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Kamelot is my all time favourite band, and one of the best power metal acts today. Formed in the mid 1990's, Kamelot have released 11 albums (soon to be 12 *squee*) and maintain a massive following that stretches from Tampa to Tokyo.
For those of you who don't know, power metal is essentially heavy metal with added synths (usually by keyboard), melodic vocals rather than growls and shouts, and more often than not encompass a fantastic element into their music. For example, Kamelot recorded a 2 part concept series that told the story of Faust; a man who sells his soul to the demon Mephisto in order to gain long life and knowledge. These albums were Epica and The Black Halo (possibly the best albums they have made). I first heard about Kamelot through their song March of Mephisto, a brilliant start to The Black Halo and it got me hooked from the first riff. Their most recent release, Ghost Opera, veers slightly from power metal and includes more elements of progressive and symphonic metal. It doesn't make them any less awesome though.
I've been to see Kamelot in London twice, and both times they've completely bowled me over with their performance. The lyrics and vocal range of frontman Roy Khan are amazing, coupled with the intricate keyboard work of Oliver Palotai and the overall immersion into a story that perfectly encapsulates power metal. They are fantasy made music.
Here's a mashup I did for their song Up Through the Ashes, taken from Ghost Opera. The song tells of the crucifixion of Christ through the eyes of Pontius Pilate, and the dilemma he faced in condemning Christ to death. I put the song to clips of Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ (which was so hard because I wanted the video to be made entirely of clips that didn't have subtitles!). If you like them, awesome. If you don't, I won't hold it against you (much, hehe). Hopefully for some this will be a foray into the world of power metal, one in which they will remain for many years to come.
First of all, I am so pleased that I fixed the media problem that I had and now I can view videos and listen to music again.
ReplyDeleteNever heard of Kamelot, but that's not surprising since I having really kept up with music like I used to. I like this style of music very much because it has a symphonic feel to it. Dream Theater is one of my favorite groups and this is in the same style. Good job with the video mix. Thanks for introducing me to a group that I was heretofore unfamiliar.
Lee
Blogging From A to Z April Challenge
I don't have any of their albums, but I have certainly heard their music. (They are a common staple on my prog-rock stations on Pandora.) Europe supports its rock bands, which is why there are so many great ones.
ReplyDeleteAnd that's cool Arlee mentioned Dream Theater! Now there's an awesome American prog-rock band.
Hadn't heard of this group. Nice job on the mashup.
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