Black Halo

Kamelot | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 15, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Steamhammer Us
• ASIN: B0007OASII
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (95 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,504 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #10 in Music > Hard Rock & Metal > Death Metal
  • #39 in Music > Hard Rock & Metal > Progressive Metal

Editorial Reviews

Kamelot inked their recording contract in 1994 and released their debut, Eternity, the following August. The press praised the album as one of the most promising first offerings ever. 1996 saw the arrival of Dominion, an album that sounded even more varied and diverse than its predecessor. In spring 1997 Kamelot found Casey Grillo and the former Conception vocalist Khan, who joined the group during the production of Siege Perilous. In autumn of the same year, the new line-up embarked on an extensive European tour and returned to Gate studios in Wolfsburg twelve months later to work on the album that set a new standard for the band; The Fourth Legacy. In summer 2000, Kamelot’s first live album was recorded during the New Allegiance tour, which took them through Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Greece and Spain. Only a few months later, Khan, Youngblood, Grillo and Glenn Barry presented their fifth studio cut, Karma, and embarked on a European tour. Epica arrived in 2003, followed by another tour as Headliners in Europe, Japan, Mexico and the US as well many top Festival appearances. The Black Halo adds another exciting and epic chapter to the band’s brilliant history.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

84 of 90 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Power Metal Album of 2005, Probably This Decade!, March 22, 2005

By 

The Ever Present Matt "Prog Fanatic" (Brunswick, OH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Halo (Audio CD)

To begin, I just have to say that I have been a Kamelot fan since their beginnings, but have always considered Conception the superior of Khan's projects and while I have been somewhat impressed with a few of Kamelot's releases, I have never put them on the same level of melodic greatness as Conception until I heard this album. "The Black Halo" absolutely blew me away from the very first listen and I feel that almost every song represented here blows away anything Khan ever recorded with Conception. Believe me, this is saying a hell of a lot coming from me! Having been more impressed with their previous release "Epica" than any of Kamelot's earlier albums, I was a bit more anxious than usual about hearing this album than I've been with any of their previous releases, especially when I started catching early reviews that were calling it their best album to date.

I honestly had chills listening to the opening track, "March of Mephisto." It's that powerfully charged and melodic! With the perfect merge of symphonic melody, blistering guitar hooks and some of the most melodic vocals you'll hear anywhere on the power metal scene, Kamelot have taken epic power metal to a whole new level with this song along with the equally stellar "Memento Mori," their longest song to date, clocking in at just shy of 9 minutes. These two songs alone are worth the price of the album and easily rank in my book as two of the best power metal epics ever recorded and that's certainly not to say that the rest of the album is filler because there is not a dud in the mix on this one. It's almost as if the band went back and analyzed their entire career to discover the formula for every great song they've ever written and infused it into every song they wrote for this album, then one-upped them with an epic tone and some the catchiest power hooks they could muster. Add to this some special guest musicians that include Jens Johansson of Stratovarius on keys, Shagrath from Dimmu Borgir, who adds a touch of evil to the epic sound of both "March of Mephisto" and "Memento Mori" and Simone Simmons of the band Epica adding her hauntingly (no pun intended) beautiful vocals to "The Haunting (Somewhere in Time)," easily the most radio-friendly song on the album.

This album will undoubtedly easily stand the test of time as Kamelot's magnum opus and I'd rank it as, far and away, the best power metal epic that's been released so far this decade! If you are among the group that has always equated this band with "dungeons and dragons metal," this is the album that will most likely change your mind about them and win you over. Khan, who sounds quite a bit like Geoff Tate, has never sounded better than he does on this album, especially on the middle-eastern flared power epic that is the opening track. Kamelot have had this distinctive flare to their sound throughout their career, but there is just something that clicks here and brings it to a new level of perfection in epic proportion. They've also added a bit more of a progressive element to some of the songs here than we've heard on previous albums. This is especially evident on "Memento Mori."

Other album highlights include the incredibly melodic "When The Lights Are Down" and the powerful title track, but it's difficult to pick favorites as this is one of the few Kamelot albums that I found extremely listenable from start to finish. They also include some interesting short interludes between songs, one of which even has Khan singing in Italian. The only song that tones down the epic power riffs that dominate the album is the atmospherically charged "Abandoned," which heavily incorporates symphonic elements that perfectly complement Khan's amazingly heart-wrenching vocals on this track. Lyrically, this album continues on the conceptual storyline started off on "Epica" of the battle between good and evil, but don't let that scare you away. They pull it off with a melody and epic style (of near operatic proportions) that I have yet to hear any other band accomplish without starting to sound like a Disney movie soundtrack (take note, Symphony X). I have to agree with a previous review that there is unlikely to be a better album released in 2005 (although based on some samples I've heard of the new Pagan's Mind, due in April, they may have just give Kamelot a run for their money). This is easily the most amazing album Kamelot have released to date and they will be hard-pressed to ever top it. "The Black Halo" is THE absolute must-have masterpiece of 2005 that will appeal to fans of epic power metal and progressive metal fans alike.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely astounding!, February 28, 2005

By 

Andrew S (Chesterfield, MI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Halo (Audio CD)

Kamelot, one of today's leading melodic metal bands, never cease to amaze me. I more or less knew The Black Halo was going to be a splendid album, but I honestly did not believe it could top Epica, which is what I consider to be more or less a perfect album. Well my friends, I must say it - they have topped Epica! Is it believable? Not until you hear the album. ;-)

Starting off with March Of Mephisto, we're taken into new territory. From the overall strong Eastern feel to the impressive orchestrations, this song is quite a treat. Granted, Kamelot have certainly produced Eastern-influenced melodies and orchestrations before, but never have they done so to the level that they are present here.

