•
Rating: Defining Kamelot as "just" a band devoted to power metal is limiting. Limiting if, like most people, you believe that power metal is only about double bass drums, perpetual solos, siren-like high-pitched vocals, sugary melodies with some nice riffs, and song structures that are always the same or almost so.
Kamelot is an atypical power band, similar to Angra, because, lo and behold, they evolve. In their first three albums (Eternity, Dominion, and Siege Perilous), they were indeed devoted to a genre closer to the progressive with complex and non-linear tracks, while with the release of The Fourth Legacy (and continuing with Karma and Epica) they embarked on a more melodic sound journey, in some ways easy, and successful. In 2005 with The Black Halo and now with the blazing The Ghost Opera, Kamelot has started to explore darker, gothic shores with less direct and more cinematic sounds (many pieces indeed seem written for a film).
In short, what I mean to say is that if you contemptuously define Kamelot as one of the many mediocre power metal bands saturating the market by always proposing the same old clichés of the Keepers Of The Seven Keys, with all due respect, I tell you that you understand absolutely nothing about music.
Now, let's review Karma. The fifth offspring of their discography represents, without a doubt, one of the highest points of melodic power metal. The band has finally found the right balance and Roy Khan's intriguing and often melancholic voice offers its best alongside Youngblood's guitar work. The production, entrusted to two masters like Paeth/Miro, is extremely meticulous, as is the heterogeneous track list of the album.
The sound, as widely mentioned, is generally attributable to power, in the sense that more emphasis is placed on the melodic side. This doesn't deny that every song is filled with sad atmospheres, rhythm changes, breaks that elevate the songs' level. The track "Karma" is a clear example. The band manages to blend oriental and futuristic sounds in a track featuring a wonderful crescendo. "Forever" is another heavy punch, which is consistently performed live for its refrain, known for its atypical vocal lines in which Khan shines.
In my opinion, two other moments are the dizzying highlights of the album that deserve to be described: the wonderful suite "Elizabeth" and the ballad "Don't You Cry". The former is divided into three parts (for a total of about a dozen minutes) of pure ecstasy and enjoyment. We are first lulled in the sad, melancholic, and passionate "Mirror Mirror"; shortly after, we are catapulted without force into a heavy-thrash called "Fall From Grace". Class! "Don't You Cry" is an acoustic ballad that the guitarist dedicates to his recently departed father. Khan's spine-chilling performance is simply unmissable.
Karma is a wonderful CD, the pinnacle of one of the most underrated bands in the field. Albums like these need to be purchased and promoted, all the rest is useless chatter.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Forever (04:07)
There's a pain within
That I can't define
There's an empty space
Where your love used to shine
From the night we met
Till the day you died
Do you think I wished
Do you still believe I tried
All too soon we were divided
And life had just begun
Will you revive from the chaos in my mind
Where we still are bound together
Will you be there waiting by the gates of dawn
When I close my eyes forever
I belong to you
You belong to me
It's the way things are
Always meant to be
Like the morning star
And the rising sun
You convey my life
And forgive me what I've done
All too soon we were divided
In the darkness and light
Will you revive from the chaos in my mind
Where we still are bound together
Will you be there waiting by the gates of dawn
When I close my eyes forever
Save me
Reverse how I'm thinking of you
Every breath I take
Brings me closer
Closer to forever, to you
I'm waiting for the day that I'm gone
03 Wings of Despair (04:32)
sometimes my visions
are distant and vague
down at the base
of the mountain
once in a while I am
weak and afraid
tired and sick of it all
I don't believe
that my story is set
nothing is destined
or blatant
bound to this body
a world full of hate
no one will heed if I fall
no one can see it
but you know that it's there
guiding the steps of your soul
holding the truth
in the cross that you bear
die with a heart that is bold
fly on the wings of despair
no one is holding you back
the call on the wild is internal
conquer the silence you fear
tomorrow will not fade to black
a new day is dawning
remember
no one's controlling your fate
the questions are more
than the answers I know
that doesn't mean you are lonely
searching for more
consecutive goal's
making it worth to go on
no one can see it
but you know that it's there
guiding the steps of your soul
holding the truth
in the cross that you bear
die with a heart that is bold
fly on the wings of despair
no one is holding you back
the call of the wild is internal
conquer the silence you fear
tomorrow will not fade to black
a new day is dawning
remember
no one's controlling your fate
you, and you alone
is forging the path
leave your sorrows with the past
never believe
that the story is set
nothing is destined
or blatant
bound to this body
