Kamelot--Karma (2001/Noise)
Rating--9.3
Requiem For the Innocent The Spell
2001 brings a release that is clearly Kamelot's best, with nasty and biting music made available in excess. Khan and Youngblood's writing mixes elements of both
Kamelot and Conception, and on 'Karma' you actually have the first true Conception sounds since 'Flow' and 'In Your Multitude'. There
are plenty of fast-and-flowing, trademark Kamelot moments as well, and the production is top notch as usual. Roy Khan remains at the very top of metal's vocal mountain;
this release will please fans of both the aforementioned bands, and fans of both power and prog metal alike.
"The Spell" has stop-and-go guitar work, mesmerizing
rhythms, and dark vocal harmonies. It's easy to see where the Conception comparisons come from, eh? Others taken from the same mold: the stuttering riffs and pickup
chorus in "The Light I Shine on You," "Karma's" jagged verses, and the wicked, back-wrenching prance of "Requiem for the Innocent". Evil, any way you cut it.
Both
"Forever" and "Wings of Despair" are flowing, faster pieces with plenty of chops, and "Across the Highlands" and "Fall From Grace" are rolling as well--with the latter
drenched in venom-coated vocals.
"Don't You Cry" is an all-acoustic track written in memory of Youngblood's father, and Khan paints it with some beautiful singing.
The disc-ending bonus track, "Ne Pleure Pas," is the same song only with French vocals. "Mirror Mirror" is an excellent acoustic-to-distortion piece that starts with
only vocals and strings, and is haunting throughout.
This disc immediately establishes itself as one of the top releases of the year, and features a band that had
always been on the edge of the elite finally breaking through to greatness.
HOT CHOPS: Khan's soaring line in "The Light I Shine On You" --- "Be careful with my soul...."
TRACK LIST: Regalis Apertura/Forever/Wings of Despair/The Spell/Don't You Cry/Karma/The Light I Shine On You/Temples of Gold/Across the Highlands/Elizabeth:
I.--Mirror Mirror/II.--Requiem For the Innocent/III.--Fall From Grace/Ne Pleure Pas
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