but my expectations are pretty subdued as I thought "The Shadow Theory" was pretty disappointing... and as I said, I enjoyed both "Silverthorn" and "Haven". I'm hoping for an improvement over the last one. Again, the samples in the teaser seem promising, but they're also pretty short, lol.

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LycanthropeMoon
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2014 11:53 pm
Posts: 2296
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 14, 2023 1:12 am 
 


I like this one a lot more than "One More Flag in the Ground"!

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yungstirjoey666
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Sep 23, 2019 8:47 am
Posts: 639
Location: United States
PostPosted: Tue Feb 14, 2023 8:51 pm 
 

It's like Ghost Opera part 2, but I'm digging it. I wonder if it was released as another single?

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LycanthropeMoon
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Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2014 11:53 pm
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 14, 2023 10:16 pm 
 

According to the band, it is indeed a sequel track to "Ghost Opera". Personally, I don't have a problem with this - the song is pretty damn enjoyable. And yup, it's a single. It should've been the first single instead of "One More Flag in the Ground", honestly. This one gets me a lot more pumped for the album.


Lyric video.

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Nocturnal_Evil
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Apr 19, 2021 12:00 am
Posts: 668
Location: United States
PostPosted: Wed Feb 15, 2023 12:06 am 
 

Benedict Donald wrote:
Meh. this band have degraded into the Marvel movies of metal. All flash and special effects and light on substance. Pass.


Agreed. Hard to believe these guys (or at least some of them) helped grace the world with Karma.
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rawsewage
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Joined: Fri Jan 23, 2009 3:29 pm
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Location: Shamokin, PA
PostPosted: Wed Feb 15, 2023 9:20 am 
 

Nocturnal_Evil wrote:
Benedict Donald wrote:
Meh. this band have degraded into the Marvel movies of metal. All flash and special effects and light on substance. Pass.


Agreed. Hard to believe these guys (or at least some of them) helped grace the world with Karma.


Only one of them at this point.

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Demon Fang
Metalhead

Joined: Tue Mar 12, 2019 9:42 am
Posts: 538
PostPosted: Wed Feb 15, 2023 11:34 pm 
 

Benedict Donald wrote:
Meh. this band have degraded into the Marvel movies of metal. All flash and special effects and light on substance. Pass.

Yeah I'm pretty much there now myself. New single's alright but that's all that can be said.

At least we got Arrayan Path for our Kamelottian needs.

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Empyreal
The Final Frontier

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PostPosted: Thu Feb 16, 2023 1:01 pm 
 

Second single is fine I guess, but still just kind of empty and shallow. It could be any band doing this. There doesn't seem to be much of any substance, it's really just a lot of sounds and effects without much 'song' to it at all.

This band, Avantasia and others seem to fall back on a lot of those cinematic, flow-y, Disney-ish orchestral stuff - pretty stock really.
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By_Inheritance
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Joined: Fri Dec 25, 2009 8:38 am
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 16, 2023 1:42 pm 
 

All this talk of substance and Marvel comparisons: I don't get it. Where Kamelot ever some deep, intellectual band? The Kamelot I know have always been cheesy power metal. Sure, they tried to do that whole Goethe's Faust thing at one point, but if you think they even came close to the complexity of that work then I don't know what to tell you. There's obviously a difference of sound between eras, but I don't think substance has anything to do with it. It's just a question of do you prefer their old sound vs the new one. They've never had depth imo.

That being said, eh. New stuff is okay. Same sort of shit, different album. I liked the second single a lot more than the first though.

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Empyreal
The Final Frontier

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PostPosted: Thu Feb 16, 2023 1:45 pm 
 

By_Inheritance wrote:
All this talk of substance and Marvel comparisons: I don't get it. Where Kamelot ever some deep, intellectual band? The Kamelot I know have always been cheesy power metal. Sure, they tried to do that whole Goethe's Faust thing at one point, but if you think they even came close to the complexity of that work then I don't know what to tell you. There's obviously a difference of sound between eras, but I don't think substance has anything to do with it. It's just a question of do you prefer their old sound vs the new one. They've never had depth imo.

That being said, eh. New stuff is okay. Same sort of shit, different album. I liked the second single a lot more than the first though.


The stuff they did from Fourth Legacy through Black Halo was just much better constructed and written. Songs stayed with you (well, they did with me anyway) and the music just had more meat on the bone, drama, presence, etc. I like Ghost Opera and Silverthorn too but there was definitely a change in how they started writing songs even on those ones. More keyboard stuff, a certain feel like they were falling back on a more rigid formula. I guess everyone's taste will vary. I definitely think they were a more substantial band before.
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LycanthropeMoon
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Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2014 11:53 pm
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 16, 2023 2:13 pm 
 

I dunno, I think Roy Khan had some genuinely thoughtful lyrics - his words were pretty fun to dissect, especially on the stuff from TFL up to/including "The Black Halo". I think they did have a good amount of depth, both in terms of music and lyricism. The songwriting during that era was impeccable - layered, interesting and catchy. There's a reason I go back to those albums frequently and consider that era of Kamelot to basically be my favorite power metal band, lol.

