Silverthorn

I got Kamelot's new album on Halloween. Let's get started, shall we?

Like DragonForce's new album The Power Within earlier this year, Silverthorn is Kamelot's first album with a new vocalist, in this case Swedish singer Tommy Karevik of Seventh Wonder. I've made no secret of the fact that Khan was one of my favorite metal singers of all time. And yet, shockingly--Karevik is very nearly his equal. Rather than go for a completely different-sounding vocalist which would almost certainly have been a losing bet for Kamelot, they tried to find as close a replacement for Khan as possible, and in Karevik they have succeeded as much as anyone possibly could. He doesn't just fill the same need like Marc Hudson did for DragonForce, but manages to sound (and look) very similar to Khan. He has nearly all of Khan's passion, nuance, and raw power that made albums like The Black Halo so memorable, at times sounding like a slightly pitched-shifted version of his precedessor. Though I still prefer Khan  perhaps because I was more used to him, the vocals on this album are all superb by any standard--certainly better than on Khan's first album with Kamelot, Siege Perilous.

Overall, Silverthorn is a bit of a turning from the quasi-progressive experimentation of Poetry for the Poisoned back to the symphonic grandeur of Ghost Opera or earlier albums. The songs are generally more normally-structured, like on Kamelot's earlier albums. It is, however, a concept album, though like with The Black Halo this may not be evident on first listen. The storybook I got with the deluxe edition of the album helps. Also like The Black Halo and unlike Epica, the songs are less narrative than they are thoughtful and introspective, the musings and remembrances of an imprisoned man looking back on the tragic course of his life. It's a good story, but I won't spoil too much of it here.

Anyway, on to the actual songs. The first song "Manus Dei" is a bombastic, choir-and-orchestra driven intro along the lines of Rhapsody of Fire and Nightwish, the first sign that this album is more symphonic and less experimental than the previous one. The first we hear of Tommy Karevik is his recitation of the first verse of "My Confession" at the end. And then we launch into the album standout, "Sacrimony (Angel of Afterlife)". My jaw dropped as soon as this song started and I was practically rejoicing by the time it ended. Beginning with a booming guitar riff with echoing horns above and double-bass drumming below, it easily surpasses the energy of anything on Poetry, beyond even the title track of Ghost Opera or "When the Lights Are Down" on The Black Halo. It has a standard soft-loud contrast between the verses and chorus, but what a chorus--possibly the best of any Kamelot song, ever. (Especially the penultimate time, when it is echoed by guest vocalist Elize Ryd) Quite possibly my favorite Kamelot song ever.

Unfortunately, after the mind-blowing amazingness of "Sacrimony", the album can't help but go somewhat downhill from there. Where it soars through the clouds, "Ashes to Ashes" chugs along more slowly, with a much heavier atmosphere and some cool riffs in the chorus that would not sound out of place on a Meshuggah album. (Only with Karevik's sparkling vocals on top instead of crazed death-howls) Its other highlight is the cool dueling guitar and synth solo. It would be a fine song if it hadn't come right after such a strong one. "Torn" is considerably more melodic and "power metal" and showcases more of Karevik's higher register (fine chorus; again, it's just hard not to compare it with "Sacrimony"). If my audiophile gear and ears are not mistaken, the verse also has an interesting harmony going between the guitar and bass.

After that, "Song for Jolee" is a fairly excellent ballad, with piano and synth-orchestra as the only instrumentation for most of the song before a marching drumbeat prefaces the whole band joining in for one last hurrah. Like "Eva" for Nightwish, this song serves to show that Kamelot's new vocalist is still great when he's not going full-throttle. And don't worry--the lyrics are part of the album's concept and the song doesn't come off as cheesy. It's no "Abandoned", but surprisingly good.

"Veritas" has more of a marching rhythm (as long as I am comparing this album to previous ones, like "March of Mephisto"); its main feature is the choir that sings the Latin part of the increasingly-raucous chorus. (You know it's proper Latin because Luca Turilli of Rhapsody of Fire is credited as "Latin consultant") I'm not as big a fan of Karevik's vocals on this song. Also of note: the cool accordion outro in the end.

"My Confession" starts with a rather awesome phased chugging guitar pattern over a string quartet (this album has a lot of guest talent) Karevik's vocals in the chorus flow like a picturesque river and make this song another of my favorites. The during/after chorus riff on this song has a great, driving tempo to it that catches my ear. "Silverthorn" seemed like one of the album's lowlights at first, but it's been growing on me. Thomas does an excellent job on the guitar, seeming to take the spotlight and yield it to Karevik at just the right times. The slow, meandering vocal style in the chorus almost reminds me of Khan in "The Edge of Paradise". Truly Tommy is a singer of many talents.

"Falling Light the Fahrenheit" is one of the slowest songs, kind of in the same vein as "The Mourning After (Carry On)" and carrying a kind of stately majesty in its deliberateness. Sadly, though, it is not as cool as its name sounds. "Solitaire" (the second Kamelot song of that name), by contrast, is a considerably faster song, with prominent and rapid double-bass drumming (with synchronized guitar!) in the intense chorus, a welcome shift after the last few songs. It also has one of the best lines of the album, as Karevik/the narrator drinks a glass of "I forgot the name" in the first verse.

The epic of the album, "Prodigal Son", is a three-part compositional masterpiece. Though they are nothing alike, it's hard to resist comparing it with "Memento Mori" as they are nearly the same length, a comparison in which "Prodigal Son" doesn't fare well. It's still fascinating, though. The first of three segments evokes a funeral mass, with tolling bells, a quiet, solemn organ melody, and very subdued vocals. The second time through the verses, these are replaced by an acoustic guitar followed by, drums, bass, and strings. It could almost sound like a ballad as the second part gets considerably heavier and more passionate, keeping the same plodding tempo. Finally, things really start to pick up in the third part, which ditches the funeral pretense and is one of the strongest parts of the album, as if all the musical threads Kamelot has been spinning in this album come together for one majestic conclusion. After this, symphonic piece "Continuum" winds down with Cinzia Rizzo (last heard singing cabaret in Italian on The Black Halo) doing an ethereal, wordless vocal solo as if to transport us back to the mortal realm.

I hesitate to call Silverthorn a disappointment, but it kind of is. Perhaps because of their focus on replacing Khan (which I think they succeed at), Kamelot doesn't really reinvent themselves on this album as they have been in the habit of doing. Maybe the album just needs more time to grow on me, but it seems like for every amazing, memorable song ("Sacrimony", "My Confession", "Song for Jolee", "Solitaire", "Prodigal Son"), there is a merely so-so song; there is less distinction than on previous albums. So-so for Kamelot is still, of course, good by any standard. I was hoping that Silverthorn would have more power metal influences from Epica and earlier, which it does not. Still, the orchestral turn this album takes does work, moving them a bit more into the vein of Nightwish than before. It's a great album for fans of the band (for whom I highly recommend the limited edition with the storybook and bonus disc), but people interested in Kamelot from my constantly promoting them would do better to start with The Black Halo or Ghost Opera.