The US power metal legends are back with their first album in three years. There’s a lot of hype surrounding it, including here at Overtone, and the singles so far have been kick-ass. We reviewed their last one and certainly enjoyed it, so I can’t wait to dive in and see what this one is like!

The intro track sets the massive, epic scope of the album up perfectly, and leads seamlessly into the excellent ‘Ashen World’. A massive riff runs through its center, the drums, bass and accompaniments adding to it masterfully. Tommy’s unmistakable vocals come in as the instruments drop back, but the dark heavy vibe continues on still through it all. It all builds back up into a massive, arena filling chorus, one that is sure to be stuck in my head for days to come! The dynamics of the track are excellent from the jump, and exactly what I expected from the band! The bridge is awesome, the screams alongside the powerful cleans adding another great layer to it all. And, of course, a blistering solo never hurts! It’s a really fantastic way to kick off this big album, giving the listener a taste of everything they are in store for, and doing it in a way that only Kamelot can!

The epic, heavy, dark vibes continue through the title track and ‘Sanctuary’. Both are excellent tracks in their own right, and very Kamelot, but have pretty similar structure and vibe to ‘Ashen World’. Having said that, the latter is a massive highlight of the album. Clementine and Delaunay provide truly awesome guest features. It was a perfect choice for a single, heavy and grandiose and melodic, and is a very easy choice to make our playlist!

After brief, epic interlude, ‘One Last Masquerade’ blasts out, carrying the same level of swagger than before. It also features another very fitting guest appearance, this time from the legendary Tobias Sammet. It makes a lot of sense, as this album has been drawing comparisons to Avantasia from the start. Tobias is one of the most underrated vocalists in metal these days, and fits this track perfectly, the pair duetting the massive power metal stomper fantastically. The rest of the band kill it throughout too, it having maybe my favourite soloing on the whole album, and one hell of a huge riff! To I’m sure no shock by now, it’s another huge highlight of the album, and a song that will certainly be on heavy rotation for me in the coming weeks and months.

The pace slows up for ‘Ivy, My Dear’, it being a beautiful folk ballad, yet still fitting perfectly in with the rest of the albums work. Tommy’s vocals work just as perfectly over the simple string arrangement, hitting some of his very best notes and melodies. And those harmonies in the chorus… DAMN. It’s the perfect change of pace for this point in the album, and an utterly fantastic song in its own right. It showcases the bands range excellently, and is a damn fun listen. Another big standout track on an album so far full of them!

The other single of the album, ‘Godlike Alchemy’, is more of your standard Kamelot affair. Modern power metal through and through, full of soaring, catchy vocals and melodies, great riffs and solid drums. It’s a short and sweet song at barely three minutes, and was another solid choice for a pre-release.

The same could be said for the likes of ‘The Sleeping Mind’, ‘Kaleidoscope’, and ‘The Puppet King’. Again, all excellent songs in their own right, and very fitting for the band and the album in the best way. The latter is another firm highlight of the release as a whole, too. But, on a longer release, you are bound to get some similarity. It certainly doesn’t mean they are bad or even not worth listening to, and I couldn’t have cut any of them. They fit perfectly into the release and add so much to the story and epic nature of it, and are good enough to listen to on their own too, though I’d encourage at least a full album listen as well!

‘Enigma’, while having some heaviness still, maintains a great, slower pace throughout, and drops back massively for the verses. It gives Tommy chance to do some truly incredible vocal runs. The same could be said for ‘Cassandra’s Disease’. Both are catchy, melodic songs and are a great change of pace again for an album typically rather balls-to-the-wall. And, again, both are excellent in their own right, while also serving their purpose on the album perfectly.

‘Beneath the Moon’ is a return to the beautiful, stripped-back folk sound. It’s short and sweet, but works so well with the rest of the tracks, and both guests kill it. I love that the band can do stuff like this alongside their typical power metal sound and it all seems completely normal, making the album that much more interesting and repeatable. While it’s not something I’d revisit on its own much, within the context of the album it’s excellent! And then, on top of that, the closing instrumental being a reprise of sorts of the opener was perfect, bringing everything in a grandiose full circle!

Overall: This is yet another damn good Kamelot album! It’s packed full of amazing songs and doesn’t once feel it’s length; 51 minutes going by in a flash. The band kill it throughout, and are clearly all masters of their craft when it comes to writing. It’s every bit as good as their last album, and arguably even better! If you are into the band, power, folk or symphonic metal, this is absolutely the album for you, and you’ll definitely want to listen to it in full at least once!

The Score: 8.5/10