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│ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │
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│ P R E S E N T S │
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│ + Kamelot - The Shadow Theory-(NPR 777 DP) + │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Information ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Release Date.Apr-23-2018 Encoder......L3.98.4 -V0 --lowpas ║ │
│║ Genre........Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │
│║ Year.........2018 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Ripper.......anthem Songs........cd1: 13 cd2: 7 ║ │
│║ Covers.......Yes Url... www.kamelot.com ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Notes ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Artist : Kamelot Rating : You Decide! ║ │
│║ Album : The Shadow Theory-(NPR 777 DP)Label : Napalm ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Description : ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ As someone who listens to a large amount of ║ │
│║ music every year, IÆve piled up a ton of ║ │
│║ favorite bands, some of which IÆd say I can ║ │
│║ always rely on to produce an excellent album, ║ │
│║ while others fall into more of a long shot ║ │
│║ category, where sometimes theyÆll disappoint me, ║ │
│║ but other times theyÆll pull through and blow me ║ │
│║ away. One of the main bands I place into that ║ │
│║ category is American band Kamelot, one of the ║ │
│║ most well known and prolific power metal bands ║ │
│║ in all of North America. TheyÆve released three ║ │
│║ of my all-time favorite albums over the years in ║ │
│║ Epica, The Black Halo, and Silverthorn, but ║ │
│║ theyÆve also released some disappointments like ║ │
│║ Ghost Opera and the total snooze fest, Poetry ║ │
│║ for the Poisoned. TheyÆre one of those bands ║ │
│║ where every time I start to either lean towards ║ │
│║ loving them for all their great works or being a ║ │
│║ bit hard on them for their disappointments, they ║ │
│║ always manage to turn things around on me fairly ║ │
│║ quickly. So itÆs no real surprise that after ║ │
│║ their last release Haven ended up letting me ║ │
│║ down a bit after the masterful comeback album ║ │
│║ Silverhorn, to the point where I started ║ │
│║ doubting the band again, their upcoming 12th ║ │
│║ full-length release The Shadow Theory has yet ║ │
│║ again managed to pull me back in. ItÆs not quite ║ │
│║ on the level of some of their all-time best ║ │
│║ works, but itÆs a more consistent, more ║ │
│║ cohesive, yet somehow more varied and ║ │
│║ interesting album than Haven, which in some ways ║ │
│║ pushes their sound forward a bit, while also ║ │
│║ celebrating everything theyÆve been in the past. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ For a while itÆs felt like Kamelot hasnÆt quite ║ │
│║ known what to do with their sound, with the ║ │
│║ likes of Ghost Opera and Poetry for the Poisoned ║ │
│║ experimenting with melodic heavy metal and ║ │
│║ progressive metal respectively, neither of which ║ │
│║ quite worked for the band, while Silverthorn ║ │
│║ represented the return of their classic power ║ │
│║ metal sound in all its glory, paired with an ║ │
│║ increased focus on symphonic arrangements. At ║ │
│║ the time, I was expecting future albums to ║ │
│║ continue with that direction, but somehow Haven ║ │
│║ pushed the power metal elements into the ║ │
│║ background, while keeping the symphonic elements ║ │
│║ as the main focus, and so it ended up feeling ║ │
│║ like a slightly better version of the two ║ │
│║ aforementioned weaker albums, while still ║ │
│║ ultimately falling short of my expectations. ║ │
│║ Obviously, I had no clue what to expect from The ║ │
│║ Shadow Theory, but in the end, it has proven ║ │
│║ itself to be their most varied release in quite ║ │
│║ some time, possibly ever, combining elements ║ │
│║ from all their past releases, while also ║ │
│║ including some new elements at times. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Most notably, the keyboards seem to be a greater ║ │
│║ focus than ever before. Obviously, they were ║ │
│║ always there on past albums, but this time ║ │
│║ around they become the main focus a bit more ║ │
│║ often, along with the symphonic elements, of ║ │
│║ course. While they sound more typical on some ║ │
│║ tracks, others like ôRavenlightö and ôAmnesiacö ║ │
