Kamelot's “Silverthorn”

Kamelot is arguably best known for their lead man, Roy Khan and his unique vocals in a genre dominated by tenors and high-pitched screams. So when his departure was announced, fans were understandably shell-shocked. While no one doubted Kamelot could still come up with decent albums, they wondered how they would fill in the huge gap left by Khan's departure.
Fans need not have worried. Swedish Tommy Karevik of Seventh Wonder was called upon, and did he deliver! Kamelot with new vocalist Karevik brings you Silverthorn. It is arguably one of the best metal albums of the year. Musically, not too much has changed. Kaverik delivers fluid vocals throughout, similar to Khan's but yet keeping his own touch of magic in the voice. He is catchier, more power-metal-ish and at times dreamy. I warn you now, you may find yourself lost in the spellbinding choruses.
Musically, Kamelot has become less dark and has taken a more power-metal approach. Kudos to them for not trying the same things they did with Khan but doing something that brings out the best of Kaverik. But you can still tell its Kamelot. The atmosphere is the same, the music has the same feel to it.
The album starts out with a 2 minute instrumental intro which I won't get into. The first real song is Sacrimony. With the very first minute, you know Kamelot means business. It's a really good song and really sets it up for what is about to come. Ashes to Ashes and Torn are decent songs and managed to hold my attention well enough. Tears For Jolee is a pretty good ballad. Ballads in power metal albums often tend to be boring. This was far from it.
Veritas is pretty amazing too. Elize Ryd from Amaranthe features in the track to great effects. Then comes My Confession. This is the song that completely sold me. I would have rated this album highly just because of this one track. I keep listening to this over and over and over. I might have a man crush on the Karevik. The rest of the album is pretty good too. There are no real 'weak tracks' in the album in my opinion.
My Favourite Tracks: Sacrimony, Veritas, My Confession, Falling Like the Fahrenheit
The Good: Some really memorable songs, catchy and fun as hell,
The Bad: Perhaps not as good as the Kamelot classics, no Roy Khan,
My Verdict: Listen to it.
You might also consider checking out Stratovarius' new album Nemesis, Helloween's Straight Out of Hell, Dream Theater's Dream Theater.