# Kamelot

2023.11.25 


I've been listening to this band on repeat a lot lately, and I'm not sure why. It's been years since I've heard them, but a few days ago it just stood out and seemed like the right choice.  Somehow they seamlessly mix a variety of metal styles with operatic vocals and even symphonic strings at times, and it works! 

Sometimes I get in a zone and just play an entire discography from start to finish, so that's exactly what I did.  Strangely I've never played the first four albums from this band, so it was rather surprising to hear a lot of Iron Maiden in the first two.  Later I would learn that they had a different singer back then, and that they actually started out in the late 1980s...  It's not too bad, actually.  Of course the Kamelot I've always known didn't start until the 2001 album "Karma", which is where my interest really starts.  By then their new singer Roy Khan brings a unique flare that _doesn't_ sound like anything else that I'm aware of.  

Some tracks that stand out to me are "The Spell", which I'd forgotten about entirely for quite some time, but was quite happy to hear again.  Then there's "Temples of Gold", a new favorite that I keep coming back to.  Not has heavy, but the vocals and rhythms are fantastic.  Most of my favorite tracks are on the 2005 album "The Black Halo", which is how I was first introduced to them when a friend played "March of Mephisto".  I especially like the variety of musical styles in "Abandoned", "Moonlight" and "Memento Mori".  Overall I'd say this one and the 2007 album "Ghost Opera" are among their best works prior to 2010, though I've yet to expore their later albums.  That should be exciting... 

There's a funny story that links this band to my early experiments with Linux Mint.  I must have been 19 at the time, blasting music through a 5.1 surround sound system all day long in my bedroom.  Somehow I got the bright idea to use this setup as an alarm clock, so I went online and learned how to do just that under Linux.  The computer would pick a random tune and play it at 9AM sharp, but it seems I forgot to turn the volume down since the very next day I was awakened by none other than... March of Mephisto.  Sure it starts off quiet and slowly builds in volume, but when the drums and guitars came crashing into the mix, it was earth-shattering LOUD!  Luckily the house was empty... That was the last time I'd ever use a surround system as an alarm clock. 


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