│║ have a much more modern sound to them, almost ║ │
│║ giving the music a slight trance metal feel, ║ │
│║ which has never been there before. The guitar ║ │
│║ work is also a bit heavier and more modern ║ │
│║ sounding on some tracks, especially on ôPhantom ║ │
│║ Divineö and ôKevlar Skinö. At the same time this ║ │
│║ is a Kamelot album, and so thereÆs still a ton ║ │
│║ of great melodies here as well, with some ║ │
│║ excellent melodic guitar leads, great guitar ║ │
│║ solos, epic symphonic arrangements, and huge ║ │
│║ vocal melodies and choruses. In fact, this album ║ │
│║ has some of their best melodies in quite some ║ │
│║ time, especially on some of the speedier, more ║ │
│║ power focused tracks, but even a slower, darker ║ │
│║ track like ôBurns to Embraceö has an incredible ║ │
│║ chorus. As far as the songwriting goes, thereÆs ║ │
│║ a little something for everyone here, with fans ║ │
│║ of their classic power metal being given quite a ║ │
│║ few great tracks to look forward to, while fans ║ │
│║ of their slower, darker and more melodic tracks ║ │
│║ have quite a few songs to look forward to, and ║ │
│║ of course thereÆs a couple more progressive ║ │
│║ tracks as well as two ballads. Most importantly, ║ │
│║ though, where Haven had a couple tracks that ║ │
│║ bored me, this time around every song is ║ │
│║ consistently engaging. The musicianship is of ║ │
│║ course top notch as always and the production is ║ │
│║ absolutely perfect, as fans would expect. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ The one element of Kamelot thatÆs consistently ║ │
│║ been excellent is the vocals, and of course, The ║ │
│║ Shadow Theory is no exception there. IÆve always ║ │
│║ loved Tommy KarevicÆs vocals, and while I ║ │
│║ personally prefer his more emotional, higher ║ │
│║ ranged vocals he uses with his other band, ║ │
│║ Seventh Wonder, heÆs done an excellent job of ║ │
│║ fitting in with KamelotÆs sound over these past ║ │
│║ three albums, and each time he sounds more and ║ │
│║ more comfortable. At this point, he feels like ║ │
│║ he seamlessly blends in with the band, doing an ║ │
│║ equally great job on the speedier, more upbeat ║ │
│║ sections and on the slower, darker sections. ║ │
│║ Perhaps the one thing I miss is some of the more ║ │
│║ dynamic vocal performances he gives with Seventh ║ │
│║ Wonder, as he seems to be more and more focused ║ │
│║ on channeling Roy Khan here, singing lower and ║ │
│║ darker than normal, which he, of course, does a ║ │
│║ great job of, but it does feel like some of his ║ │
│║ talents are largely being left untapped. Make no ║ │
│║ mistake about it, though, he does an excellent ║ │
│║ job on this album, and if anything my criticisms ║ │
│║ are more due to personal taste than anything ║ │
│║ else. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Of course, the biggest concern for any Kamelot ║ │
│║ album is whether or not the songwriting holds ║ │
│║ up. Thankfully, this time around the band has ║ │
│║ produced a collection of excellent tracks, which ║ │
│║ cover all aspects of their sound and it feels ║ │
│║ like they did their best job of giving everyone ║ │
│║ a little something to enjoy. Unsurprisingly, ║ │
│║ thereÆs both an orchestral intro and outro, both ║ │
│║ of which are quite nice, and in between those ║ │
│║ are 11 songs of varying sound, but each of them ║ │
│║ is memorable in different ways. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Fans of speedy power metal are in for a treat ║ │
│║ right away with ôPhantom Divine (Shadow ║ │
│║ Empire)ö, which has a brief keyboard intro ║ │
│║ before the orchestra and guitars kick in and it ║ │
│║ quickly speeds up, before slowing down for the ║ │
│║ slow but heavy verses. Once the chorus hits, ║ │
│║ though, it goes full speed ahead, with an ║ │
│║ excellent, speedy power metal chorus that fans ║ │
│║ of the band will instantly fall in love with, as ║ │
│║ Tommy delivers some epic vocals that bring Khan ║ │
│║ to mind in the best way possible, and from there ║ │
│║ the song keeps getting heavier and more intense ║ │
│║ as it goes on, with the second half of the track ║ │
│║ featuring the first of two appearances from Once ║ │
│║ Human vocalist Lauren Hart, who provides some ║ │
│║ pretty epic death growls. Overall, itÆs an ║ │
│║ excellent track, which kicks things off in ║ │
