Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Trieste / Dom pristaniških delavcev (Teatro Miela) / Italy
Concert date: 21.11.2013
Attendance: 500
Kamelot! The symphonic power metallers, active since 1991 and hailing from Tampa, Florida, released their new studio album »Silverthorn« last year! Their tenth. And now it’s time to promote it in Europe too. Kamelot have always been seen as an international lineup, despite the fact that their boss is the American Thomas Yougblood. Keyboardist Oliver Palotai lives in Stuttgart, and the newcomer Tommy Karevik, who replaced longtime vocalist Roy Khan, is from Sweden. The power metal trail, loaded with symphonic elements of epic, bombastic proportions, has given them some brilliant albums over their career and even more songs that blend metal punch with hypnotically catchy melodies, closer to European ears than American ones. That’s why Kamelot have a solid base of supporters – fans – in Europe.
In 2013, metal is shinier than ever, spread across even more subgenre forms. The bar for pushing sonic extremes, this “self-brutalization,” gets raised higher and higher every year. Power metal today is basically “love at first sight” for those who are only just discovering the realm of metal music. That means mostly kids around 20 on average. Of course, there’s still a few of us tireless diehards hooked on pomp and melodic catchiness gathered around a central vocal figure who absolutely has to sing and not growl!
Kamelot took two support acts along on this tour: Norway’s Tellus Requiem and the Netherlands’ ReVamp. Tellus Requeim cancelled their appearance in Trieste, so the job of warming up the crowd before Kamelot fell solely to ReVamp. They’re a sort of continuation of the musical legacy of After Forever. The lineup is home to one of the most impressive female vocal figures when the conversation turns to symphonic power metal bands. Floor Jansen.
The band stepped onto the stage of the packed Teatro Miela hall around nine o’clock and presented their second studio album, titled »Wild Card«, released this year at the end of August via Nuclear Blast Records. It was incredible to realize that a good chunk of the crowd packed into the front rows knew the lyrics cold and followed Floor every step of the way. The singer herself didn’t hide her delight at the positive reactions from the audience. A few times she even handed the mic over to the crowd! Three quarters of an hour of routine delivery, in which you could clearly see the experience and confident power of the solid, dynamic figure of Floor Jansen, who of course soaked up most of the attention.
The sound for the support act was damn good! Behind the mixing desk, the “most illustrious” Achim Koehler was watching over the sound, one of the best sound engineers in Europe right now when it comes to producing heavy metal. A solid, crumbling riff wall from both guitars, keyboards a bit less audible, a reliable and rock-solid rhythm section. And above all, as already mentioned, polished playing and the commanding vocal presence of the exceptional Floor Jansen.
But of course everyone had come for Kamelot. The show had been sold out for about three weeks. They even opened the upper balcony. What’s more, they removed the seats on the floor and so won precious standing room. The atmosphere was incredible. It’s not my first time at a gig in Teatro Miela, but I can say almost for certain that this hall has never seen a metal celebration like this. And the exceptional turnout throws the doors wide open for organizing more metal spectacles like this in the future, which means plenty of Slovenian metal fans will get their fill too.
Kamelot hit the audience with a forceful march from the new album »Silverthorn« called Thorn. Crowd in the air! Italian temperament flooded the venue, and from the first moment to the last the audience fanatically carried its heroes on its wings. The passion of the Italian crowd is unbelievable, and so is their devotion in this case. They even forged a chant, the recognizable tune of football stadiums, adapted of course to hail the arrival of the “magnificent” Kamelot in Trieste! As the new frontman of the “Kamelot theater,” Karevik proved to be a confident replacement for the missed Roy Khan, who left the band permanently in 2012 out of exhaustion. Ghost Opera poured oil on the fire soon after the start, and the band leader Thomas Youngblood briefly interrupted the red-hot opening of the set to greet the audience. Backing singer Alissa White-Gluz sneaks into a duet with Tommy Karevik in The Great Pandemonium, which made her the most beautiful part of the whole view of the stage! The band kept the atmosphere extraordinary by leaning heavily on its classic repertoire, which by now has of course become completely beloved among fans. The experience of the audience and band working together was exceptional. Singing the verses, knowing every single song. And the salvos of delight at the announcement of the ballad Don’t You Cry just wouldn’t die down. The crowd was eating out of Karevik’s hand. In the middle the band took a breather and retreated backstage, and for a short solo spot drummer Casey Grillo wildly took over the kit.
A show-theater beyond all limits! Direction. Everything is calculated to the inch. All the pomp, every second of the performance. It’s all one big theater. And when you realize that, on top of all this professionally tuned “aesthetics,” there’s also a hefty dose of backing tracks in play, all that “plastic” can spoil your healthy taste. Yes. Bass guitar and guitar. It was already strange that the support act’s guitars sounded more dynamic and alive than Thomas Youngblood’s guitar afterwards. The keyboards were firmly pushed into the background in the first third of the concert. You couldn’t hear what Oliver Palotai was doing “somewhere back there.” Later they fixed that. But the sound throughout the band’s set wasn’t optimal. The riffs sounded muffled, smudged. I can say it wasn’t “breathing” the way it should. No wonder, if you’re hiding behind backing tracks.
If the use of backing tracks hadn’t spoiled the impression, you’d say this was an unforgettable heavy metal party, where all those sworn to the solid sounds of metal distortion for the delight of their souls wouldn’t demand anything more. But a bit of a bitter aftertaste remained. Despite the fact that Karevik confidently filled Khan’s shoes and that “Silverthorn” is an excellent studio achievement, worthy of carrying on the artistic tradition of all the past Kamelot works marked by Khan’s excellent vocals. On top of that, the magical Floor jumps in once again for a duet with Tommy on The Haunting, and the band takes the show to its peak with two hotly demanded Kamelot classics, Karma and, as expected, the closing March Of Mephisto (with Alissa and Tommy in a duet). The crowd was visibly thrilled. And the excitement didn’t fade. Not for a long time after the gig. When all is said and done, despite the needless dose of “plastic,” what matters is that most people went home with satisfied faces, full of cheer and joy in their hearts, right?
Setlist
KAMELOT:
1. Torn
2. Ghost Opera
3. The Great Pandemonium
4. The Human Stain
5. Soul Society
6. Song for Jolee
7. Veritas
8. Center of the Universe
9. Sacrimony (Angel of Afterlife)
10. When the Lights are Down
11. Rule the World
12. My Confession
13. Keyboard and Drum Performance
14. Forever
—encore—
15. Bass Solo
16. The Haunting (Somewhere in Time)
17. Karma
18. March of Mephisto
Continuum (taped outro)
REVAMP:
1. The Anatomy of a Nervous Breakdown: On the Sideline
2. The Anatomy of a Nervous Breakdown: The Limbic System
3. Head Up High
4. Wild Card
5. Sweet Curse
6. In Sickness ‘Till Death Do Us Part: Disdain
7. The Anatomy of a Nervous Breakdown: Neurasthenia
8. In Sickness ‘Till Death Do Us Part: Disgraced
9. Wolf and Dog
Photo Gallery
