***US SYMPHONIC METAL BAND’S STUPENDOUS NEW ‘SILVERTHORN’ STUDIO ALBUM RELEASED OCTOBER 29TH ON SPV / LONDON FORUM GIG NOVEMBER 7TH***
Kamelot, the premier US Symphonic power metal act, have signed to SPV / Steamhammer to release their storming new studio album, ‘Silverthorn’, on October 29th, prior to flying in to the UK to headline London’s Forum on November 7th.
Kamelot, who integrate elements of progressive rock, doom/gothic metal and classical to create their own unique, elaborate, multi-layered melodic sound, have excelled themselves on ‘Silverthorn’, their tenth studio opus. ‘Silverthorn, packed with melodic, anthemic choruses, razor-like guitar riffing and swathes of swirling keyboards, will doubtless be hailed as one of the group’s best ever albums.
‘Silverthorn’, a real masterpiece of grand gestures, gritty melodies and haunting atmospheres, is nothing other than a landmark introduction to hugely talented new vocalist Tommy Karevik. The Swedish singer, who first found fame in Seventh Wonder, is, according to album producer Sascha Paeth (Avantasia, Edguy, Rhapsody) “One of the best singers I’ve ever worked with”.
“For an ambitious band like us, the only target can be to get better with every album and go for new horizons” notes guitarist Thomas Youngblood, Kamelot’s main composer, stating that “Once we’d written three or four songs, I knew we had the musical component of what makes Kamelot in the works. The finishing touch came with finding the right vocalist. So before we made a decision on who was going to be the new singer, we sent out material to 800 prospective candidates. Tommy totally nailed it when it came to the melodies. The lyrics that he came up with on the demos we ended up keeping on the record. I mean, it was just perfect. His voice is familiar enough to make it sound like Kamelot without it being a clone.”
Explaining the lyrical concept behind the album, Youngblood continues; “It’s the story of a young girl who dies in the arms of her two twin brothers, taking the three siblings’ big secret to her grave. The songs on ‘Silverthorn’ talk about despair, a sense of guilt and the pursuit of truth. In this context, the silver thorn in the album title has a mysterious meaning, but it’s up to the listener to unveil this secret.”
The close collaboration between Youngblood and keyboardist Oliver Paloti, which spawned the majority of the new songs, has contributed to an album which enthralls from the first note of the intro ‘Manus Dei’, right through to the closing bars of ‘Continuum’, the final song. ‘Silverthorn’, which highlights the rich acrobatic vocal abilities of illustrious new singer Karevik, let alone the incredible artistic growth of these outstanding musicians, marks an amazing milestone on Kamelot’s inevitable path into the annals of rock history.
HISTORY
Thomas Youngblood and drummer Richard Warner formed Kamelot in Tampa, Florida, two decades ago back in 1992. In 1994 the band signed a deal with Noise Records, and the release of their debut Eternity followed in August of the next year. The rock and metal press praised the album as one of most promising debuts of all time.
In 1996 the successor Dominion hit the stores, an opus that was even more diverse and varied than the debut. Then in 1997, drummer Warner as well as singer Mark Vanderbilt had to be replaced. Kamelot found more than just mere substitutes in Casey Grillo and former Conception singer Roy Khan, who had already joined the band during the production of the third album, Siege Perilous. The new line-up undertook an extensive tour of Europe during the fall of the same year, only to return to the Gate Studio in Wolfsburg twelve months later to produce their fourth studio effort, The Fourth Legacy.
The summer of 2000 brought the New Allegiance Tour through Germany, Austria, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Greece and Spain, during which the recordings for Kamelot’s first live album The Expedition were made. Only a few months later the band presented their fifth album entitled Karma, which took Khan, Youngblood, Grillo and Barry on yet another European tour.
Epica arrived in 2003 and combined all the fortes of the previous productions with new ideas and majestic sounds, followed by another tour as headliners in Europe, Japan, Mexico and the US, as well many top festival appearances.
2005’s The Black Halo added another exciting and epic chapter to the band’s illustrious history. The continuation of their Faustus adaptation about the battle between good and evil that began on predecessor album, Epica, again combined Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s opus with the band’s own experiences and views.
Kamelot’s ‘The Haunting’ and ‘March of Mephisto’ videos became huge hits on Youtube and prompted the band to launch their own YouTube channel, aptly titled KamTV. KamTV’s initial launch hurled the band into YouTube’s top 10 music channels and #1 Metal Channel, transcending all genres.
With the release of The Black Halo, Kamelot started on a headline tour of Europe, North American, Japan and Brazil, with countless festivals around the globe. Following this hugely successful album, Kamelot released their first live DVD, titled One Cold Winter’s Night, directed by world-renowned Revolver Films director, Patric Ullaeus. The DVD was heralded by the press and fans alike and set a new standard for DVDs in the genre.
Kamelot then presented the more sinister and soulful Ghost Opera (2007) and Poetry For The Poisoned (2010) albums, but have now returned to the brighter melodic aspects of their multi-layered, velvety signature sound with their new vocalist Tommy Karevik and the consummate, compelling new album, Silverthorn.
Thomas Youngblood – guitars
Tommy Karevik – vocals
Sean Tibbetts – bass
Oliver Palotai – keyboards
Casey Grillo - drums
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