Review Summary: Kamelot have truley succeeded in creating an almost perfect balance to an album taking you from progressive pieces to melodic pastures. An album that is as mysterious as it is majestic.
Poetry for the Poisoned is not so much an album, but more of a nose dive into the unforgiving realm of Kamelot's collective mind.
The album opens up with 'The Great Pandamonium' Perfect title and perfect song to open the album... HOWEVER! a very bad choice as far as a first release is concerned and here's why; Before the album finally emerged from the glorious hands of God and floated down to my CD player, I only had this one song to sell the album to me and I couldn't help but think "Not another Ghost Opera!" because although Ghost Opera was a good album it lacked the epic content of The Black Halo until you finally reached 'The Anthem' and then OH! the albums pretty much over.
The Great Pandamonium gave a heavy impression that Poetry for the Poisoned would do the same thing.
...but it didn't....
The album begins very much like Ghost Opera until it twists with 'Dear Editor' Now, yes I do realise that the Zodiac in the Dear Editor sounds like Abe from the Oddworld games but ignoring that it pretty much re-opens the album to a whole new gruesome approach to power metal with twisted yet melodic songs that separate the main focal points of the album being; House on a Hill and The Poetry for the Poisoned Quadrilogy.
When the blessed moment arrives where you embark on House on a Hill (Which would have been a perfect first release FYI!) you are greeted by Simone Simmons as she and Khan relive the Haunting in an epic and majestic fashion, whatever you think to Epica you'd have to be a fool harbouring some kind of horrendous head injury to disagree that her and Khan's voices are two sides of the same coin.
Then another batch of awesome twisted metal separates you from the main focal point of the album 'Poetry for the Poisoned' Parts 1....2....3.... and 4? (I'll get onto that in a sec) Part 1 opens a whole new chapter to this epic journey which builds and builds until some guy tells you what an Incubus is (Saves looking on Wikipedia i suppose) and then part 2 is a more melodic part to the song with Simone coming back for seconds... Now, things get a little too weird and messy by part 3 and 4 and I cannot understand why Kamelot couldn't have just put both the parts on the same track but who am I to argue... :-s
So then the album draws to a progressive and memorable end... but then "WAIT!!!" cries Kamelot! "We forgot to write an anthem" So off they went back to the studio to sneak one into the Album which they called 'Once Upon A Time' (Rule of thumb, don't put a big catchy anthem at the end of the ***ing album guys! That's what tracks 4 & 5 are for!!!) but having said that it is my favourite song on the album (As a major Sonata fan I like catchy ones... so bite me) this song basically rules to a degree unmesurable with any form of protractor leading to a climactic end to Poetry for the Poisoned!
"WAIT!" Creis Kamelot (What the *** now?)
"We wanna do a cover song!" (*** it! Why not)
And so they covered a Nick cave song which as good as it is, isn't worth reviewing as the original was *** in the first place
:-)
