Kamelot - Poetry For The Poisoned review
| Band: | Kamelot |
| Album: | Poetry For The Poisoned |
| Style: | Symphonic power metal |
| Release date: | September 2010 |
Disc I
01. The Great Pandemonium [feat. Bjรถrn "Speed" Strid]
02. If Tomorrow Came
03. Dear Editor
04. The Zodiac [feat. Jon Oliva]
05. Hunter's Season
06. House On A Hill [feat. Simone Simons]
07. Necropolis
08. My Train Of Thoughts
09. Seal Of Woven Years
10. Poetry For The Poisoned
1 - Part I: Incubus
2 - Part II: So Long
3 - Part III: All Is Over
4 - Part IV: Dissection
11. Once Upon A Time
12. Where The Wild Roses Grow [bonus] [Nick Cave cover]
13. Thespian Drama [Japanese bonus]
Disc II [Live from Wacken 2010]
01. The Great Pandemonium
02. Human Stain
03. Center Of The Universe
04. Pendulous Fall
05. Hunter's Season
06. Karma
07. Forever
08. March Of Mephisto
[Super Limited Collector's Edition Bonus 7" Vinyl]
01. Rule The World [Live - Wacken]
02. Thespian Drama
Kamelot, at least in my eyes, has always been a band that sought their own path through the world of metal. The most fitting description of their sound is, no matter how I hate to admit it, power metal. Not the cheesiest, happiest German type, but power metal nevertheless. What made it more distinguished than most of the other power bands were Thomas Youngblood's distinctive guitar style, clever use of keyboards and orchestrations, and, above everything else, Roy Khan's vocals - so unlike any other metal singer, so non-metal so to speak. These three essential elements carried Kamelot's music through almost 20 years of their career, which has been on the rise all that time. Being quite a prolific band, they managed to deliver 9 full length releases, whose quality was constantly satisfactory, with occasional hints at excellence (Epica, Ghost Opera). Some progressive and symphonic elements crept into Kamelot's music in the meantime, making it richer, more textured and ambitious.
Alas my friends, not anymore. Poetry for the Poisoned is a letdown. The courage that Kamelot had to implement new elements into the fossilized body of power metal was enough for one brave, enjoyable song, "The Great Pandemonium." Electronic beginning, growling in the background, dense drumming that almost turns into blastbeats at the end. If it wasn't for the vocalist, it'd be hard to recognize Kamelot. The song is tight, to the point, and it genuinely hooked me up for the rest of the album. Bravo gentlemen, you're expanding your sound!
Too bad you don't know which direction you want to take your expansion. "If Tomorrow Came" is a typical power metal number, "The Zodiac" is a boring, theatrical exercise in role-playing, "Necropolis" balances on the edge of some kind of shy, half-hearted industrial rock. An honorable mention should be made about the terrible "House On A Hill." A few more songs like this and Kamelot will become new kings of sickeningly sweet cheese called power metal ballad. When I heard the verse "Cry me a river," I literally fell off my couch. Seriously, Michael Bolton meets Whitney Houston. It's scarier than "The Shining"! The title track, an ambitious four-part opus, doesn't save the day. It seems to go nowhere and everywhere at the same time. As a result, my finger hits the "STOP" button.
I can understand why the band wants to play a bit differently after 19 years of existence. But I was kind of hoping that they would figure it out during those 3 years that passed since their previous release. Apparently they had so many ideas for the new album that they couldn't make up their minds, so they crammed every idea they had into those 11 songs. The result is dubious. It'll probably scare off many old fans (like me) and won't bring too many new ones. Fanboys will be delighted, I'm sure, but they'd be delighted even if Khan started to fart in a melodic way. No offense, but this is just one inch over crap.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 8 |
| Songwriting: | 6 |
| Originality: | 7 |
| Production: | 7 |
 | Written on 18.09.2010 by Writes overly honest and totally subjective reviews when fancy strikes him. Which is not often. Which is probably good, all things considered. |
Rating:
9.0
9.0
|
Rating: 9.0 |
Brilliant. This cd will probably be totally misinterpreted by many, but after listening to it enough it finally dawned on me that Poetry for the Poisoned is just an evolutionary step of Kamelot's musical genius. It's nice to see this band evolving and growing from their power metal roots into something which appeals more to the musically inclined as opposed to serving up the same driving beats and power chords cd after cd. Welcome to the world of progressive metal. Read more ›› |
Rating:
8.2
8.2
|
Rating: 8.2 |
Three long years fans had to wait for an all new full-length studio album, and here it finally is. So what's the deal on Poetry For The Poisoned? In a word - great, although not as great as expected. Kamelot is one of those bands that kept improving from album to album until they reached their zenith with the incredible The Black Halo. The following release was a letdown for many fans, because of new influences on the band's sound. If you are one of those fans, then better pass on this record, since it's one step further along the same road. If you however, like me, loved Ghost Opera, definately give this one a try. Read more ›› |
Rating:
8.8
8.8
|
Rating: 8.8 |
It's been 5 years since Poetry For The Poisoned was released. Five long years in which illustrious Kamelot and Conception vocalist decided to bid farewell to the music industry as a whole, for a higher cause, and it was the first studio appearance of original bassist Sean Tibbetts, after long-time bassist Glenn Berry had left the band. Read more ›› |
Comments
| ErnilEnNaur Account deleted |
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| Daniell _็ฑๆ _ elite Posts: 6061  |
Of all the songs on this album that are a departure from Kamelot's style, I find "The Great Pandemonium" the most convincing.
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| Hrothdane Posts: 489  |
While I don't share daniell_p's hatred of the album due to some differences in subjective taste, I am rather disappointed with Poetry for the Poisoned. I enjoy everything up through House on a Hill, and then completely lose interest until Once Upon a Time. The title track is the worst song on the album imo. The spoken part ruins the song for me every time.
