Coming off its most successful release to date with 2005’s “The Black Halo,” American/Norwegian power metallers Kamelot have returned with “Ghost Opera.” On par with anything the band has ever done, including its classic “The Fourth Crusade” album, “Ghost Opera” will certainly increase the profile of one of power metal’s most cherished acts.
Formed in 1992 by guitarist Thom Youngblood, the road for Kamelot has not been without several obstacles. A decidedly European-sounding power metal band from America proved to be a hindrance during the group’s early days, as did its association with Noise Records, a label infamous for its poor business acumen. Early albums like “Siege Perilous” and “Dominion” hardly made a dent on American shores, but the band gradually built a fan base in Europe, where it’s now hailed as heroes.
The tables finally turned for Kamelot in the States when 1999’s “The Fourth Crusade” was released. Bolstered by the acquisition of Norwegian singer Roy Khan (also of Conception), Kamelot became the power metal “it” band of the new millennium due in part because of daring, memorable songs like “Nights Of Arabia” and “The Inquisitor,” along with a live show that established the band as a European headliner.
Since “The Fourth Crusade,” Kamelot has been a proverbial road dog in Europe and has finally gotten its just due in America, where it has done three headlining tours in support of its output for this decade—“Karma,” “Epica” and the aforementioned “The Black Halo.”
Kamelot’s live prowess was documented on the magnificently done “One Cold Winter’s Night” DVD, which was produced by the ubiquitous Patric Ullaeus (In Flames, Lacuna Coil, Evergrey). Released last October, the DVD is now the arguable benchmark for all metal visuals regardless of genre, including a top-notch live performance that aired various Kamelot classics, every music video the band has shot, backstage footage and personal interviews.
Barely seven months removed from the release of “One Cold Winter’s Night,” “Ghost Opera” arrived, and the band is back at it again, with two new music videos in tow, along with more plans to tour the globe—a North American run with Leaves Eyes is set to begin in mid-August.
Calling while on vacation in South Carolina, Youngblood spoke with Blistering about the band’s development, label changes, videos with ballerinas and trying to top “The Fourth Crusade.” Here’s what followed.
Blistering: “The Black Halo” was an immense success across the board. How did you go about coming up with “Ghost Opera”?
Thom Youngblood: There’s no master plan to what we do— it’s the same approach with every album, but this time out we wanted to make something more dark and perhaps more melancholic, less happy. There’s some more proggy stuff here, yet there is easier and simpler material. I’d say there’s a good balance here.
Blistering: How much did SPV play into the success of “The Black Halo”?
Youngblood: The belief in the band was there from day one. They had us doing videos, something we usually didn’t do before, along with pretty much every other facet was more professional than what we were used to on Noise. I think that belief made us the best band we could be and was huge in our development.
Blistering: The “One Cold Winter’s Night” DVD was outstanding. Did that cut into the songwriting for “Ghost Opera”?
Youngblood: We worked really hard on the whole DVD— from the concert to the editing, it was a project we were all involved in quite heavily. The concert itself went [off at about] 99%, which if you’re in a band, is pretty much an idyllic set.
The post-production period took about three or four months, and that’s because we were very meticulous. We wanted to give our fans something unique, not some ordinary DVD, so that’s why we took a lot of time to do it and is why there were so many bonus features and extras on the set.
Blistering: Some Kamelot albums have a had a theme or concept to them. Is that the case with “Ghost Opera”?
Youngblood: The last concept album we did was [2001’s] “Karma.” With this one, there is no concept, so every song has its own lyrical basis. We wanted to approach this album with 10 different songs with different sets of lyrics. The content is a little more dark than what we’ve done in the past, which we thought was necessary—it’s important that you take risks and find new challenges with every new record. I think it paid off in the end.
Blistering: What was it like recording with a fifth member, keyboardist Oliver Palotai? Did he add to the band’s chemistry?
Youngblood: We were always against having a fifth member of the band because the chemistry between [singer Roy Khan, drummer Casey Grillo, bassist Glenn Barry] and I was so strong. We didn’t want to mess with the water, so to speak. But onstage, Oliver as a performer was a great and even more importantly, his personality fit the band perfectly, so after we completed touring for “The Black Halo” we hired him and he was no longer our hired gun.
Blistering: Of all the songs on “Ghost Opera,” I can’t get “Silence Of The Darkness” out of my head. What’s the story behind that one?
Youngblood: Ah, that’s a good one. It’s a double-bass tune like some of our older stuff, but I love the off-tempo verse section and Roy’s vocals. It’s a funny story behind that one. Roy was doing the lyrics for the new album in a hotel room in Germany, and he was pretty much isolated from everyone and going crazy. That’s where the idea for the lyrics came— it’s about the struggle within oneself during those kind of times. I think it turned out great, even for Roy. [laughs]
Blistering: How about “Rule The World.” That was another one that struck me …
Youngblood: The riff on that one just grabs you. It started with the Hindu/Middle Eastern riff, and there’s a lot of cool keyboard work on it as well.
Blistering: I saw the video for the title track, and it was very well-done. Any future video plans this time out?
Youngblood: It depends on how things shape up after the release. We’re working with a cool video production company, and they have a knack for getting what we want. The director [Ivan Colic] has an incredible eye. Take for instance the “Ghost Opera” video. He did a great job with the parallel worlds and the ballerina by putting it into this epic world. It was everything we were looking for in terms of a storyline and visuals.
Blistering: “The Fourth Crusade” was your obvious turning point. Can you describe what the band’s atmosphere was like in 1999?
Youngblood: The band was a hobby at that point. We all had different careers and day jobs going, so it was definitely not at the level it is now. For “The Fourth Crusade” it was the first time we demo-ed anything. We brought in Roy and Casey and we all worked on the songs together, so we knew we had something special. Before, we never had such direction— we always went into the studio and pumped out the songs, but with “The Fourth Crusade” we knew we had to get to the next level and that was the definite turning point.
Blistering: At the time, Kamelot was already relatively popular in Europe. What effect did the album have in the States?
Youngblood: The scene has definitely changed since we first played an American date four years ago. We’ve seen how popular metal is in Europe over the last 10 years, and only now are we starting to see it here in the U.S. We’ve done three headlining tours and we’re starting to see more and more young people coming out to the shows, so it’s nice to see young people are starting to get into metal like ours.
Blistering: What was it like being on Noise for so long, and what played into your decision to sign with SPV?
Youngblood: The relationship with Noise wasn’t so bad. We got along great with all of those people, and we liked working with them. Of course, we’ve heard some bad things about their relations with other bands, but we knew their hands were tied in general. When SPV came to us in 2004 we knew right off the bat it was the right fit. We had several labels show interest, but SPV demonstrated they’d always be behind us.
Blistering: Finally, what’s on tap for the rest of 2007?
Youngblood: We have a lot going on. There is going to be some more videos, we just booked two European tours and we should be in Japan this winter. Of course, we have some new music and we’re putting together an album with strictly ballads from over the years, and we’ll probably record some new songs for that . . . [But] on the immediate agenda we have the North American tour coming up this summer, so we’re looking forward to that.
Coming off its most successful release to date with 2005’s “The Black Halo,” American/Norwegian power metallers Kamelot have returned with “Ghost Opera.” On par with anything the band has ever done, including its classic “The Fourth Crusade” album, “Ghost Opera” will certainly increase the profile of one of power metal’s most cherished acts. 
