Kamelot are one of those bands that just don’t seem to set a foot wrong. Even in the face of adversity with a massive line-up change between acclaimed vocalists, Thomas Youngblood & Co keep churning out some massive albums. With the predecessor ‘Silverthorn‘ being a masterwork in itself, it’s hard to see how its successor could follow up. But here, after a long anticipated 3 years, we have Kamelot’s new opus, ‘Haven‘, receiving the analysis to see how it weighs up in Kamelot’s legendary back-catalogue.
The album begins in a little more abstract way than the typical hard-hitting Kamelot opener. The opening lines of ‘Fallen Star‘ represent that of a ballad, demonstrating the outstanding vocal range of Tommy Karevik and the atmospheric orchestra arrangements of Oliver Patolai and Thomas Youngblood, then suddenly here are the wall of guitars that power through the main body of the track. Kamelot are back.
Almost instantaneously the main point of fascination for ‘Haven‘ becomes the guitar work that Youngblood has arranged for the album. The riffs on the album are phenomenal, and arguably the heaviest of Kamelot’s career. The abstract guitar riffs serve as an ambassador to ‘Haven’s dark and almost industrial undertones creating something slightly different to what Kamelot have produced before, but tracks like ‘Insomnia‘ and ‘Veil of Elysium‘ prove how the band have managed to add something a bit different, yet keep that same massive Kamelot sound.
Of course, as in every Kamelot album, the track list is as diverse as anyone would want it to be demonstrating songwriting abilities from the monsterous marching calls of ‘Citizen Zero‘ to the tranquil ballads of ‘Under Grey Skies‘ featuring Charlotte Wessels of Delain.
The range of vocalist Tommy Karevik highlights this aspect of Kamelot very much where his performance surpasses even that of ‘Silverthorn‘, being fully integrated into the Kamelot family now. The industrial-esque ‘Beautiful Apocalypse‘ and very metal ‘Revolution‘ with Alissa Gluz-White (Arch Enemy) all but prove Karevik is the finest addition one could possibly have hopes for, and stretches out the big boots former vocalist Roy Khan left behind.
‘Haven‘ is definitely worthy of Kamelot’s back catalogue, and one would hardly be reluctant to say that it is one of their best. The songwriting is outstanding, really keeping interest by mixing it up just a bit, yet painting Kamelot all over. It’s one of those albums you can listen to start to finish and not realise where the time has had gone, pulling a listener right into every track. It’s what Kamelot do best, and with ‘Haven‘, they’ve done it even better.
