KAMELOT – Karma

A lot of bands outdo themselves this year, and Florida’s Kamelot is by no means an exception. The Fourth Legacy, which I easily picked as album of the year for 2000, has been topped by this year’s Karma – an album that is a logical step forward for the band, and also sees Kamelot more unique every year. A classical piece opens the 55.55 minutes long fifth album by the four, followed by “Forever”, destined to be a hit, yet a love song that Norwegian singer Khan wrote about a never-ending (?) relationship to his now once and for all (?) ex-girlfriend. Also, this melody is based on the Norwegian Edward Grieg’s “Solveig’s Song”, the composer mostly known for “In The Hall Of The Mountain King”.

Then there’s “Wings Of Despair”, another hit that I believe is one of the first songs written for the album, and also one that could have been included on The Fourth Legacy. Other tracks that will have your jaw dropping to the ground are the masterpiece “Karma” and “The Light Shine On You”, not to forget the absolutely stunning trilogy that ends the record, “Elizabeth”. No, not another of Khan’s ex-girlfriends, but Elizabeth Bathory, about whom the legend tells a wicked story. I’ll leave that up to you to find out.

What you also will notice on Karma, apart from the strong as ever input from Khan, bass player Glenn Barry and marathon drummer Casey Grillo, is that guitar player, and along with Khan the main songwriter, Thomas Youngblood, shines more than ever. The guy simply shreds! And a final note for the collectors: You’re going to need the US edition, the French edition and the Japanese edition, as there will be bonus tracks, bootleg video clips and Khan doing a ballad in French. I’ll trade these guys some karma any day…