Kamelot music reviews

The third release by PowerMetal group Kamelot. Full of emotion and classical elements, this record serve notice of the Knights best CD to date. All songs are arranged in a perfect blend of musicianship and song quality.The recent lineup change has only made them stronger. Incredible record from the Floridians.

Kamelot's most recent realease, Siege Perilous, lives up to its Arthurian conotations. Were the Once and Future King here today, this would be his battle music. Khan, their new front man, has the sound this band needs; his voice sounds like it was made to be with this band. Excellent technical guitar work puts them in the same class as Mettallica when they still had Cliff Burton, and stirring violins and pianos put them up there with gothic band My Dying Bride. This is the best new realease in a sea of trite, formulaic music that the industry is turning out these days. If you love powerful guitar music, excellent technique, driving vocals, and a beautiful smattering of violins, pianos, and various other classical instruments in a rock format I highly recommend this CD.

This record is Kamelots third release and it proves they are a force to be reckoned with. Thom Youngblood's beautiful guitars match perfect with Khan's emotional vocals. A must for any Melodic Metalheads collection.

well...i must admit that i've been a bit humbled by the listening experience of the Epica album. i used to make fun of these guys alot because they are kinda easy targets. i mean...the swords and castles (that aren't real anyway...unlike the old Enslaved albums where those guys actually brandished their armour...hehe), but they are just one of those bands that have the most unflattering band photo shots. almost worse than those Immortal pictures from the At The Heart Of Winter album. basically, these guys just look like dorky monkeys who try and strike cool dramatic poses, but come across more like lucky nerds who managed to get away from the Star Trek convention in time to form a band and record an album. and the humorous horror only gets worse when you see the band member's close up photos inside the booklet...oh god, no! make it stop! but thankfully, i didn't let the ugly mugs hold me back from checking out Kamelot's music. and i'm glad that i gave it a chance. this is really strong power metal that is both progressive in it's structure, and very restrained and mature in it's delivery. Khan's vocals are very smooth and in the Geoff Tate vein...he never goes overboard with too much pomp and bombastic high notes...keeps it all within his range and it gives these songs a great level-headed feel. the music is technical and is full interesting instrumental passages that showcase each member's talent but the songs never feel under seige from showboating techniques. this is a highly recomended power metal album that most hard rock fans would probably also enjoy. and as a little bonus, you can even have a chuckle or two looking at the photos.

I cant believe this, how can those who already have this cd NOT review this excellant band's latest album!? the multimedia pc section was awesome to the extreme. kudos to Mya for supplying those superb 3d animations. and kamelot has outdone themselves this time. having various musical influences from around the world, i could here the familiar tunes of arabic/east indies and some japanese sounding tunes(as much as i can recognize). i have this 'fetish' for arabic tunes after listening to Nights Of Arabia from their older album, The Fourth Legacy, which was amplified more in LOTR's latest movie, TTT, when the elves came to helm's deep for reinforcements, the arabic/east indies influence is obvious. gone are their technical bruteness, replaced with finesse and ballards. that might be my onli complaint, since i enjoyed heavier tracks like Fall From Grace and Karma in the last album. overall its a magical journey of amazing proportions. hell even the covers are uber 1337. all this shows how much they stand apart from your traditional run of the mill, metal bands. Notable songs include Center of the universe, farewell, edge of paradise, a feast for the vain. well IMO anyway. order hard and fast, the ltd edition isnt available on kamelot's own e-shop anymore even, so pray that the ones over here dun run out as well.

CHEERS!

Wow! At first when I was looking into this kind of progressive metal, I only wanted stuff with female singers but I stumbled upon Kamelot without knowing much about it and was really impressed. It's kinda odd, with many interludes and some strange song themes but overall very unique and powerful. Songs like "Wander", "Lost and Damned", and "The Edge of Paradise" are sure to blow your mind. The lead singer has one of the best voices I've ever heard in rock.