To spare you, the reader, I am not about to go into a song-by-song review, as it would be more like a novella than a review. What I would like to say, however, is that this is what I would consider to be Kamelot's strongest effort yet. The songs are just flawless, truly. I admit, as a reviewer, I sometimes use words like "flawless" and "perfect" a bit too liberally, however, I really mean it this time around. I cannot find fault here. Every song is strong enough to stand on its two feet, which is a rare find. The subtle, yet impressive, instrumentation adds an entire new dimension to the songs that simply could not be delivered by any other band outside of Kamelot. I am also glad to say that Kamelot still are very-culture friendly. Taking and utilizing influences from a variety of cultures, such as the Japanese flare in Moonlight to the wonderful prelude to the title-track, we hear a great variety here, to say the least.

Being fortunate enough to have the Japanese version, I'd like to point out the Japanese bonus track, Epilogue. While the other bonus track, a radio edit version of Soul Society is enjoyable, and features a different take on the song, the bonus track Epilogue really is a treat. Despite that Epilogue is labeled with the degrading "bonus track" stamp, I personally feel that this piece of music completes the album. Although the band has stated that it was specifically written for the Japanese version, and has no significance to the story, it really ties the album together. If you've got the means, I'd definitely recommend the Japanese for this beautiful song.

What else can I say? This is going to be one of my favorites albums of 2005, and rightfully so. It is rare that an album comes out with this level of beauty and power, but here it is. If you're a new listener of Kamelot, this is a great place to start, although Epica may be a better introduction, at least for the sake of the story as The Black Halo is a sequel to Epica. For those that are Kamelot fans, you will NOT be disappointed! Cheers!

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kamelot returns stronger and more diverse than ever!, January 31, 2005

By 

Steven "Conexxcions" (SF Cali) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Halo (Audio CD)

Kamelot
"The Black Halo"

Their bio says Kamelot is a band you can rely on. That could be taken to mean that the band stays with the same formulas time after time. With Kamelot you can rely on the fact that they will not copy old formulas and will challenge themselves plus the listener, time after time. Enter "The Black Halo"!

The Black Halo is the continuation of the Epica saga, loosely based on German writer Wolfgang Goethe's Faust masterpiece. Much like Faust Part II, The Black Halo touches the darker side of the main character Ariel. The devil (Mephisto) is ever present in this modern day conceptual masterpiece. Masterpiece I said...

The album starts off with what I imagine is a huge rally that Mephisto is leading to drum up the troops of the dark side. The voice of Mephisto is none other than Shagrath of the very popular black metal band Dimmu Borgir. His voice fits the atmosphere perfectly and I must say it was a stroke of genius to mix these two genres in the classy way that Kamelot has a knack for. This leads into the heart of "March of Mephisto", maybe Kamelot's heaviest but still very melodic song. I was expecting the usual double bass fast song that so many melodic bands do these days. March of Mephisto is a mid tempo power song that finally breaks the cookie cutter trend. (A great and refreshing move in my opinion) The keyboard solo features Jens Johansson of Stratovarius fame and ex-Malmsteen. He does a fantastic job as what seems like the devil stroking a violin from hell!

The second song "When the lights are Down" kicks in with a very fast double bass tune that is classic Kamelot mixed with some modern elements. The chorus is a winner that will stick in your brain immediately. There is an incredible solo tradeoff this time with guitarist Thomas Youngblood and Jens Johansson.

"The Haunting" follows with a fresh and beautiful approach that in my ears could bring Kamelot a much larger audience. The song has all the Kamelot sound with a more concise and "commercial" approach. They manage to do this without sounding like anyone else. Mezzo Soprano vocalist Simone Simons from Holland is also on the track and brings and gorgeous element to the song. The band is shooting a video for this track which makes total sense to me since it will have some appeal to broader audiences.

The title track "The Black Halo" is one of Kamelot trademark 5/4 songs that incorporates some progressive influences that Kamelot has a keen sense to use subtlety under their power/melodic metal skin. It follows an incredibly beautiful Italian piece that is sung by Cinzia Rizzo. Cinzia also appeared on Kamelot's Fourth Legacy album.

The 8 minute journey "Memento Mori" is Kamelot's longest and maybe most epic song to date. A mixture of many styles and speeds that will be a classic for the fans. It is the climax to the storyline of the three main characters in the saga.

These are only five of 14 tracks that have absolutely no fillers. It would take me hours to finish this review if I commented on every incredible song. I must leave the rest to you to discover, explore and ponder the lyrical meanings within this gem. This album is a must buy for all fans of any music!
My only criticism is that Kamelot didn't release this album earlier, but I understand the wait considering the amount of work that must have gone into writing and producing 2005's equivalent of Mindcrime!
Production from Sascha Paeth and Miro is once again great and in my mind a little heavier than previous productions from the Wolfsburg duo. Something I missed on the Epica release.