Kamelot Album: “Epica”

Do yourself the favor, spend time with this recording. Most people reading any of our reviews of these bands are here for a reason - We all love this kind of music.

I no longer know if bands like Kamelot, Symphony X, Vanden Plas are power metal. Or is it music written and performed by progressive thinking musicians who happen to play electric instruments.

Epica takes up where Karma left off stylistically, with some pounding numbers, some laid back pieces, and Khans soaring vocal chords ripping right through you. This is a roller coaster of melodies, tempos, and themes.

Like most fans of music like this, I crave logenvity with these bands, and fortunately, Kamlelot is kind of just starting out, and Thomas Youngblood is obsessed with making music with this band, so I hope there is music making from these guys for as long as my ears work.

Long live Kamlelot.

Aside from its less-than-fantastic production, which is easy to overlook, Kamelot's Epica is a wonderful trip through a world beyond human realization. Roy Khan's vocals, coupled with some good female vocalists, are the icing on the cake formed by great guitar work and mind-blowing musical compositions. The opening full-length track and the last song are the best, making for a spellbinding introduction and powerful closer, while the material held within provides a listening experience that you'll want to relive over and over. Highly recommended to fans of bands like Blind Guardian, Edguy, Iced Earth, Demons & Wizards, Stratovarius, the almighty Symphony X, and other real metal artists!

After seeking out progressive metal on the net, I found Kamelot..and what a find they are! After getting hooked on Karma, I went out and bought Epica and was suprised to hear an even better CD!

Thundering double-base drums, technical guitar, and the golden pipes of Khan combined with just the right amount of sweeping keyboards and strings, excellent intelligent lyrics written into a concept album. This band has the power and precision of a well oiled machine! Even the ballads are sung with passion, and the guest vocalists only add to the fabric woven in these songs.

Epica is lots of things; passionate, headbanging, hard driving, complex. You can pretty much hear it all in the first full song "Center of the Universe". It's easy to hear these guys pour their hearts and sould into each note.

I'm simply addicted to Kamelot at the moment. I can't remember listening to a band over and over again without getting bored since Queensryche.

I rarely give CD's 5 stars. So if you could improve on the Kamelot formula, I'd like to hear just a bit more guitar soloing, and some more improvising from the bass and drums. The talent is clearly there from all members of the band, but I'd like to hear them break slightly from their strict, tight mindset a bit. The production on this CD isn't as perfect as their previous ones, the poor guys probably can't afford the studios they used to (they rarely even tour in the US).

If you're a fan of power/progressive metal, you cannot possibly be disappointed in this CD!!!!!

For a long time, I listened to Nightwish, and then later discovered Dream Evil, and I found that I really did enjoy the style of music. As my title reads, what a change of pace, from the typical headbanging bull**** you would normally hear, or even better, the crap playing on mainstream radio nowadays. Kamelot is easily on par with Nightwish, Dream Evil, and this cd, is a must have.

Two days ago, I found this CD in a bargin bin, and I gotta say, I did not expect it to be this good. Well thats an understatement actually, as this cd turned me on my head, and took me for a ride through the world Kamelot crafted. The music and lyrics will stick with you long after the songs have ended, and repeat listens, just get better and better. Basically, this is the kind of CD that gets better the more you listen to it.

Sixteen tracks, that litterally blew my mind. Of course, the initial opening track confused me, but as soon as it ending, and "CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE" started playing, I was hooked. This cd has been on consistant play in my CD player, since I got it.

I have no issues saying that, Kamelot is a great band, that needs to be heard. Best cd I've bought this year, no questions asked. So do yourself a favor, and take a ride through "Kamelot", it's an experience you won't forget.

This time they really outdid themselves.

It is evident that the band keeps maturing and getting better with their every new release and it pays off big time. Huge choruses, blistering guitars, nifty interludes, passionate singing, all of it is included in this package of a pure power and I should say progressive piece of art. A smart occasional use of female voice adds to this epic opus, so is the brilliant production.

The album consists of a collection of slower and faster tracks that grab the listener entirely. All of them really stand out, and therefore it is hard to pick the best or the worst. Song writing is top notch, that is what Kamelot is known for, but 'Epica' carries the special atmosphere that really puts it on top of their previous work.

Not many albums are equal or come close to this masterpiece that is certainly among the best in business.