Now why only 4 stars? Well, because some of the songs just don't really deserve a 5. They're very good but not the best. Even though I don't own The Black Halo (another Kamelot CD), I actually recommend it over this one simply because "March of Mephisto" which is an absolutely amazing song (there's a pretty neat music video to it, too). I hope to buy The Black Halo soon.

For fans of Nightwish, this is a must buy. Yes, the style is a little different and the singer is male instead of female, but I can pretty much assure you that you'll like this if you like Nightwish. Or even if you like Sonata Artica.

It's quite simple really.I listened to The Black Halo, The Fourth Legacy, and Epica, in that order,back to back.The result is that I'm on selling the first two but keeping Epica,because it is by far the best in recording quality and musical enjoyment;for me anyway.I only hope Epica wasn't the summit of Kamelot's achievement because they are an excellent band,and lets hope for more great stuff.

A story of forbidden love, with some assistance from the devil, of course involves joy and sadness. And it is an interesting story which, like a good book, leaves the listener wishing it would not end. But the real joy here is the music, unbelievably powerful music that deserves to wear out a replay button. It is truly amazing, and truly sad, sad that its lack of exposure in America so limits the number that could be enjoying it. (Please see my profile for a brief discussion of my rating philosophy.)

At this point, Kamelot has riched a level in quality of compositi�n that only could go up. The songs are pretty nice, and once again the balad ones are amazing, but this time I belive the best song it's "forever" a very melodic power song.

But the most interesting thing of the album is the high level of production that translates in a great sound and very interesting arrengments and ideas, thanks to the cooperation of Milo and Sasha Paeth (also Luca Turilli and Rhapsody producers).

Kamelot is since Siege Perilous - 1998 a very good metal band that has rich a very identificable sound and a standar level that would please any metal fan that likes certain level of technique and performance, but in this album (2001)the band still shows a grade of evolution making us think that the next will be also better than the previous ones. Highly recomended album.

Kamelot – Karma

It’s fairly simple; if you haven’t listened to Kamelot then you are missing out on some of the best power metal today. This band mixes power, melodic, symphonic, and progressive elements seamlessly. While not sticking to the same sound of their previous effort “The Fourth Legacy”, they made what many fans consider their best album to date.

Song by song review

1.Regalis Apertura (01:57) - Instrumental intro leading to…..5/10

2.Forever (04:08) - One of the best songs in the album. This is an instant classic. Great vocals by Roy, great drumming, great guitar work, great bass work and the beauty of it all is how it all blends together perfectly. 10/10

3.Wings of Despair (04:32) – A mid-to-fast-tempo song keeping the same momentum from the previous song. A great track. 9/10

4.The Spell (04:21) – Kamelot slows it down a notch here into another great song. Khan’s vocals shine again here as well as Casey’s drumming. You’d think this song might not work too well live but it does and surprisingly well. 9/10

5.Don't You Cry(04:18) - One of the many reasons I like Kamelot is because they can do ballads without being cheesy. An emotional song about the loss of a loved one. 8.5/10

6.Karma(05:13) – Te band speeds it up again for the title track and what a track it is! Another one of my favorites… So halfway through the album and still not a weak song yet! 10/10

7.The Light I Shine On You (04:15) – Another favorite. Once again Khan’s vocals are great and the lead is awesome too. 9/10

8.Temples of Gold (04:12) – Another ballad, another great track. No surprise, great emotion throughout and Khan shows how talented he is with emotional vocals 9/10

9.Across the Highlands (03:46) – And we speed it up again…. Another well balanced track. One of the faster songs in the album too. 8/10

10.Elizabeth Part I: Mirror Mirror (04:23) – First part of the trilogy..very emotional first track 9/10
11.Elizabeth Part II: Requiem For the Innocent(03:46) – Great lyrics in this one. I like how the song trilogy starts slow, in here it goes midtempo, and then the next song is fast. 9/10
12.Elizabeth Part III: Fall From Grace (11:02, but actually about 4:30) THEY TRICKED US! =] While the cd says its 11:02 it’s actually about 4 minutes but it doesn’t take away from being one of the best songs in the album. I will be redundant yet again: This track is great! 10/10

One of the best Kamelot albums as well as one of the best power metal albums. Kamelot shows they can play anything… fast, slow, midtempo, ballads, melodic, aggressive, epic, and progressive songs and excel in all. Intelligent lyrics, great vocals, awesome guitar playing, aggressive drumming, and grooving bass work, what more would you want in an album? I know! An album centered on Goethe’s Faust… This would be a 10/10 album if and only if they wouldn’t have released their next masterpiece… Epica.

