Review Summary: Kamelot bounce back in a mighty way to overcome their previous album and create an album for everyone to enjoy.
Before I dig too deep into this album I should come out and say that I am still relatively new to Kamelot. The only album (other than Haven) that I’ve listened to by Kamelot is Silverthorn. I left that album very unimpressed and while I enjoyed the occasional Kamelot single, I had never actually dived into their music collection. However, I’m very happy to report that this new batch of songs from Kamelot on the album “Haven” show that Kamelot are a force to be reckoned with, as the band takes a dramatic step forward and show that they’re much better than their previous album suggested.
Not every song is perfect. In fact, the very first song on the album “Fallen Star” had me feeling that this album was going to be very similar to their predecessor album “Silverthorn”. However, we then jump into the very fast paced and very intense song “Insomnia”. The combination of keyboards, violin, and guitar in the beginning of the song show a great amount of creativity and Tommy Karevik’s voice fits the band perfectly. The keyboards, specifically, take front and center stage during this song and works on every level. The guitar solo is very well written and the addition of the keyboard toward the end of the solo show one of the most creative songs I’ve heard in recent years.
“Insomnia” is just the beginning of what becomes to be a fantastic album. “Citizen Zero” follows “Insomnia” and shows a slower side of Kamelot. The beginning guitar work gives us as the audience an eerie feeling and while the guitar progressions aren’t difficult, they’re still very creative. As mentioned earlier, Tommy Karevik’s voice fits this song perfectly and it’s hard to believe Kamelot had a different singer not all that long ago. This leads us to the next track on the album “Veil of Elysium”, which contains a very similar vibe to “Insomnia”, which is a great thing. We are once again introduced to a very interesting and creative combination of keyboards, violin, and guitar. The guitar and violin take front and center stage during this song and the combination shows that there are endless amounts of songs you can create with this combination, each song being very distinct in its own right.
After “Veil of Elysium” we are treated to the ballad titled “Under Grey Skies”, which has a very similar vibe to the song “Elan” by Nightwish and introduces an articulate acoustic guitar. The track also features Delain’s Charlotte Wessels, who adds nice calm female vocals towards the end of the track. This is a drastic switch from the previous song “Veil of Elysium”, but the song is a great track on its own.
The final song I’d like to briefly discuss is the song Liar Liar (Wasted Monarchy), featuring Alissa White-Gluz from Arch Enemy. When I first heard about this combination, I wasn’t sure if Alissa would fit in well with Kamelot’s style. I’m glad to say that I was 100% wrong about that. Alissa’s role in the song is limited till the very end, but her role is used so well that we come to appreciate it even more. Plus, Alissa shows off her clean vocals for the first time, which is much more impressive than I imagined. The combination of a clean male singer and a growling female vocalists makes this song unique. It’s not very often you come across a combination such as this.
Before listening to “Haven”, my only experience with Kamelot was “Silverthorn”, which was a massive disappointment. “Silverthorn” lacked energy and passion, but Kamelot has reversed course with “Haven”. There’s truly no bad song on this album. Even though “Fallen Star” was a rough start to the album, the good of this album far outweighs the bad. Songs such as “Insomnia”, “Veil of Elysium”, and “Liar Liar (Wasted Monarchy)” are fantastic additions to Kamelot’s music. Praise also needs to be given to songs such as “Citizen Zero” and “Under Grey Skies”. The whole album is a must listen for all symphonic metal fans. Even if you’ve never listened to symphonic metal, this is a great album to start on. Give this album a chance and you won’t be disappointed.
