Kamelot
The Awakening – Napalm Records
It’s been five long years since Kamelot’s last album, but they’ve roused from slumber with a sense of urgency and a new long-player, the aptly-titled The Awakening. After a brief, other-worldly intro, studio outing number (lucky) thirteen bursts into life with ‘The Great Divide’, and the band rarely look back over 50 epic minutes. Perfectly melding power and symphonic metal, The Awakening is a soaring, uplifting affair with cuts such as ‘Eventide’ raising the listener towards the heavens on feathered wings. However, there’s plenty of contrast here, and the following ‘One More Flag In The Ground’ is a warlike number that rolls in on tank tracks, and it’s this constant flux between light and shade that makes this album such an engaging listen. Vocalist Tommy Karevik remains in fine fettle and his performance adds a touch of theatricality to proceedings, especially when joined by guest singer Melissa Bonny (Ad Infinitum) and the pairing turn ‘New Babylon’ into a song of Wagnerian proportions. Bookended by two ethereal instrumentals, The Awakening has the feel of a mini-opera and, as all good heavy metal should, transfers you to another dimension. 25 years since their debut album, Kamelot still sound vibrant and The Awakening is a career-defining effort.
Review by Peter Dennis