a world full of hate
no one will heed if you fall
04 The Spell (04:20)
where has all the magic gone
lost behind or lost along
a victim of the pulse of our society
don't you miss the ancient times
the riddles and the subtle signs
a relative perspective on reality
I get stronger in the splendor
of a lucid moon
I'm a creature of the night
all my demons cast a spell
the souls of dusk rising from the ashes
so the book of shadows tell
the weak will always obey the master
heading for the dragons lair
another time and a different sphere
I leave the nothingness behind
and when the sense of logic yields
I'll escape the outer shields
into the universal mind
I get stronger in the splendor
of a lucid moon
only creatures of the night
can heal my wounds
all my demons cast a spell
the souls of dusk rising from the ashes
so the book of shadows tell
the weak will always obey the master
all my demons cast a spell
the souls of dusk rising from the ashes
so the book of shadows tell
the weak will always obey the master
05 Don't You Cry (04:18)
Little by little
I've come to this point
On my own I've been searching my way
I lost you so early
The days went so fast
You don't know how I prayed every day
A song to remember
A song to forget
You'll never know how I tried
To make you proud
And to honor your name but
But you never told me goodbye
Now that you are gone casting shadows from the past
You and all the memories will last
Don't you cry
Or suffer over me
I will be waiting for you
Don't you cry
Angels never fade away
I'll be watching over you
See you through
Now I'm a man and
I'm feeling you still
Could it be you were there all along
A time to surrender
A time to forgive
With solace I give you this song
Now that you are gone casting shadows from the past
In my dreams I hear your voice at last
Don't you cry
Or suffer over me
I will be waiting for you
Don't you cry
Angels never fade away
I'll be watching over you
I can see you tonight
In the pale winter light
Father and son again
The bond of blood will never end
Don't you cry
Or suffer over me
I will be waiting for you
Don't you cry
Angels never fade away
I'll be watching over you
Don't you cry
Or suffer over me
I will be waiting for you
Don't you cry
Angels never fade away
I'll be watching over you
See you through
06 Karma (05:12)
I am a king of honor
gold and glory
but every king must also die
have I been just and righteous
what is glory
I know I've torn and taken life
and here I stand
a small and simple man
who will trade his karma for my kingdom
a sacrificial rite to render truth
the fire in my soul rejects my wisdom
cause all you do in life comes back to you
I am a king in crisis
counting minutes
there is an ending to my reign
my sins have come to face me
I can feel it
that I have lived my life in vain
and now I know I'll reap
the seeds I've sown
who will trade his karma for my kingdom
a sacrificial rite to render truth
the fire in my soul rejects my wisdom
cause all you do in life comes back to you
am I mad
I feel so void and cold
who can tell
who holds the stories untold
tired and trembling
I am descending
will I have to stay here
and live this life again
08 Temples of Gold (04:11)
I see you when it snows
in crystals dancing down
from a sultry sky
when silence is pure and unbreakable
I can see you smiling
in every frozen tear
I can hear you whisper "You and I"
little did we know
that they were life itself
the days passing by
we both had our share in the sacrifice
once upon a time
we had something beautiful
once upon a time
I thought "you and I"
take me wherever
the answer lingers in the sand
show me the way as the story unfolds
love is remote
in this wailing winter wonderland
show me the way to the temples of gold
bless me with a kiss
across the universe
when day and night converge
and whisper my name till I fall asleep
tell me tales from days bygone
tell me little lies
tell me once again it's just "you and I"
09 Across the Highlands (03:46)
I've been witness to so many wars
that I'm blind to affliction
no ability left to remorse
it's my faith and conviction
wide awake
in this world
full of hate
I unfurl
but I am damned
if life itself is condemnation
I am immortal
thus my freedom is captivity
(chorus)
flying all across the highlands
searching for a way
to finalize my history
rising high above the mountains
reaching for the sky
closer to my sanctuary
all my life I've been trying to die
reach complete segregation
I am ready to open my eyes
to a new revelation
lost in time
there's no place
for my soul
in his embrace
for I am damned
if life itself is condemnation
I am immortal
thus my freedom is captivity
bound to live eternally
(chorus)
12 Elizabeth: III. Fall From Grace (11:05)
mirror can you tell me
how to stay forever young
let me know the secret
I will hold my twisted tongue
please protect my beauty
velvet skin so pure and white
hear my name resounding
like a hymn at dead of night
once I struck a servant
she's a virgin free from sin
drops of blood caressed me
and refined my aging skin
could this be the answer
uncorrupted carmine red
voices keep resounding
in my dazed bewildered head
have I found myself eternity
someone has heard my prayers
now I'll become divine
have I found myself divinity
I'm no longer a slave
to the vicious hands of time
Loading comments slowly
