KAMELOT - Dark Asylum

KAMELOT knows their formula well, leaning into all the dramatic of symphonic metal and melodic vision. From the intro “Sanctorium,” the stage is set for RavenHill Asylum, leading into title song “Dark Asylum” which is poetic, wild and theatrical. Thomas Youngblood’s solo work is electric, always full of structured riffing. Oliver Palotai’s keys build mystique and layers, a constant throughout the album that lends to so much of the oppressive atmosphere and twisting state of being within RavenHill Asylum.

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Ignacia Fernández (Decessus) and Clémentine Delauney (Visions of Atlantis) join together for “Sanctuary”, the former a guest on “Ashen World.” The guests on this album are some thoughtful picks, joining the band is Tobias Sammet (Avantasia) on “One Last Masquerade”, a track that feels very in line with KAMELOT’S style. Typical flair, but differing with collaboration.

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“Ivy, My Dear” is a gentle, romantic poem reminiscent of fairytales, a track that feels medieval and surprising as an entry among the heavier tracks. The dreamlike moment shatters as the listener is immediately thrown back in with “Godlike Alchemy” with its heart and choral highs. “Enigma (Think of Me)” is another song with its gentle moments, bringing some of that fragility back. Tommy Karevik is a storyteller with a heartfelt, expressive voice; lyrics are on point for the theme, easy to follow and listen to. Billy King’s choral layers and Kiara Huber’s spoken word (on “Dark Asylum”) also lend to the soundscape for Dark Asylum, adding to that atmosphere. 

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Sean Tibbetts’s bass is weighty, such as heard in “The Sleeping Mind (Orphic Paradigm)”, adding to the richness of the clean, theatric sound. Alex Landenburg is an energetic drummer also, always providing strong kicks and energy to match the sound.

Late tracks “Kaleidoscope” and “Cassandra’s Disease” bring so much to the vision of Dark Asylum, one magical while the other more haunting. There’s a pattern of theming between tracks and sound that start to form. However, KAMELOT knows how to change it up.

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“Beneath the Moon (Tunglið)” featuring guest artists Rannveig Sif Sigurðardóttir, Sólveig Sara Leupold, and Lea-Sophie Fischer is beautiful, breaking the flow of the album to present another romantic ballad. Though short, it winds down the album and remains consistent with the other, shorter tracks that break up the heavy riffs.

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“The Puppet King” feels like an instant symphonic metal classic, encapsulating that sound as one of the more gothic tracks on the album, full of melodic sweeps and beating drums. Closing the album is “Sanctum Requiem,” a short instrumental to match the atmospheric intro previous. Like two parts of a book cover, they close the story of RavenHill Asylum and connect the spine.

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Dark Asylum is what modern KAMELOT do best. It is evocative, full of theatre and flair, with plenty of symphonic swells and displays of haunting, orchestral storytelling.

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SCORE 9/10

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