---- Despair is death, and I'm not interested in dying. Member of the True Crusade against True Crusades
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| annodomini Posts: 782  |
Very accurate review. It seems that vocalist is singing in his sleep, and other things also are so plastic.
---- the riddle wants to be...
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| vezzy Stallmanite Posts: 3493  |
Completely agree with this review. Now we just have to brace ourselves from the fanboy stampedes.
---- Licensed under the GPLv3. Relinquish proprietary software for a greater GNU/America.
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| CyberSymphony Ollie Posts: 673  |
Written by Hrothdane on 18.09.2010 at 10:20 I agree with you on that. I thought that some parts of the songs were a bit uninteresting. But I did enjoy the last song
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| Justece Posts: 1 |
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| Andreas Posts: 330 |
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| vezzy Stallmanite Posts: 3493 |
Written by Justece on 18.09.2010 at 14:00 Why? His bands aren't THAT "extreme", to be fair. And regardless, I don't see why he can't review it. Are you against honesty or something?
---- Licensed under the GPLv3. Relinquish proprietary software for a greater GNU/America.
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| ErnilEnNaur Account deleted |
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| MeTalRea|istiK Posts: 170  |
Good review..and very accurate..but still..kamelot is a great band!!
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| BlankFile Posts: 686 |
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| farfaramir Posts: 128  |
Well, it's not a perfect album (not even a very good one), but I don't think it thaaaaat bad either, you almost treated it like a new St Anger. But it's ok, I guess like Im more fan of the band my opinion is more subjective, so except for the Rating, I can agree with the review. (It deserve a better rating than ghost opera).
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| MetalSpider Posts: 1386  |
I like the new album. Yeah its definitely nothing like their greatest album Black Halo and more along the lines of Ghost Opera (which I liked), but I still think its a good one. I know when I listened to the album for the first time, I wasn't all that impressed. But the more I listened to it, the more I enjoyed it. Thats just me though.
----  Thanks to Corrupt for these banners!
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| RafaRata Posts: 117  |
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| RafaRata Posts: 117 |
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| Susan Smeghead elite Posts: 6941  |
So disappointing to read this review and have it confirmed by most of the comments. I haven't heard the album yet, but am bracing myself. The Ghost Opera was SUCH a masterpiece that I wouldn't have been surprised if the band peaked with it.. but if that was the case I wouldn't have expected them to crash so hard afterwards. Damn. I am holding out a shred of hope though - maybe when I listen I'll love it and you guys will all have been wrong 
---- "A life all mine Is what I choose At the end of my days" --The Gathering "A Life All Mine" from Souvenirs
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| Adus11 Posts: 15 |
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| farfaramir Posts: 128 |
Written by Susan on 18.09.2010 at 19:38 Well, if you read the review: "...whose quality was constantly satisfactory, with occasional hints at excellence (Epica, Ghost Opera)." It's seems the reviewer also liked Ghost Opera a lot, so Im wouldn't be surprised if you get dissapointed. I can tell you, I have it and it's an ok album, but nothing more than that.
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| Andreas Posts: 330 |
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| vezzy Stallmanite Posts: 3493 |
Written by Susan on 18.09.2010 at 19:38 Brace yourself for disappointment then. (or you can lower your expectations brutally and suddenly, making it seem it's better than it really is)
---- Licensed under the GPLv3. Relinquish proprietary software for a greater GNU/America.
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| annodomini Posts: 782 |
For me the last good album was Black Halo. Ghost Opera was a big disappointment.
---- the riddle wants to be...
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| ErnilEnNaur Account deleted |
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| Iron Priest Posts: 74 |
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| perroide77 Posts: 3 |
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| Papa_Ray Posts: 46 |
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| Enissa Posts: 815  |
IMO, in a review, the reviewer shouldnt compare the album to other album made by the band, especially if its very different in terms of music, I mean that Poetry for the Poisoned shouldnt be compared to Karma, Epica, The Black Halo or even Ghost Opera, simply its very different.... Im a huge fan of kamelot, since I listened to their masterpiece, The Black Halo, and the first time I listened to the new album I was like sooooo shocked and disappointed too, but after like 5 listens I started to like it more and more until I realize its very good album.... this album isnt power metal, its mix of prog, symphony and modern rock....so it shouldnt be compared to anything kamelot has done over the years.... I understand that they wanted to explore some new things...for an example: the solos on The Great Pandemonium and Hunter's Season are so awesome and never been on any kamelot album like them.... also Necropolis contains a great solo and have nice modern-industrial rock sound... well maybe the lyrics on House on a Hill is a bit weird, but the song is very nice and the classic guitars in it give it a beautiful atmosphere the title song is clearly a symphonic piece more than power, but its great when u listen to it as a whole.... so maybe this album may not be their best, but still a very good and exploring-new-ideas, which I think, turned out to be a refreshing experience...
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| brunotvrs Posts: 5  |
I totally agree with this review. I was really addicted to "Karma" and "Epica", and enjoyed "The Black Halo", though not as much as the previous albums. Then, for some reason, I just stopped listening to them. Now I came here to see what was new and really didin't like "The Great Pandemonium", which I find boring, not original and so NOT Kamelot. Still, I tried. Put their whole album in my cellphone and tried to listen to it in my way to university. Didn't work. I really couldn't do it anymore after 20 minutes or less. Really a shame 
---- "Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence." Calvin Coolidge
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| Hammer Pie Posts: 43  |
This actually isn't a bad album at all - it just isn't really power metal. It's more interesting than the overrated Black Halo, and MUCH better than Ghost Opera.
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