The Awakening

Review Score: 8.5

Reviewed by: Eric Valaer

Symphonic Metal veterans: Kamelot return with their first album in five years, entitled The Awakening. This release sees the band continue with their trademark dark, symphonic and melodic textures. Yet they evolve with with more layered orchestration using multiple guitars, strings/piano, additional vocalists, and programming. The guitar is present and precise. The rhythm section has some how elevated themselves. Also, the vocals are absolutely sensational. The following is a track by track breakdown.

Overture (Intro): This is the brief, symphonic opener to The Awakening. It’s a bit softer than some of their previous opening tracks but solid in its’ own right. It leads into the first song with vocals.

The Great Divide: The fireworks commence! You can count on Kamelot to have a high energy number to grab the listeners attention and never relinquish it. The melody of the chorus will be echoing in your mind for hours (maybe days?).

Eventide: The verses have a clever chord progression. Double bass drums amplify the intensity to signal the coming of the chorus. What a solid mid-tempo song!

One More Flag in the Ground: This was the first song that I heard from this release. It undeniably showcases Thomas Youngblood’s meaty guitar riffing. Besides a memorable chorus, the vocal melodies throughout the song are some of the finest on this album. Long-time fans could envision a mixture of The Black Halo meets Haven eras with this tune.

Opus of the Night (Ghost Requiem): Do you like your metal with bombastic delivery, driving rhythms, & operatic vocals? This is your song! Lead singer, Tommy Karevick, shines on this piece.

Midsummer’s Eve: This is a fitting place on The Awakening to slow things down. This piece is Celtic-folk inspired.

Bloodmoon: The band displays their fearless approach to the symphonic genre by opening with a heavy dose of electronic programming. Should I discuss the guitar part or keyboard section next? They both deliver in spades with saturated and deft guitar playing along with thematic keyboard lines.

NightSky: Programming/keys followed by palm-muted guitars flow throughout this track. The brief interlude shows that the band can say much without taking long. This sets up one of the more interesting guitar solos.

The Looking Glass: Overall, the production is superior on this album. Producer, Sasch Path outdoes himself on The Looking Glass. The mix with the piano and the rest of the band is perfectly balanced!

New Babylon: Deep and fascinating are two words that are representative of this song. The additional choir gives this song a heightened sense of urgency. The band performs seamlessly. Guest Melissa Bonny lends her lofty vocals which mesh with Karevik’s singing.

Willow: The second ballad on the album. Oliver Palotai’s piano selection of chords and melody lay the foundation. On the instrumental thread, and Youngblood delivers a short but emotionally striking solo with some choice bends.

My Pantheon (Forevermore): This very well could be the most complete song on a loaded album! Darkness, tension, power & melody intersect. The chorus is dramatic. Double that for another ripping guitar solo!

Ephemera (Outro): And here is our closing piece which is an instrumental. It is the yang to the Overtures yin. The orchestration is crafty but the band play only what the song calls for (a skill onto itself). A fitting ending to one of Kamleot’s most diverse and best releases since Silverthorn (2012).

The only negative I can come up with is there isn’t an epic track (something in the 8+ minute range like say, ‘Memento Mori’). Even still, I will be listening to The Awakening for months to come into the summer!