│║ style. Next is ôRavenlightö, the first song ║ │
│║ released and it kind of represents a middle ║ │
│║ ground, largely being more of a darker, mid- ║ │
│║ paced track with some pretty heavy riffs and ║ │
│║ nice modern sounding keys, but it speeds up ║ │
│║ dramatically towards the end, for its most ║ │
│║ impressive section. Overall, I find the track to ║ │
│║ be solid, but it doesnÆt fully grab my attention ║ │
│║ as the melodies are nice but not fantastic, and ║ │
│║ the main riff isnÆt especially memorable. ║ │
│║ However, the final 45 seconds, when the song ║ │
│║ fully speeds up, are absolutely fantastic and ║ │
│║ help take it to the next level. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Other speedier tracks include the oddball ║ │
│║ ôAmnesiacö, a fun and upbeat track which doesnÆt ║ │
│║ quite reach full power metal speed, but it does ║ │
│║ move at a nice pace, especially during its ║ │
│║ chorus. It starts off with some very heavy ║ │
│║ guitar work, before giving way to some very ║ │
│║ trance-like keys, which lead the way through ║ │
│║ much of the track, especially the chorus, which ║ │
│║ is upbeat and very fun. ItÆs a bit of weird ║ │
│║ track, being a bit lighter and more keyboard ║ │
│║ driven than normal, but itÆs actually very ║ │
│║ effective and feels fresh and new, while still ║ │
│║ having just enough of the classic Kamelot sound ║ │
│║ to fit in with the rest of the album. A more ║ │
│║ traditional power metal track is the hard hitter ║ │
│║ ôKevlar Skinö, which charges out of the gate and ║ │
│║ delivers some of the heaviest guitar work on the ║ │
│║ album, only slowing down a bit for the verses, ║ │
│║ before really speeding up during the intense and ║ │
│║ super addictive chorus. The guitar work only ║ │
│║ gets heavier as the track goes on, and the ║ │
│║ instrumental section is pretty damn intense and ║ │
│║ awesome. My favorite of all is ôVespertine (My ║ │
│║ Crimson Bride)ö, the most classic symphonic ║ │
│║ power metal sounding track here, as itÆs a track ║ │
│║ that constantly rolls along at a fast-paced, ║ │
│║ mixing heavy riffs with epic orchestral ║ │
│║ arrangements, and it has an absolutely ║ │
│║ incredible, super melodic chorus, where Tommy ║ │
│║ delivers some of his best-soaring power metal ║ │
│║ vocals. Even the one slower section in the ║ │
│║ second half stands out due to how dark and heavy ║ │
│║ it gets, and it makes for a great contrast with ║ │
│║ the rest of the track, while the instrumental ║ │
│║ section that follows goes back to being speedy ║ │
│║ and super melodic. Definitely my favorite song ║ │
│║ here and one IÆd proudly put up there with some ║ │
│║ of the bandÆs all-time best. After that is the ║ │
│║ last full song here and also the longest and ║ │
│║ most progressive, ôThe Proud and the Brokenö. ║ │
│║ ItÆs a more complex song, which starts off with ║ │
│║ a nice piano section before quickly speeding up. ║ │
│║ It goes through many transitions throughout, ║ │
│║ largely being a progressive power metal track, ║ │
│║ but itÆs a bit lighter and more melodic than one ║ │
│║ would expect from the band, and it has some very ║ │
│║ nice softer sections, as well an excellent ║ │
│║ chorus, as usual. ItÆs definitely the most ║ │
│║ progressive track here and is another one of my ║ │
│║ favorites. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ On the slower side, the first big stand out is ║ │
│║ ôBurns to Embraceö, one of the bandÆs darker, ║ │
│║ more atmospheric tracks, but where I found the ║ │
│║ tracks like this on Haven to be a bit forced, ║ │
│║ this one actually works much better, pairing ║ │
│║ dark and heavy verses with a huge and epic ║ │
│║ chorus, and the track builds up tension nicely ║ │
│║ as it goes along, starting off calm and soft ║ │
│║ during its first verse, before picking up during ║ │
│║ the chorus and then finally going all out during ║ │
│║ the second verse. ItÆs a song that gets better ║ │
│║ as it goes along, with the instrumental section ║ │
│║ being great and then at the end the band brings ║ │
│║ in a childrenÆs choir for the last two runs ║ │
│║ through the chorus, which is something I usually ║ │
│║ donÆt like on a metal album, but here their ║ │
│║ voices combine with the lyrics to give the song ║ │
│║ a chilling and powerful effect that really ║ │
│║ elevates the track from being solid to being one ║ │
│║ of absolute best on the album. Unsurprisingly, ║ │