Final: 9/10

Yes, I'm about to foist another of those dratted Epic Heroic Power Metal Albums on the unsuspecting public. After all it's been 48 hours since the last one. Now if you're one of the tiny minority that doesn't flip out over this style of music, that's OK, you can click off and I won't hold it against you. After all everyone can't be suave and discriminating.

For all of you that are sitting on the edge of your chairs waiting for my report, I want to say this. This Review completes a goal I set to do at least one review on each of what I consider (being the expert that I am) the top tier of Epic and Heroic Power Metal Bands.

Previous reviews have included Freedom Call, Sonata Arctica, Dark Moor, Thy Majestie and Secret Sphere. Kamelot will complete the hexagon of top bands in this sub genre and the good news is, believe it or not, they are from America. Down in the back yard of the current Super Bowl Champions, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Maybe that's why they play swashbuckling Heroic music. It's a shame that their record label and most of their following is overseas.

What's that you say? I left off Rhapsody. Yes I know. They play their self described "Hollywood Metal", Italiano. Plus, It's my list, you can do your own.

Karma

Karma is the fifth of six studio albums released by Kamelot. It has been out for a couple years so if you're into this kind of music you probably own it. Therefore, this review is for the stragglers (there's always some), the fence sitters and the non-believers, if they haven't clicked off yet and the ever curious.

Before I start I would like to say a little something about the sub-genre. I have the feeling that many people think Epic Power Metal is an offshoot or a little brother of Death, Black or Doom Metal. This is absolutely untrue, I'm too old for anything that smacks of Death Metal and if I were younger I still doubt if I would like it.

Now there are different versions of Power Metal as well. My favorite bands are the ones that introduce a symphonic element, sometimes with choirs into their music. Kamelot is such a band and I am visibly impressed by their larger than life sound, so let's talk about Kamelot, shall we?

Kamelot was formed in 1991 and released their first album, Eternity four years later. Their lineup has changed slightly since then and has been greatly enhanced by the addition of ex-Conception singer, Roy Kahn, who is one of the best pure singers around. In 2003 they released their sixth album called Epica, which I will review at a future date.

I'm glad to tout an American band for a change for I'm afraid most young American musicians have abandoned heavy metal. I once read a statement by someone unknown, that has turned out to be very true, "Heavy Metal didn't die, it just emigrated to Europe".

Now this music is starting to come back to us in various sub-genres, via Lacuna Coil, Within Temptation, In Flames, Nightwish, Therion, Rhapsody, Sonata Arctica and others with a delicious exotic European seasoning.

Whereas, I warned readers that Blind Guardian, Evergrey and a couple other groups would take multiple plays to get used to and appreciate, this is NOT the case with Karma. I believe alternative, rock and pop affectionados could jump right in on Karma and dig it right away. Maybe thats because it's an Americanized version of Epic Power Metal but I think it's because Roy Kahn is a popular music style singer and the music really isn't all that much different from that played on top twenty stations.

Other American bands with an European slant

Symphony X, Dream Theater, Shadow Gallery, Nicodemus, Arise From Thorns/Brave, Agalloch, Defyence

I felt they were holding back on this release, compared to the performance on Karma. With that said, this band has still managed to put out a release that any fan of power/progressive metal should not be without. I felt this could have-and should have been-a longer CD in terms of length: these guys need to put out an epic, 75 minute blast of madness, Dream Theater-style. Some nice touches here and there, with female vocal passages, a story-line to follow, the lyrics read almost as a small opera of sorts. If you liked Karma, you'll love this one, but will still think Karma is the better of the two; and if you loved an earlier one, like Eternity, different singer back then, but a killer album nevertheless, you'll find little hints of the old days in this as well, I think. 4 STAR EPICA RATING FROM SCRAGGY'S TOMB OF POWER METAL, USA.

