Customer Reviews

Kamelot: One Cold Winter's Night

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you like great rock music, camera work, picture/sound quality and the voice of Roy Khan in top form, you've come to the right place. What's not to love? Plus the second disc is loaded with features that really give you insight into the band and the making of the DVD itself. This is a must buy for any Kamelot fan, especially for those like me, who have never seen them live.

Let me start with saying I am not a big Kamelot fan, not by choice, I may well be after this DVD, and I do own their albums, but really havent heard much, but now my cdp is playing Epica and Black halo over and over again !

After reading reviews for this dvd, I was curious to see why this dvd was getting so much praise. Basically, when it comes to concert dvd's, you can get bored in the first 10 minutes. I have had several dvd's which I just stop after 10 minutes or maybe just skip to the more popular songs.

This dvd on the other hand is one of those that gets you hooked. I couldnt stop it, I had other stuff to do, but no, I just had to continue watching. The quality is of the highest standard, both audio and video. And the performance, great. I read so much about Kahn, and I was like "I dont get why people like him so much, how good can he really be". But damn, he is awesome. Highs, the lows, the flow, the feel, perfect. If you have interest in metal music of any sort, this dvd is a must own.

Even for casual rock music listeners, you need to see this concert to realise what potential metal music has without being offensive, without swearing unnecesarily, without just singing about murder,death,and violence and bringing classical music elements into metal.

The direction, camera work, and lighting work are exceptional. I wouldve liked a few more explosions occasionally, but thats more because of the grandeur of the whole show, its not lacking as such. I only wish more artists would give this much importance on their dvd releases, and not just transfer the tape to a dvd and release it.

Well after watching this DVD for a few weeks and really looking it here is my review.

First the DVD cover. It looks very nice. :) They also picked a very nice title to.
Ok the first DVD. I really like the songs they picked to play.The camra work is just great and the people there had a lot of great energy for the band to feed off. Great stuff My fav songs on there are
Soul Society, The Edge of Paradise, Center of the Universe, The Haunting, Moonlight, and When the Lights Are Down

Know the great parts are:
Elizabeth (parts I, II & III), and March of Mephisto you could take those two songs the the New York Met house if you wanted to. They were just the best. The Drum solo was rocking. :)

Ok on to the 2nd DVD for a 2nd DVD it has a lot of good stuff. There could have been more but hey it's still a lot I well break it down here

HaloVision with Khan - I liked seeing the behind the scenes stuff. Though I'm like that with a lot of movies so this was a given that I would love this. On top of that I like the Q&A.

Up Close with Thomas Youngblood at home - Kind of reminded me of MTV cribs. It was nice to see where Thomas lives
Casey Grillo at ddrum - This was kind of cool seeing Casey picked out his drum set that he would be using.

Up Close Interview with Casey Grillo at home - Again like MTV cribs and I liked seeing where he lived.

Up Close with Oliver Palotai - I liked this becuase you really got to learn more about Oliver.

Interview with Simone Simons from the band Epica - This was one I have seen it before and nothing really new is learned. It's only good because you get to see Simone.


Ok on to the videos
The Haunting - I really like this video and it has a nice feel to it.

March of Mephisto
March of Mephisto (uncensored) - Why they did not just have the uncensored video put out is beyond me. But it's cool that you get both of them

Serenade - I have not really looked at this at so.
Making of "The Haunting" - It's a cool video well more like music video. I wish they would really showen behind the scene things and talked with people about the video

March of Mephisto - Live at Sweden Rock 2006 - Very great live number and seeing those flames go up druing the summer. Man that most have been hot for them.

Miscellaneous:
Photo Gallery including 2 slide shows of concert photos and band's private photos - Very nice photos here.
Band Member Biographies and Top 5's - I loved this showing what the band members like and did like and so on.
Discography - This is a meh.

All and all I really have been enjoying this DVD. There is a lot that keep you coming back from the live show to some of the parts on the 2nd DVD.

Disc one contains the actual concert and this is the disc I will return to, and soon, to enjoy an excellent show. There are multiple camera angles that showcase the entire band, chorus included, and the sound quality is exemplary for a concert DVD. However, there are two moments during the set that I think are unnecessary: a keyboard solo, and a drum solo. Okay, so their new keyboardist gets to show off a bit, but who really cares? As far as the drum solo goes, maybe I was ruined by attending four RUSH concerts in my youth; no drum solo will ever compare to Neil Peart behind the drum kit. Besides that, Kamelot frequently reminded me of Queensryche with their overall theatricality and tight band interplay on stage.

Then comes Disc two which has some horrible sound during the interviews. At one point during Simone Simons interview her voice is almost drowned out by a group of people speaking nearby. The videos reminded me of why I hate watching videos anymore as the actual songs are sliced and edited to a compact size and played over some otherwise decent imagery. Also, only two of the videos are formatted as mini-movie videos ready for MTV, another is a bloodier version of "March of Mephisto"(uncensored). The remaining two videos are taken directly from the show on Disc one. Okay? What was the point in doing that? There is a short "Making of 'The Haunting'" which was slightly interesting the first time through, but watching that again would induce intense boredom. The rest of the information provided on Disc two can be garnered from their website. Disc two is a wash. Just put in Disc one and enjoy the show. Thank you.

