Kamelot - Poetry For the Poisoned [2010]

No streak can last forever. Eventually Queensryche released Empire, eventually Crimson Glory dumbfounded with the banal Strange and Beautiful., and eventually Coroner came out with... okay, so that's one officially spotless band. In the tradition of the aforementioned disappointments, Kamelot delivered this half-baked mess after one of the most staggering strings of stupendous albums in power metal's existence. Everything from Karma (and not a note before) to Ghost Opera was melodic metal gold through and through, especially The Black Halo, a perfect record that I consider to be among the greatest ever produced. I once thought of 2007's appropriately titled Ghost Opera as a watered down misstep, but my opinion of it has only grown with time. Unfortunately, after one and a half years, I cannot say the same for its followup, Poetry For the Poisoned.

As with the Nevermore album also released in 2010, pre-launch signs were ominous. Single "The Great Pandemonium" didn't exactly whet my appetite with its annoying whispered vocals or completely forgettable chorus; and although I like his work for other bands and love his musical work for his own group, I never could quite dig the confusingly dark cover art penned by Septicflesh's Spiros Antinou here. Seriously, what the hell is that and what is it doing on a Kamelot album? Upon finally listening to it in full, however, I found it all too reflective of the music held within. The most important element of Kamelot apart from the obvious, melodic curb appeal is undoubtedly the uplifting and often passionate emotional quality that goes into their music. That's simply missing here. It's all been hidden under some dark veil of false maturity, succumbing to mild-mannered ennui. The liveliness, the joy, the energy... for the most part, they're missing or at least obscured to the point of near absence.

Of course, in a simpler observation, the actual songs are neither as effective nor as memorable as on earlier efforts. First of all, many are simply recycled with lesser results. "House on a Hill" is the obligatory power ballad with female vocals, but it doesn't even get close to the beauty and emotion of previous tries like "The Haunting" or "Love You to Death." "Once Upon a Time" is a carbon copy of previous fast, energetic numbers "When the Lights Go Down" and "Silence of the Darkness," but this time the fun and bounciness is out of the picture. Such shortcomings are technically intangible, but when one experiences a record as free from feeling as this, there's really nothing else to say. The lowest point of the record comes with the four part title track, which is a confused and ultimately pointless attempt at being progressive. After wasting too much time with trying to be fancy and profound, the song just awkwardly fades into oblivion. It's all too weird for this band, and not in a good way.

Not all is bad, however, and I shouldn't make it sound as if Poetry For the Poisoned is some type of irredeemable travesty of the ages. Some embers of the blinding light we're accustomed to from Kamelot still flicker here and there. "The Zodiac" is a powerful and atmospheric tune helped by the legendary vigorous guest spot of Jon Oliva, and one of the only forays into self-aware darkness included that doesn't utterly fail. "If Tomorrow Came" is a strange but efficiently modern piece that shows a an odd side of the band. "Necropolis" possesses something largely absent from the rest of the proceedings: a riff, and a tasty Crimson Glory-like one at that. My favorite track is probably "Hunter's Season," a great power metal anthem that rolls as easily as anything else here. For one sudden flash, I could have sworn I saw the glory and prowess once so strong in this band; but alas, it's all too brief and we're stuck with the rest of this soggy setlist.

Production-wise, everything is softer and more theatrical this time around, taking Ghost Opera's style and draining it of almost all of what made it interesting. Roy Khan's talent and range have sadly deteriorated over the years, but never have I noticed his inadequacy as I have here. Reluctantly I must say that his departure from the band might end up being a blessing in disguise. Hell, even the lyrics are worse. Where there were once eloquent stories of passion and pain (sometimes conceptual), Poetry For the Poisoned regresses into simplistic and often excessively enigmatic musings--rather ironic for an album with the word "poetry" right there on the cover. It all comes together as one cohesively mediocre, mundane release. I'd count it among my most significant musical disappointments, and a release that I'm definitely not confident Kamelot can come back from. To use a cliched expression, Poetry For the Poisoned sounds like a shark-jumping to me, and one that leaves a rather bitter taste after ingesting its poisoned contents.

   Overall: 5.25/10 (Mediocre - hit the brakes now)