...because this is the best album of the year. I just received my copy of the limited edition in the mail today, and my day halted to a stop. I could not wait to listen!
First, the packaging is gorgeous. Of course, it's a digipak and the cover artwork is some of the best album art to come out in recent history--in the leagues of Dream Theater's album "Scenes from A Memory", "Snow" by Spock's Beard, or "Brain Salad Surgery" by Emerson Lake & Palmer. The digipak has a glossy sheen to it and folds out nicely, containing a temporary tatoo inside with the new Kamelot logo. Liner notes are also unattached to the digipak and are quite complete in detail.
Pop the disc in your stereo and you have an awesome new power-progressive rock concept album; pop it in your PC and you have an amazing Quicktime-driven multimedia experience. I won't spoil that, though. Just take my word for it and put it in your CD-ROM drive.
Now let's get to the meat: the music of the album. The production quality of this work is mind-blowing. For such an underground band (in comparison to Britney, Avril, NSYNC, or Mariah, etc.), the overall sound puts theirs to shame. The highs are crisp and the thumps of Casey Grillo's double-bass work give you a nice kick (no pun intended) without bottoming out your system. This album has more keyboard involvement than heard with Kamelot before, making for nice techno-esque phasing sounds and panning, a la Front Line Assembly or Chemical Brothers (we're talking sound quality here, not musical quality). Khan's voice soars on this album, with reverb and majesty we haven't heard before in a Kamelot recording. Whereas his voice would sometimes become muddled and lost in verses, now it mixes perfectly with all other elements. The songs are heavy but still orchestral and epic in nature, making you wish even songs that last six minutes would never stop. The grooves are "headbangable", if you will, but don't overtake the album, willing to step aside to gorgeous female vocal passages, symphonic themes, or Gregorian Chants.
Each band member is at their finest in this effort, most of all, Thom Youngblood, on guitars, who has always been impressive as a guitarist, but I think has finally begun to define himself and his style on this record--especially his songwriting ability.
Anyway, before I bore you to death, let me say I can't sing enough praise of this album, and if you're a fan of Dream Theater, Symphony X, Spock's Beard, Transatlantic, Stratovarius, ARK, Iced Earth, or just any sort of metal but are open-minded to more diverse elements, give this one a shot.
I picked up Kamelot's previous album, "Karma", in September of 2001, just on a whim, without hearing them much previously, and am now a heavily devoted fan. This band WILL grow on you, if you let them.
Epica is set to be 2003's album of the year. It may only be February, but this reviewer will still stand by that statement in 10 months.
Don't cheat yourself out of this one. I'm sure Lord Chimp, the Amazon Prog-Rock Guru, would agree.

(Album highlights include "Center of The Universe", "Edge of Paradise", "Descent of The Archangel", "Helena's Theme" and how it leads into "The Mourning After" and the awe-inspiring finale, "III Ways to Epica". Everything is incredible, though, not just these tracks. Thanks for reading.)

This band amazes me! Every time they somehow expand and achieve even greater songs! COTU is a fantastic song and I am sure from the reviews that Epica will be a classic. Thank you Kamelot for making such incredible music.

What a disater! After learning about these guys by buying The Fourth legacy I was thrilled. This band was great. Karma was equally as good and I felt confident buying this live effort. However, after hearing this album (and I made myself listen to it several times to make sure) I will NEVER go see these guys live. To be downright honest, I can't stop laughing every time Khan starts talking. If his voice sounded any weaker I'd swear they had a twelve year old up on stage. And then the worst part is what he's saying, it sounds like he's at a Poison concert for crying out loud !!! Man it is THAT bad !

