Kamelot – Poetry for the Poisoned (2010)

Three years after releasing “Ghost Opera”, Kamelot is finally back with a very different and ambitious album then ever before. The band steps aside of their traditional Power Metal roots and takes an exploratory journey with progressive elements. This creates a very dark and yet refined release that will most likely please most fans of the band, but will leave some in the dark.

Our first impression of this album was not completely favorable since we expected something to sound more like older Kamelot releases. But upon exploring our 3rd, 4th, and 5th time we started to appreciate the album from its differences to older releases rather than the similarities. You will find the traditional vocal melodies of Roy, the impressive guitar work of Thomas, and all the other individual elements that make Kamelot a great band, but in different doses and with extra elements that elevate the band’s sound.

Since the first song of this album, “The Great Pandemonium”, you can hear the experimental side of things. With the guest appearance of Björn “Speed” Strid of Soilwork fame, the band takes things a bit heavier using his clean and harsh vocal powers mixed with Roy’s traditional vocal melodies, there is also an ethereal female backing track that greatly enhances the song. The beginning futuristic keyboards sound a bit like Ayreon and such bands, but feel just right in this song. By adding the solo near the end of the song, we get a well rounded epic song that is one of the best of the album.

Besides Björn, we have guest appearances by Simone Simmons on two songs, Jon Oliva in one song, Amanda Somerville on choirs in one song, and new Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Gus G. on another track. All these guest appearances give you the feeling of listening to an Avantasia album or something like that, but they really add to the overall epicness of Kamelot’s sound and provide fresh vocal melodies into the mix, as well as a ripping solo on “Hunter’s Season”.

The general songwriting of “Poetry for the Poisoned” is very good and while a bit different from what we are used to hear from Kamelot, it shows the versatility that this musicians have in terms of creating original music that never repeats it self. The vocal melodies are top notch, but there are some differences when it comes to Roy’s range, in this release it seems a bit ‘pulled back’ in order to favor a more melancholic feeling to the songs.

As for favorite songs goes, every single song in “Poetry for the Poisened” as great elements that makes it hard to choose some. However, “The Great Pandemonium” feels like one of the best well-rounded songs in this album, “The Zodiac” has the great Jon Oliva providing his creepy-but-great vocals, giving this song great depth and more theatrics. “Hunter’s Season” and “House on a Hill” are probably the most emotional tracks of this release and deserve a mention for this. The “Poetry for the Poisoned” 4-part saga has enough substance to stand as a perfect EP by itself, and feature some of the best musical and vocal performances of this album.

Overall, we didn’t really expected to enjoy this album as much, but after a few listens and paying attention to the details, we managed to get a truly rewarding listening experience from it. We think that the key of the enjoyment of this album is not to compare it to something else and take it as it comes, it’s more complex, it’s darker, but it still is Kamelot after all.

Release: September 14th, 2010

Country: USA