Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Kamelot
Label: Napalm Records
Release: 2018
Runtime: 52:13
Rating: 3.5/5
The European-American power/prog metallers Kamelot are back with their twelfth studio album, »The Shadow Theory«, which brings one important change: longtime member Casey Grillo has left, and his replacement is Belgian drummer Johan Nunez (Firewind, ex-Nightrage). On »The Shadow Theory« Kamelot once again cling to their standard, long-predictable symphonic metal recipe, which over the past fifteen years has become known for guest female backing vocals, on select tracks only, of course.
This time the roles of ‘beauty’ and ‘beast’ on three tracks were played (and sung) by Jennifer Haben (Beyond the Black) as the ‘beauty’ and Lauren Hart (Once Human), who growls her way through the ‘female beast’ part on »Phantom Divine (Shadow Empire)« and »MindFall Remedy«. All the essential Kamelot ingredients are still here: the melodic, epic vocal approach of Tommy Karevik, who is releasing the album »Tiara« with Swedish prog metallers Seventh Wonder this October, the fiery, fast guitar runs of Thomas Youngblood, the mighty orchestral arrangements of Oliver Palotai, and a solid rhythm tandem of Nunez and Sean Tibbetts. The rather generic production was once again handled by none other than Sascha Paeth, one of the key patrons of modern power metal. The lyrics are, as always, a mix of gothic fantasies and erotic yearnings, and once again there’s no shortage of an extremely generic cover with a femme fatale in a gothic ‘cocoon’.
»The Shadow Theory« as a whole is thus a typical Kamelot album, and with the epic, dramatic punch that rules most of it, it’ll make all the longtime fans happy, even if it’s not without a few missteps. The otherwise very solid »Burns to Embrace«, for instance, gets quite a bit spoiled by a cheap ending with playful, totally out-of-place female harmonies. Haben shines in a vocal duet with Karevik on the ballad »In Twilight Hours«, which, despite an excellent guitar solo, is a pretty clichéd power metal ballad of the kind Kamelot have strung together by the dozen so far. Even though »The Shadow Theory« has thirteen tracks, they sound so much alike that hardly any of them stick in your memory for more than a few minutes. »Stories Embrace« could sit on any Kamelot album, while »Vespertine (My Crimson Bride)« has slightly baroque symphonic arrangements that for a split second bring to mind symphonic metal comrades Rhapsody of Fire, but it doesn’t break any ‘new ice’.
On »The Shadow Theory« Kamelot once again stick faithfully to their long-running, tried-and-tested and successful symphonic metal recipe, not budging from it by a single millimeter, which will of course please most of the longtime fans, since it’s yet another very solid album made to their taste. Still, they should give up hoping that the band has returned to the standards of their best days, led by the unforgettable peak »The Black Halo« (2005). It’s lucky that Kamelot no longer put out albums every year or every other year, otherwise even the most devoted power/prog metal fans would get sick of the chronic shortage of innovative ideas, which is far from just a plague on their darlings, but becomes a problem for plenty of similar bands once they hit a certain creative point and have recorded more than ten studio albums.
Lineup
Tommy Karevik – vocals
Thomas Youngblood – guitar
Sean Tibbetts – bass
Oliver Palotai – keyboards
Johan Nunez – drums, percussion
GUEST SINGERS:
Lauren Hart – additional vocals (2.9)
Jennifer Haben – additional vocals (6)
Sascha Paeth – production, guitar, keyboards, additional vocals (12)
Production
Sascha Paeth and Kamelot
Tracklist
1. The Mission
2. Phanto Divine (Shadow Empire)
3. RavenLight
4. Amnesiac
5. Burns To Embrace
6. In Twilight Hours
7. Kevlar Skin
8. Static
9. MindFall Remedy
10. Stories Unheard
11. Vespertine (My Crimson Bride)
12. The Proud and The Broken
13. Ministrium (Shadow Key)