Add to this the length (or lack there of) of this album, the very bad three new songs and the complete lack of flow throughout the live songs and there is absolutely no reason to listen to, let alone buy this utter peice of garbage.

A real shame, I am a Kamelot fan, in fact I would rate their Fourth Legacy and Karma albums at 4 or maybe even fives, but Expedition is no good!

I hope no one thinks I wrote this article to rag on Kamelot, it's meant more as a warning for people like me, who were very impressed with their last two albums and thought they should give the live one a try. Don't !!!

I don't know why you call this garbage, from just listening to the samples im amazed, the quality of this is really good to so dont be fooled by the poor quality of cdnow.com, I think this canadian is just jealous cause he's never going to see them live, because f&#! canada thats why. Don't let any of these people tell you how this album is, just listen to the samples and beware who you buy them from.

In all honesty, I've never understood the allure or see what other people see when a band releases a live album. In essence, you're buying songs you probably already have from the band's studio albums and it's very uncommon, at least in my opinion, for a live version of any given song to surpass its studio counterpart.

Despite the above, this still hasn't stopped from buying a live efforts every once in a while: Edguy's Burning Down the Opera, Hammerfall's One Crimson Night and Freedom Call's Live Invasion are part of CD collection. While these felt like good purchases when I bought them, aside from the few "extras" on the Edguy and Freedom Call discs, they just sit on my CD rack and collect dust. While they are good live efforts in their own right, they lack any quality that wants to make me listen to them on a regular basis.

This string of rather forgetful live albums snapped when I first heard The Expedition. All the live songs sound better than they do on any of the studio albums as the production quality is definitely above that of the studio efforts - even those from the Fourth Legacy. In fact, I've personally forgone even thinking of buying a copy of The Fourth Legacy since all the songs I like from that album are on here in an even more glorious form, though I'm still going to purchase Siege Perilous to go with this and my copy of Karma.

Additionally, this is the only place you'll hear the singer Roy Kahn sing "Call of the Sea" and "We Are Not Separate," two classic tracks from the band's earlier works on which Kahn didn't appear on, not to mention the inclusion of the excellent ballad "One Day," the Japanese bonus from Siege Perilous which essentially eliminates the need to buy an import copy of that album.

On the negative side, some may say that The Expedition lacks any relevant Kamelot material outside of the songs that come from The Fourth Legacy, the album that is more or less seen as the band's breakthrough record, though I'd strongly disagree with such a statement. Personally, there is just something about the older Kamelot albums and music (such as Siege Perilous, The Fourth Legacy and Karma) I like more than their newer works (Epica and The Black Halo). However, even though I'm not nearly as fond of Kamelot's newer material, this album does bring attention to the fact the band really does need to release a new live album as they have released quite a bit of material since 1999-2000. Still, to say that I wouldn't be concerned how such a album would eventually turn out considering the material from Epica and The Black Halo is much more complex than anything heard or played here would be lying.

In the end, if you like Kamelot you should definitely nab this, especially if you like "older" Kamelot more than their newer stuff from Epica and The Black Halo, which is good but just not my cup of tea.

The first three songs, and the 11th, hint at the glory to come from Kamelot in later releases, but The Fourth Legacy lacks a little of everything that makes Epica and The Black Halo so powerful. The music, the lyrics and even Kahn's voice are not the same, none of these having evolved and developed to the point they are today. Do not misunderstand; I only write reviews for CD's that I like. This is good music that covers such interesting topics as King Arthur, the Crusades and the Inquisition. My misfortune was not discovering Kamelot until recently, with The Black Halo being the first recording I heard. If I had known about them during these earlier years, I could have enjoyed this CD more while waiting for their later works to appear. (Please see my profile for a brief discussion of my rating philosophy, and please see my review of The Black Halo.)

! FANTASTIC !

Melodic, original, progresive but structured, if there was any justice in the world they would win the grammy.

