Poetry for the Poisoned

Personnel: Khan (vocals); Sascha Paeth, Thomas Youngblood (guitar); Oliver Palotai, Miro (keyboards); Sean Tibbetts (bass guitar); Casey Grillo (drums); Thomas Rettke, Simon Oberender, Amanda Somerville, Robert Hunecke-Rizzo, Cloudy Yang (background vocals).
Audio Mixer: Sascha Paeth.
Recording information: Apple Studios, Tampa, FL; Gate Studios, Wolfsburg; KMI Studios, Brooksville, FL; Shabbey Road Studios, Dunedin, FL.
Photographers: Rudy DeDoncker; Elisabeth Kjaernes; Simone Simons.
On their ninth studio album, Kamelot once again bring their epic sound to bear on unsuspecting ears with Poetry for the Poisoned. Like their other albums, Poetry is a kind of sweeping prog metal symphony, taking heavy metal into the majestic and wide-open spaces of classical music. While Kamelot haven't done much to innovate on their sound, they certainly haven't lost a step, delivering track after track of densely arranged power metal packed to the brim with swirling keyboards and driving guitar work. What really makes the band stand out, though, is singer Roy Khan. With Khan's background in opera, his voice is a powerful presence in the songs that's able to stand out without overshadowing the rest of the music. Given their style of music, there's a fine line between getting lost in the composition and overpowering everything else, and it's a line that Khan and Kamelot walk well. Really, balance is what Kamelot are all about, adding just enough symphonic and progressive elements to make the songs interesting without turning them into academic exercises and enough power metal to ensure that the songs are heavy without letting them get too cheesy. With all of these things working in harmony, Poetry for the Poisoned makes for a welcome addition to the Kamelot discography. ~ Gregory Heaney