Artist: Kamelot 
   Title: Ghost Opera
   Label: SPV Records

'Ghost Opera' is the long awaited follow up to the superb ‘The Black Halo’ album of 2005 from symphonic metal superstars Kamelot.

Hot after their storming performance at this years Prog Power UK 2 show, the band have unleashed another epic monster of an album and one more than worthy of the Kamelot name.

Khan, Youngblood and the rest of the band have taken the whole Symphonic genre and made it their own.  After 'Black Halo' no one could touch the band and with the release of this new opus, the band will surely go on to conquer the world.

The album itself gets underway with the gypsy violins of the intro ‘Solitaire’ and then it's straight into the album properly with the excellent ‘Rule The World’.  When you hear the melodious tones of Roy Khan’s vocals you know you're in for something rather special and with Youngblood’s excellent guitars and the mesmerizing keyboards of Oliver Palotal, this could only be one band.

To describe this album as simply epic wouldn’t do it justice.  This is an album of mammoth proportions and as the title track ‘Ghost Opera’ is unleashed, with it's pummelling rhythm section courtesy of Glenn Barry and Casey Grillo, you'll soon understand what I mean.  This is just a spectacular piece of grandiose symphonic metal, which ranks high along with anything the band has done before.

‘The Human Strain’ is next a more atmospheric piece that mixes choral background vocals along with Khan’s unmistakable sound, as well the thumping bass lines and Youngblood’s soaring guitars produce another breathtaking track.

The album takes a more aerial twist with ‘Blucher’, a track that defines the whole idea of Symphonic Metal with its orchestral keyboards and choral background, all wrapped in the streaming metal guitars of Youngblood.

Things slow down a touch with the Oriental influences on the haunting ‘Love You To Death’, a track which soars between the dueting male and female vocals, to the all out powerhouse metal you only associate with Kamelot.  This is also were Youngblood is given a free rein on the guitars.

The album once again switches gears as we return to the more film score metal sound with the gloriously grand ‘Up Through The Ashes’, which features another rousing vocal performance by Khan as well as the power-driven assistance of the rest of the band, on yet another outstanding piece of sublime Symphonic Metal.

As each track unfolds its splendour for the entire world to hear, as each one out does the previous one and leaves this reviewer gob smacked and word blind, it becomes harder and harder to find superlatives to equal the magnificence of this album.

Things just keep getting better and better and none more so than on the next track ‘Mourning Star’, another haunting performance by the band. This is only preceded by the thumping rampage that is ‘Silence Of The Darkness’, as my favourite track off the album, which in itself took a lot of thought and contemplation even to pick one out of all the splendid pieces on the album.

One of those in the running was the almost hypnotic tones of ‘Anthem’, a track featuring just Khans vocals and keyboards and has to be heard in its entirety to be really appreciated.

It's back to the more thunderous metal for the album closer ‘ EdenEcho’, a real powerhouse of a track that rounds off a excellent return for Kamelot.  Those of you who like me thought ‘The Black Halo’ would be hard to top, then like me you will be blown away by ‘Ghost Opera’.  Also for those of you who like to have that little bit extra, the album also comes as a limited edition digipack which will contain the bonus track ‘The Pendulous Fall’, as well as a bonus DVD of the video of the track ‘Ghost Opera’.

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