The newer stuff doesn't have as much depth, but it's (mostly) fun to listen to ("The Shadow Theory" really was an uninspired slog... with the exception of "Vespertine" and "Stories Untold").

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yungstirjoey666
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 16, 2023 2:26 pm 
 

I always thought that Kamelot, Roy Khan-era in particular, is among the lesser cheesy spectrum. Of course, it really depends on what people define as "cheese" nowadays, but Kamelot seemed to have less of that compared to other European bands. Heck, I always associate Avantasia as relatively lacking cheese, even if they have cheesy elements such as blatant softness and nonsensical lyrics.

Empyreal wrote:
This band, Avantasia and others seem to fall back on a lot of those cinematic, flow-y, Disney-ish orchestral stuff - pretty stock really.


I suppose that's what's makes symphonic metal appealing to more casual fans; it takes the symphonies that a lot of us enjoy, and add some distortion to add more "sound" to it or whatever. Not that I'm complaining; I enjoy it, though I do wish that bands could balance the production between the distortion and orchestra elements better; nowadays it sounds a bit overpolished to my taste.

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yungstirjoey666
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Joined: Mon Sep 23, 2019 8:47 am
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Location: United States
PostPosted: Wed Mar 15, 2023 12:05 pm 
 

New Kam song



I think this song is pretty enjoyable. Aside from the flag song, the album seems promising so far, but it's too early to make a judgement.

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tobi is an animal
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue Mar 20, 2018 1:29 pm
Posts: 145
PostPosted: Wed Mar 15, 2023 12:33 pm 
 

Looking forward to the new album this Friday.

I wonder if the bonus track Call Of The Void is another instrumental like Angel Of Refraction was?

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LycanthropeMoon
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 15, 2023 10:03 pm 
 

I like this better than "One More Flag in the Ground" but not as much as "Opus of the Night (Ghost Requiem)". An enjoyable song - some of the melodies make me think of the older stuff, though the chorus leaves a bit to be desired imo.

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LycanthropeMoon
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 17, 2023 1:08 am 
 

First impressions of the album:

Stronger than "The Shadow Theory" for sure - better hooks and melodies, more upbeat sound. Probably won't change the minds of people that aren't into the Karevik era, though.

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yungstirjoey666
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 17, 2023 11:02 am 
 

Yeah, it was pretty good. Not their best (nothing can top Karma or Epica), but definitely better than Shadow Theory and a few others.

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Ace_Rimmer
Metal freak

Joined: Wed Jun 14, 2017 11:30 am
Posts: 4603
PostPosted: Fri Mar 17, 2023 12:15 pm 
 

Benedict Donald wrote:
Meh. this band have degraded into the Marvel movies of metal. All flash and special effects and light on substance. Pass.


Yep. I put Khan era Kamelot at the top of the power metal heap. It doesn't help that I'm not a fan of the current singer but describing them as the Marvel movies of the music world is pretty accurate.

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Empyreal
The Final Frontier

Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 6:58 pm
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 17, 2023 12:25 pm 
 

First song could be worse - pleasant enough I guess. I feel like you've heard everything it has to offer after the first chorus though... just kinda boring. Playing it safe.

"Opus of the Night" may be the most generic Nuclear Blast metal tune of the year and then they follow it with a sterile sounding ballad. Not great so far. "Eventide" was pretty OK.

edit again... there's some pretty good pop metal numbers in the second half. "Bloodmoon," "Nightsky," "Looking Glass," all actually solid tunes even if they still sound a bit robotic to me.

edit for the final time... it's not a bad album or anything. Ultimately it just feels kind of processed and mechanical, with parts that seemingly every band like this indulges in as if on autopilot, and the band can't really write songs that beat their classic ones... not as deeply felt nor as hooky. But there is some alright stuff on this. Not sure I got a lot out of it but it's what it is at the end of the day, a popular, sort of manufactured pop metal album.
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yungstirjoey666
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 17, 2023 3:42 pm 
 

I'd say my biggest pet peeve of the album is that the female background vocals in tracks like One More Flag and Opus sound a bit too static or something. Needs better production, or just get rid of it completely.

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ChildClownOutlet
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Dec 16, 2011 4:52 pm
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 17, 2023 3:52 pm 
 

It's not great, it's not terrible, Eventide and Bloodmoon are pretty good I guess.
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