First off, let me say that I love Kamelot's music. The Black Halo is one of the best 5 prog/power metal albums of all time. I was anxiously awaiting this DVD and while it is good on several levels, I was very disspointed in the mix of the music vs. the vocals. Roy Khan's voice is too far back in the mix (especially in the first half of the DVD). For several of the first few songs it is pretty hard to hear him. While I tend to find the mix between vocals and music typically bad in concert (which I'll never understand), I've always been of the understanding that a mix issue like this can be fixed in producing a DVD. Not sure if it can, but if so, they really blew it in not making his voice more pronounced in the mix. For those that know Kamelot, Roy Khan's voice is a big part of why we listen to them. To drown his voice out is a travesty as it diminishes the best part of Kamelot.

I don't mean to infer this is a terrible DVD. By most objective standards, it's very good. I was just very dissappointed given how much I like Khan's voice. If you like Kamelot, I'd still recommend the DVD as it is better than 99% of other bands, but just be prepared to be a bit dissapointed in the ability to enjoy Khan's voice.

What an amazing concert DVD! I stumbled across Kamelot almost by accident. I was listening to Last.fm streaming radio, and heard a few songs by them and was intrigued, so I bought the last two CDs. Holy [...], they were good, but even those didn't quite prepare me for this DVD. This is probably the best live performance I have ever seen. The sound quality is perfect, the musicianship is perfect, the energy is awesome, the theatrical effects are great. It simply doesn't get any better than this. The absolute highlight is the performance of "Abandoned", which gave me goosebumps as I was watching.

These guys are easily one of the best power metal bands in the world and this DVD shows why. They write epic songs made of monster guitar riffs and awesome drumming. The keyboard parts are so atmospheric and create the perfect mood for each song. Khan's awesome vocals are so passionate and perfect that each song feels like his last. This DVD contains an entire show with crystal clear sound and includes a second disc with bonus footage including a making-of featurette and some nice interviews with the band members. Definitely a must have DVD for Kamelot fans and certainly one of the best DVD's by any band in this genre.

This is a review of the double DVD/CD version which is the only way to go. If you can't get it here look elsewhere! So here we go...

Ground rules stipulate that one cannot grant more than five stars to any release. But if you could, this would be my pick for a sixth star. A release of such quality and attention to detail that it's inspiring and truly sets the bar for any other band of this genre. Musically spot on, a real nirvana for Kamelot fans, the real oommmpphh in this release is due to its' expansive nature, the bonus features and the obvious care that's gone into making the gig enclosed a showcase event.

Starting with the CD's first. They are a straight rendition of the show. With the band spot on target and nailing every song and Khan - who as a vocalist has grown in stature in terms of his ability to emote over the years - the audio component here would be a valid enough release on its' own. Nicely produced with everyone getting their allotted time in the sun, if your a Kamelot acolyte then you'd probably find this quite a worthy addition to your collection. However on it's own it wouldn't be five stars as lets face it, live albums are an acquired taste and not everyone sees their reason to exist.

Onto the DVD, we have the show itself which is well paced and quite melodramatic as you'd expect. Your either on board or your not in regards to this brand of hard rock shenanigans but for me I find it quite a pleasantly played and well captured gig. One complaint I have is the fact that the stage area itself is so dark and the band have insisted on all wearing black, which means that you don't see them as clearly as you may like and it's frustrating when you want a more in your face experience. The addition of a range of guest stars adds to the fun. Sascha Paeth turns up, much as he did on Shamans RituAlive release, as do a range of others - Mari Youngblood, Elisabeth Kjaernes, Snowy Shaw (standing in for Shagrath in the role of Mephisto), Christian Kjaernes and Marianne Follestad. However perhaps the most notable special guest is Simone Simons of Epica who seems to have fun during The Haunting. The audio angle of things is good as per the CD part of the release.

The extras to the DVD however really give this release an edge. Everything from interviews that drift between the usual silly questions through to more serious aspects of touring are covered. Interviews with Simone Simons and `at home' segments also introduce you to aspects of the bands mind set and Casey Grillo takes the viewer on a brief journey to ddrum and there is a range of background information in a special feature hosted by Khan. Moreover there are a number of videos on here, the video clips to The Haunting, March of Mephisto (standard and uncensored) and the couple of video clips put together to support this release as well as another version of March of Mephisto shot at Sweden Rock 2006 AND a behind the scenes look at the making of The Haunting clip. Phew!

One top of all that the booklet is well laid out, you get a bunch of photos and comprehensive credits to all the parts of the release and a small (A4 size) poster as well.

Now if that's not enough for any Kamelot fan to splash out with his hard earned cash I don't know what is. A veritable feast of stuff and any band who puts this much attention into a product deserves to be rewarded with some decent sales figures. Dig in.

This is power metal as it should be. Watching Kamelot rocking on stage is a much superior experience to listening to the CD. The filming was beautifully done, capturing the mood perfectly. There is a story line to the show and the band moves from song to song effortlessly, keeping the excitement up even in the slower numbers like 'Abandoned'. Kahn's duet with Simone Simons of Epica on 'The Haunting' is flawless. Simone has such a charismatic stage presence at times it seems she might very well upstage Kahn!
Not since Queen's Live at Wembley had I enjoyed and rocked so much to a live concert. Kamelot prove that they are the masters of their trade and this concert might very well go down as one of the defining moments of their history.
Get it and rock your way to a great time.

I love the dvd, but I noticed what some people have complained about and that's the vox during the 5.1 The center channel seems to much lower thant the other speakers, dont know if it's a mixing thing or defect, but if you put it in PCM and use Dolby prologic II you'll be fine it still kicks butt. The video is excellent, the songs are awesome and Khan is a GREAT vocalist! I am happy with the dvd, just wish the center channel thing was better.