It's rare to find a decent power metal band from America (it's hard enough to find a decent power metal band at all). Fortunately, with the aid of Roy Kahn, Kamelot excels. Blending progressive metal riffs with power metal speed, the band has been able to shine in the genre. The Fourth Legacy, the band's forth studio release, is a stellar achievement. This is not to say that the album follows a pattern of sorts.

As all power metal albums have an instrumental introductory song, so this release has "New Allegiance". The second song is usually the catchiest and most straightforward song, as is the title-track, "The Fourth Legacy". From here on, however, Kamelot prove that they have a great command over various types of melodies. Guitarist Thomas Youngblood (whose name sounds medieval enough) shows that he can handle Middle-Eastern-inspired melodies (as shown on "Desert Reign" and "Nights of Arabia") as well as medieval ballads (clearly demonstrated on the all-acoustic gems "A Sailorman's Hymn" and "Glory"). The beauty of the album is, that even the so-called "regular power metal songs" are stand-out tracks. The melody and accompanying keyboards in songs such as "The Shadow of Uther" and "Until Kingdom Come" are enough to stay ringing in listeners' heads for hours. Even the last song, the outstanding "Lunar Sanctum" (which is neither power nor progressive metal) has its memorable moments.

Melody alone does not make this album a success among clones - most (if not all) power metal bands are melodic almost by obligation. Instead, it's the creative collaboration between voice and guitar, rhythm and riff that make this album a must-have for any power-metal fan.

See also: Kamelot - Epica, Aina - Days of Rising Doom

This album starts with an instrumental track. That and the neat cover should tell you that your getting an accomplished Euro metal product tinged with a touch of self importance. And lo, that's just what greets the listener on this worthwhile purchase.

Kamelot has talent to spare yet on this release their vision hadn't coalesced fully, the band still not quite nailing it. Having said that, on this album the band are already able to utilise Khans' voice to it's full effect and the musical assault is committed with the band making tasteful use of keyboards for shading.

Salient tracks here (for me) would be the lovely Forever. A metal musical piece with a plaintive, longing lyrical bent. Wings of Despair stops and starts, swoops and soars with a tasty slice of guitar work. The Spell is a heavy rocker with a gothic trad metal atmosphere while Don't You Cry shows a tender side once more with some vocal gymnastics from Khan.

As the record unfolds some of the tracks don't quite wash. This is why it's only a three star release - at this point the band could of been winners or losers. Luckily the developed into the latter and this release is a springboard to better things. Fans of traditional metal, Euro metal and perhaps Euro hard rock should check this band out, but start at Epica or Black Halo before committing your hard earned dollar here.

By the way - production was by Sascha Paeth and Miro - those in the know may find this tidbit of info helpful in their decision making.

Since this review is being done after Kamelot released two later CD's, it is a rare instance of being able to look forward to the future instead of the usual longing for the past. The music here is better than the previous (The Fourth Legacy) and growing toward the brilliance of Epica and The Black Halo. Khan's voice is noticely developed and the band's overall performance is sharper than in the former but much more improvement awaits in the latter. However, Kamelot's less-than-perfect works are better than the best music of a lot of other bands and easily rates four marks. (Please see my profile for a brief discussion of my rating philosophy.)

I prefer Epica over Karma, but this is the first one that got me into Kamelot so it deserves its place right below that outstanding album. I would start with Karma or Epica if you are new to the band and purchase the good, but not as great, The Black Halo after.

Anyone who has ever listened to music has had the experience of listening to an album they know is rough around the edges and has its share of flaws, but in the end is a joy to listen to. Others may think you're crazy and wonder why you're infatuated with such a work, but you yourself know better.

In my case, Kamelot's Siege Perilous is such an album. At first glance, the album has a few key strikes against it in the eyes of most people: a rather sub-standard production, the lack of any "real" raw power, a seemingly slim track diversity and the band's songwriting isn't as strong as it is today. While this would seem like enough problems to bury any self-respecting album, these are relatively minor infractions when you consider what was done correctly.

