Somewhere between power metal and a film soundtrack, there’s Kamelot. That space has been theirs for years, and on “Dark Asylum” they occupy every inch of it.
There’s a scene in “Frasier” where he says: “If less is more, just think how much more ‘more’ will be.” This subscribes firmly to that view. There is so much here. So many layers. It is grandiose, resolutely metal and remarkably mellifluous.
Fourteen albums into their career, Kamelot are pulling back the curtains on the RavenHill Asylum. And yeah, OK, it’s a concept album, but you know our views on that: sounds great, pal, but are the songs any good?
These are. My God.
“Sanctorium” opens the doors with cinematic menace before “Ashen World” introduces Decessus frontwoman and Miss World Chile champion Ignacia Fernández. Her harsh vocals add another dimension to something that already sounds vast.
There are no guests on the title track, but none are required. Tommy Karevik’s chorus soars, the drums thunder, the keyboards parp and Thomas Youngblood’s guitars slash through the orchestration. Kamelot really are brilliant at this.
“Sanctuary” moves from Fernández’s harsh vocals to something gloriously sweet as Clémentine Delauney of Visions Of Atlantis joins her. It has everything and, in places, is as heavy as Kamelot get.
“Nocte Veritas” provides a brief bridge into “One Last Masquerade”, where Avantasia mastermind Tobias Sammet displays his full range. Overbearing might be the word, but only Sammet could conceive of music this enormous and only Kamelot could provide the surroundings to make it seem natural.
“Ivy, My Dear” is dark, almost like a folk tale, its flute taking the record into strange places. “Godlike Alchemy” adds an orchestral tinge for good measure, while, by comparison with everything around it, “The Sleeping Mind (Orphic Paradigm)” is relatively standard, modern-tinged power metal.
You know you’re deep into a concept when a song has brackets that require Googling. Apparently, an Orphic Paradigm is a foundational shift in ancient Greek thought that redefined the relationship between humanity, the soul and the divine. Clear as mud.
What is easier to understand is that the solo on “Kaleidoscope” is magnificent. “Enigma (Think Of Me)” is every bit as epic, because even the love songs here ache on a colossal scale. It absolutely soars.
“Cassandra’s Disease” underlines the quality of the songwriting before “Beneath The Moon (Tunglið)” brings together Eluveitie violinist Lea-Sophie Fischer and the ethereal voices of Rannveig Sif Sigurðardóttir and Sólveig Sara Leupold. The vocals are sensational.
Billy King’s additional choral layers enrich the immersive sound throughout, while Kiara Huber’s evocative introduction helps establish the atmosphere. By the time “The Puppet King” arrives, it is worth reflecting that, in an age when we are continually told the album is dead, here is one with 15 songs and no dips.
“Sanctum Requiem” is best understood like the end of a film: the credits rolling after something spectacular.
Kamelot are arguably the best band of their type in the world. “Dark Asylum” proves it.
Rating: 9/10
