Review Summary: Can a bombastic dystopia encompass a melodic silver lining?
Haven is Kamelot's second studio album with the Swede Tommy Karevik on vocals and it is certainly a much more realized attempt than its predecessor, Silverthorn. The latter being an album that, while enjoyable throughout, won't eventually age well considering its too safe approach, stagnant sound and predictable progression. Haven, on the other hand, is a much more ambitious and at the same time straightforward and honest effort. The album's concept features an attempt to escape a dystopian and maddening society. While the mainstream media clichés around this worn-out setting are still there, the underlying message from start to finish is, as the band themselves explained, an attempt to simultaneously blend frustration and optimism. The album fully succeeds in that regard. The ability to deliver on this emotional premise is the strongest point in favor of Kamelot's 11th offering.
In order to explain that, we have to delve into some less literary, and more technical-oriented matters. The first thing that stands out, compared to previous albums, is Karevik's vocal delivery. It's finally evident that he is a wunderkind concerning melodic awareness and lyrical reciting. Who could be a better fit for a band that made a name based on their theatrical approach to power metal? The vocal intricacies Karevik employs add a much needed layer of obscurity into the band's otherwise predictable and "safe" sound. The bare-bone song structures remain the same and Grillo's drumming is yet again full of energy albeit standard for a power metal act. Same goes for Tibbetts' bass playing. The much needed diversity comes from the artistic choices concerning the melodic parts. The delivery once again is not as standard as it might seem at first glance and most songs feature nice twists and turns even among their own choruses. Youngblood and Palotai (even though their instrumental solos sometimes feel forced) manage to complement Karevik in an interesting melodic delivery that ultimately manages to capture the essence of the album's concept.
The mixture of aggressiveness and theatricality is carried out superbly throughout most songs. This doesn't mean that the band never slips into cheesy and cringe-worthy crevices (always given the genre's already wide merits). Songs like the atrocious "End of Innocence" and the lead single "Veil of Elysium" prove to be a good measure against highlights such as the electrifying single "Insomnia", the symphonic power ballad "Under Grey Skies" or the rhythmically catchy "My Therapy". The other musical themes further enhance the concept of the album. The song "Beautiful Apocalypse" with its industrial touches or the aggressive pieces "Liar, Liar" and "Revolution" with the harsh vocals provided by Alissa White-Gluz.
An important factor concerning Kamelot are their lyrics. Unfortunately, the overall impression, carried onto Haven by Silverthorn, is that the band tries hard to imitate Khan's mastery of the subject. Thankfully, Karevik's delivery manages to conceal once again another weak point of the album. This, however, does not mean that there are not steps taken in the right direction. The pseudo-intellectual and "serious" word choices and lyrical themes (like in "Veil of Elysium") are once again challenged by an antithesis featuring natural-flowing lyrical passages fit for Kamelot's sound, such as the chorus from "Citizen Zero", which somehow reminds us of the Khan era lyrical compositions:
When the hounds are out
Feeding me a lie
When the hounds are out
My sickness is released
When the cards are down
For all the world to see
When the cards are down
And the strings are cut
These mannequins will sleep
