KARMA

"Karma" dives into various themes of life that are usually ignored by the majority because of - FEAR. Some subject matters are "taboo", nobody goes there because...nobody goes there! But Kamelot are not afraid to open the doors that many fear to look behind. Is this journey into darker subjects good or bad? I'm not sure, but maybe the boys from Kamelot are merely trying to grab your attention with references to destiny, immortals and legends? Here are a few interesting lines found on this album...

On "Forever", the song ends with "I'm waiting for the day that I'm gone"...

On "Wings of Despair", Khan sings: "Fly on the wings of despair"...

On "Karma", Khan sings: "my sins have come to face me, I can feel it that I have lived my life in vain"...

On "The light I shine on you", Khan sings "and this is a praise to all of you, cause the light I shine on you is what you gave to me"...

"Don't you cry" is dedicated to the memory of Thomas Youngblood Sr...a very moving song indeed.

And, at the heart of Karma you will find "Elizabeth", a trilogy: act I is "mirror mirror", act II is "Requiem for the innocent", and act III is "Fall from grace". Now these three songs tell the tragic story of Elizabeth Bathori...The Blood Queen of Slovakia who lived at the turn of the 17th century.

It is said that Bathori had a lesbian lover and surrounded herself with magicians, fortune tellers and witches...AND that she tortured servants for entertainment! But the story does not end there, as the legend goes, Bathori allegedly had 600 girls killed in order to rejuvenate her body. Many a drained bodies were discovered just outside her castle walls. Elizabeth was never executed but remained imprisoned in her castle until her death in 1614. Torture tools that she was using disappeared during WWII and her only portrait was stolen in 1990.

Kamelot tackles this legend with the grace and respect that such a subject commands. Flying guitar solos, pounding bass lines and some 16th note kick drums mixed with piano, orchestral arrangements and unabashedly emotive vocals make for some very impressive progressive power metal, more like a mix of Stratovarius and Blind Guardian than anything else I know.

Song highlights: "Forever", "Across the Highlands" and "Wings of Despair"...

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