Karma

Artist: Kamelot
Label: Noise
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 823107407127
EAN: 0823107407127
ASIN: B000085RTX

Release Date: 2003-02-04

Related Categories:

General

| Pop | Styles | Music

General

| Rock | Styles | Music

Death Metal

| Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Pop Rock

| Pop | Styles | Music

Progressive Metal

| Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music

Listmania:

CDs I want, Part 1
Favorite Albums (1.1.2006)
KAMELOT - Anthology
The Power of Metal
More of the Best Power Metal in no order
favorite songs/albums, part II
::music pepe enjoys::
GOOD NEW METAL CD`S OUT THERE
Quality Fantasy Books and Music
great progressive rock

Tracks:

REGALIS APERTURA
FOREVER
WINGS OF DESPAIR
THE SPELL
DON'T YOU CRY
KARMA
THE LIGHT I SHINE ON YOU
TEMPLES OF GOD
ACROSS THE HIGHLANDS
ELISABETH: MIRROR, MIRROR
ELISABETH: REQUIEM FOR THE INNOCENT
ELISABETH: FALL FROM GRACE
Ne Pleure Pas (US Bonus)

Similar Items:

Epica
The Fourth Legacy
The Black Halo
Siege Perilous
Dominion

Customer Reviews:

"Will you revive from the chaos in my mind?".......2007-02-16

4.5 stars. I would really like to point out that the songcraft here is excellent, but there are a couple of negatives that eventually downgrade the album. The first and most noticeable flaw is the thin sounding production. These guys go for the big moments time and again only to be let down by low-tech sound. Compare this album to their other release "The Black Halo" for a great comparison and contrast, as "The Black Halo" has tremendous production value. Another way to see what I mean is if you listen to the three songs from "Karma" that are played live on "One Cold Winter's Night" just to see how huge the sound could have been. The only other complaint I have is for the song "Don't You Cry" which just doesn't work. Most of the time I love Kamelot's ballads as it gives lead singer Khan yet another chance to show his vocal talents, but this particular track I simply skip anymore. This release was also a bit harder for me to get into initially, but over the course of a few more spins I came to appreciate what is here: Progressive Power Metal songwriting of the highest degree. Recommended.

Start of the climb - a healthy three stars.......2006-07-26

This album starts with an instrumental track. That and the neat cover should tell you that your getting an accomplished Euro metal product tinged with a touch of self importance. And lo, that's just what greets the listener on this worthwhile purchase.

Kamelot has talent to spare yet on this release their vision hadn't coalesced fully, the band still not quite nailing it. Having said that, on this album the band are already able to utilise Khans' voice to it's full effect and the musical assault is committed with the band making tasteful use of keyboards for shading.

Salient tracks here (for me) would be the lovely Forever. A metal musical piece with a plaintive, longing lyrical bent. Wings of Despair stops and starts, swoops and soars with a tasty slice of guitar work. The Spell is a heavy rocker with a gothic trad metal atmosphere while Don't You Cry shows a tender side once more with some vocal gymnastics from Khan.

As the record unfolds some of the tracks don't quite wash. This is why it's only a three star release - at this point the band could of been winners or losers. Luckily the developed into the former and this release is a springboard to better things. Fans of traditional metal, Euro metal and perhaps Euro hard rock should check this band out, but start at Epica or Black Halo before committing your hard earned dollar here.

By the way - production was by Sascha Paeth and Miro - those in the know may find this tidbit of info helpful in their decision making.

"don't you miss the ancient times/the riddles and the subtle signs".......2006-05-24

Since this review is being done after Kamelot released two later CD's, it is a rare instance of being able to look forward to the future instead of the usual longing for the past. The music here is better than the previous (The Fourth Legacy) and growing toward the brilliance of Epica and The Black Halo. Khan's voice is noticely developed and the band's overall performance is sharper than in the former but much more improvement awaits in the latter. However, Kamelot's less-than-perfect works are better than the best music of a lot of other bands and easily rates four marks. (Please see my profile for a brief discussion of my rating philosophy.)

Great Band With Tremendous Talent.......2005-08-02

I prefer Epica over Karma, but this is the first one that got me into Kamelot so it deserves its place right below that outstanding album. I would start with Karma or Epica if you are new to the band and purchase the good, but not as great, The Black Halo after.

Best Power Metal Band Out There.......2005-06-19

Okay, Khan's not the greatest singer in the world. Youngblood's not the greatest guitarist. But we know from basketball that it takes more than just having the greatest players to make a good team, and Kamelot proves that the opposite is true as well. You can have a band made up of artists who are lesser than the best, but who still can blow other bands out of the water.

Blind Guardian has Hansi, probably the best singer in power/speed metal, but they have yet to release anything that blows my mind completely.

Angra has some of the best keyboards and choral arrangements, but Andre Matos and their latest lead singer (can't remember his name) are both far too high-pitched for my taste.

Iced Earth has Jon Schaffer, probably my favorite power metal guitarist.

If you put all my favorite power metal artists together, however, you'd probably come up with one crappy album. Demons and Wizards was good, but try adding Angra's keyboards to that or something. It would be awful.

So what Kamelot has here, with Karma, is a few talented musicians who are able to work together and make an album where nothing sounds out of place. No cheesy over-the-top Blind Guardian/Rhapsody choruses, for example. Perhaps what I like about Kamelot is their ability, despite the subject matter, to actually get in there at the humanity behind it all. We have all wondered what we would give to have eternal life, so "Elizabeth" parts 1, 2, and 3 is especially haunting. "Forever" is about our wish to be united with our loved ones in the afterlife. "The Spell" is about our desire for fantasy, or rather, our desire to transcend the ordinary. Somehow, Kamelot even pull off "Don't You Cry" without sounding cheesy, and that is a real feat. Of course, there is real emotion behind that song, and every instrument carries it perfectly, including Khan's voice.

This is a surprisingly good power metal album, and can probably even be approachable to those who beforehand have turned away from the genre because it is "too cheesy". Don't get me wrong, I do like some of the cheesier stuff, but this recording shows that you can have epic music without the cheese.

Music CD:

Music CD

Music CD

Music CD

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