│║ things calm down with the next track, ôIn ║ │
│║ Twilight Hoursö, a nice ballad which has some ║ │
│║ great vocal melodies, as well as some excellent ║ │
│║ guest vocals from Beyond the Black singer ║ │
│║ Jennifer Haben, who works very well with Tommy ║ │
│║ and helps to elevate an otherwise decent but ║ │
│║ forgettable track. She especially excels during ║ │
│║ the final run through the chorus, which is the ║ │
│║ best part of the song. The other ballad on the ║ │
│║ album is ôStories Unheardö, a largely acoustic ║ │
│║ track which has some very soft and excellent ║ │
│║ vocals from Tommy, as well as another excellent ║ │
│║ chorus. I find it to be a better written and ║ │
│║ more engaging track than ôIn Twilight Hoursö ║ │
│║ overall, though both are pretty nice. Also on ║ │
│║ the softer side is ôStaticö, a track which ║ │
│║ starts off with some nice piano melodies and ║ │
│║ symphonic elements before getting slightly ║ │
│║ heavier during the opening verse. ItÆs a fairly ║ │
│║ light and calm track, with just a slight metal ║ │
│║ edge to it, and it has some nice vocal melodies, ║ │
│║ as well as another great chorus. It feels like ║ │
│║ the kind of thing they were trying to do on ║ │
│║ Poetry for the Poisoned and parts of Haven, ║ │
│║ except here itÆs much better executed and more ║ │
│║ enjoyable. Also similar to much of Haven is ║ │
│║ ôMindfall Remedyö, a more mid-paced but very ║ │
│║ heavy track, with some great riffs and modern ║ │
│║ keys. It has a very fun chorus, as well as some ║ │
│║ more growls from Lauren Hart, and again it feels ║ │
│║ like they took the sound they had on much of ║ │
│║ Haven, except here the riffs hit just a bit ║ │
│║ harder and the melodies are just a bit more ║ │
│║ engaging, so the track ends up being much better ║ │
│║ than most of that album. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Overall, The Shadow Theory is an excellent ║ │
│║ album, which has a bit of everything for all ║ │
│║ Kamelot fans to enjoy. It once again brings back ║ │
│║ some of the bandÆs classic speedy power metal, ║ │
│║ as well as features some of their heaviest ║ │
│║ tracks, while also featuring some very modern ║ │
│║ keyboards and some darker, slower paced tracks, ║ │
│║ as well as some more relaxed and more melodic ║ │
│║ tracks. ItÆs definitely one of their most varied ║ │
│║ releases to date, while also feeling fresh in ║ │
│║ spots, and after Haven let me down, this one ║ │
│║ managed to win me over once again. I wouldnÆt ║ │
│║ place it up there with their all-time best, but ║ │
│║ IÆd certainly take it over anything else theyÆve ║ │
│║ done since 2005, aside from Silverthorn. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Review written by Travis Green for ║ │
│║ www.myglobalmind.com ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Tommy Karevik - Vocals ║ │
│║ Thomas Youngblood - Guitars ║ │
│║ Oliver Palotai - Keyboards, Orchestrations ║ │
│║ Johan Nunez - Drums ║ │
│║ Sean Tibbetts - Bass ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Tracklist ║ │
│╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │
│ │
│ - CD1 [ ] │
│ - [ ] │
│ 01 - The Mission [01:31] │
│ 02 - Phantom Divine (Shadow Empire) [04:06] │
│ 03 - Ravenlight [03:38] │
│ 04 - Amnesiac [03:41] │
│ 05 - Burns To Embrace [05:54] │
│ 06 - In Twilight Hours [04:16] │
│ 07 - Kevlar Skin [04:06] │
│ 08 - Static [03:59] │
│ 09 - Mindfall Remedy [03:23] │
│ 10 - Stories Unheard [04:25] │
│ 11 - Vespertine (My Crimson Bride) [03:58] │
│ 12 - The Proud And The Broken [06:24] │
│ 13 - Ministrium (Shadow Key) [03:03] │
│ - [ ] │
│ - CD2 [ ] │
│ - [ ] │
│ 01 - Phantom Divine (Shadow Empire) (Instrument [04:07] │
│ 02 - Ravenlight (Instrumental Version) [03:39] │
│ 03 - Amnesiac (Instrumental Version) [03:39] │
│ 04 - Burns To Embrace (Instrumental Version) [05:54] │
│ 05 - Kevlar Skin (Instrumental Version) [04:06] │
│ 06 - The Proud And The Broken (Instrumental Ver [06:26] │
│ 07 - The Last Day Of Sunlight (Bonus Track) [04:21] │
│ │
│ Total Length : [84:36 minn │
│ │
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│ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ ╔═════════════════════╗ │
│ ║ Greetings To: ║ │
│ ╚═════════════════════╝ │
│ │
│ Too all people who contributes to make this │
│ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│■ ■│
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