First off, the album's lack of what many consider "real, raw power" isn't a result of the album's production values, rather it results from the songwriting itself - simply put it's a artistic choice by the band that gives the music a "subdued" and "suppressed" feel. This is proven with songs such as "King's Eyes" and "Millennium", which easily could have been much more aggressive than they are had the band chosen to do so. Still, such songs come off beautifully the way they were done and in an odd-roundabout way the low-end production values actually add to this overall feel.

The above also crosses over when track variety comes into play. Technically there is a wide variety of songs to be heard on Siege Perilous, but the album's production and subdued, suppressed feel ultimately robs the songs of some of their individuality. For example, "Parting Visions" is an upbeat number but because of the production its not to far removed from a slower number such as "Where I Reign". This may seem like an error so to speak, but once again in an odd way it makes these songs feel as if they really do belong together.

Songwriting wise, Siege Perilous isn't nearly complex or solid as The Fourth Legacy or the albums that followed, but the fact it is a major step above Eternity and Dominion speaks volumes. In the end, there is a bigger gap in songwriting ability from Eternity/Dominion to Siege Perilous than there is from Siege Perilous to The Fourth Legacy. This reason alone is enough to buy Siege Perilous since this is where the band really began to come into it's own before their breakthrough with The Fourth Legacy.

In closing, forget about Eternity and Dominion - unless you must own everything Kamelot has ever released - Siege Perilous and the inclusion of Roy Khan as singer is really where it all began for Kamelot.

The mix is not up to par on this one, I hear alot of people complain abou the production. But the mix is my only problem with this very unique album from one of the worlds best metal bands today.

Jase

Named after the fabled chair at the Round Table reserved for the Knight who actually found the Holy Grail, "Siege Perilous" is the third album by Kamelot and the first to showcase the vocal talents of Roy Khan, formerly of Conception. Khan (part Thai and part Norwegian) has an incredible voice that just pulls you into its smooth embrace.

I actually got this album after already owning numbers four and five, "The Fourth Legacy" and "Karma". I love those albums, but I have to say this is their best album out of those first five. The reason for this simply lies in how much it differs from its predecessors and the albums that follow. Musically, it truly stands out from its kindred. Whereas the band's first two albums ("Eternity" and "Dominion") were meant to be early Queensryche clones - due in large part to original singer Mark Vanderbilt modelling his vocal style after that of Geoff Tate - "Siege" sees the Florida-based outfit introduce a welcome element of smoothness and subtlety. Still most definitely "progressive power metal", this album's true power actually lies in it's very LACK of power and its somewhat ethereal nature. There is nothing particularly overt or in-your-face about it. (A new singer with a deeper and richer voice certainly necessitated a new overall sound). This becomes evident from the very first heavenly keyboards and delicate beat of the opening song, "Providence". And yes, the production sounds a bit muddied at times, Khan's voice especially getting lost somewhat amid the low din of the instruments. But I think after a few listens you would agree that this element may actually add to the overall charm of this album.

They then took a decidedly more straight-line, power metal approach with "The Fourth Legacy", dropping some of the progressive elements and adding a bit more speed and simplicity. The new production team of Sascha Paeth and Miro (absent on "Siege") probably had a lot to do with that. (The second song here, "Milennium", actually seems a bit out of place on "Siege", its speed better matched to the overall mood of the succeeding ones). And please understand - this is not a bad thing, by any means. I certainly love all their albums since this one. And special attention should be made for the wonderful inclusion of strings, choirs, and female vocals on their sixth opus, the Faustian concept album "Epica" (not to be confused with the Dutch band named Epica, whose first album I review elsewhere - but to further add to the confusion, the singer of Epica, Simone Simons, makes an appearance on Kamelot's upcoming "Black Halo" album). Kamelot's sound has certainly evolved, mostly for the better. But I have to say again: because of how noticeably different it is from all the others, the beautiful magic of "Siege Perilous" immediately grabbed me and wouldn't let go.

A true gem among all the precious stones of their impressive catalog.

My favorite songs are "Providence", "Expedition", "Parting Visions", and "Rhydin".