ALBUM REVIEW: The Awakening – Kamelot
Symphonic power metal isn’t all about being goofy, despite what most of the acts might have led you to believe. KAMELOT have carved out a chunk of the genre all for themselves by virtue of their affinity for the darker side of things; while bands like HELLOWEEN have more tongue-in-cheek than a French kissing competition, there are few to no dragons allowed in the seriousness department that Thomas Youngblood runs.
Jokes aside, KAMELOT are not where they are by accident or moodiness alone. Since their inception, Youngblood has poured himself into each album with a meticulousness bordering on obsession, and with five years to craft since 2018’s The Shadow Legacy, what that sort of attention to detail gets you is an all-out experience. New effort The Awakening is exactly that.
From the initial galloping strides of the immediate classic power metal stomper The Great Divide, The Awakening promises and delivers a cinematic-scale journey, packed with tracks deep and layered enough to get completely lost in. Take Opus Of The Night (Ghost Requiem), a relentless medley of strings from guest cellist Tina Guo amping up a furious chorus-driven hurricane that will sweep you up into it and not let go. Or the massive New Babylon, powered forward by EPICA’s Simone Simons and AD INFINITUM’s Melissa Bonny that crushes with one hand and caresses with the other. Power metal is almost predicated on a huge deepness of sound, but The Awakening takes this to all-encompassing levels.
While epic measure is never in short supply, there’s a noticeable slightness in places throughout. Not enough to detract from the bombast on display, but in smaller elements and softer touches that create accessibility that was lacking in previous KAMELOT efforts. The subdued piano notes trickling over the intro of The Looking Glass’ hammering drums, for example, temper the blow without stunting the impact to create a welcoming effect for anyone overwhelmed by the sheer force of the rest of the album. Some moments tread too lightly – token ballad Midsummer’s Eve is far too flimsy to prop up the middle of the album – but strung throughout the entire playthrough these add up, smartly widening the audience without losing too much punch.
In a sea of notable performances behind the instruments, Tommy Karevik continues to shape the frontman role around his strengths. He doesn’t regularly hit the highest of high notes in what seems to be a measuring stick for some power metal vocalists, but his sheer showmanship is a weapon unto itself. The aforementioned Opus Of The Night has him in full showcase mode, flitting between notes like each is too hot to stick on. Some moments don’t quite gel – the crack at growling aggression in One More Flag In The Ground falls flat – but this role in the band is his as much as anyone who came before him, which is no small feat.
Riding on its own wave in the symphonic metal space, The Awakening benefits from every inch of the dark and glorious landscape it lovingly paints. The album is put together note by note like the world depends on it, creating a broadside blast of ultragoth that feels simultaneously uniquely KAMELOT and yet the most accessible work they’ve released to date. It’s simply huge in both performance and effort and, power metal affection depending, is well worth getting lost in for an hour or so. Maybe more than once.
Rating: 8/10
The Awakening is set for release on March 17th via Napalm Records.
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