The Spill Magazine The Spill Magazine
The Spill Magazine The Spill Magazine
The Spill Magazine The Spill Magazine
  • Reviews
    • Album Reviews
    • Features
    • Live Reviews
    • Festivals
  • Portraits
  • Headlines
    • News
    • Contests
    • Events
    • Entertainment Headlines
    • Concert Listings
    • Toronto Concert Venues
  • New Music
    • Premieres
    • TOTD
  • Books + Movies
  • Scene Unseen
  • About
15
new
SPILL ALBUM PREMIERE: ELECTRONIC THE DUCK – EP1
SPILL NEW MUSIC: MAX FOREMAN – “SECOND TIME AROUND”
SPILL NEW MUSIC: ISLANDS ANNOUNCE FIRST ALBUM IN FIVE YEARS ‘ISLOMANIA’ + SHARE “(WE LIKE TO) DO IT WITH THE LIGHTS ON” VIA ROYAL MOUNTAIN RECORDS
SPILL NEW MUSIC: PAUL WELLER ANNOUNCES NEW ALBUM ‘FAT POP (VOLUME 1)’ SET TO BE RELEASED MAY 14 ON POLYDOR RECORDS | NEW SONG + VIDEO FOR “COSMIC FRINGES” OUT NOW
SPILL VIDEO PREMIERE: SWALLOWS – “IN THE SHADOW OF THE SEVEN STARS”
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: MONOWHALES – DAYTONA BLEACH
SPILL NEWS: GREG KEELOR ANNOUNCES NEW ALBUM ‘SHARE THE LOVE’ WITH VIDEO FOR THE FIRST SINGLE “WONDER”
SPILL VIDEO PREMIERE: BARA HARI – “WEAPON”
SPILL VIDEO PREMIERE: ELSKA – “ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS”
SPILL VIDEO PREMIERE: CAPTAIN DANGER – “HOLLY”
SPILL CONTEST: MANNEQUIN VANITY RECORDS GIVEAWAY – ENTER TO WIN A GIANT MVR PRIZE PACK!
SPILL ALBUM PREMIERE: CHARLIE NIELAND – DIVISIONS
SPILL FEATURE: NEW HIGHS, NEW LOWS – A CONVERSATION WITH WE WERE SHARKS
SPILL MUSIC PREMIERE: CITYLIGHTZ – “MY LIFE”
SPILL NEW MUSIC: CLOUD NOTHINGS’ “NOTHING WITHOUT YOU” FROM THE BAND’S EIGHTH STUDIO ALBUM ‘THE SHADOW I REMEMBER’ OUT NOW VIA CARPARK RECORDS
  • MORE
  • Reviews
    • Album Reviews
    • Features
    • Live Reviews
    • Festivals
  • Portraits
  • Headlines
    • News
    • Contests
    • Events
    • Entertainment Headlines
    • Concert Listings
    • Toronto Concert Venues
  • New Music
    • Premieres
    • TOTD
  • Books + Movies
  • Scene Unseen
  • About
  • Spill Menu
    • Reviews
      • Album Reviews
      • Features
      • Live Reviews
      • Festivals
    • Portraits
    • Headlines
      • News
      • Contests
      • Events
      • Entertainment Headlines
      • Concert Listings
      • Toronto Concert Venues
    • New Music
      • Premieres
      • TOTD
    • Books + Movies
    • Scene Unseen
    • About
Album Reviews
192
Editor Pick
previous article
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: WYE OAK - THE LOUDER I CALL, THE FASTER IT RUNS
next article
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: THE GOLDEN GRASS - ABSOLUTELY

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: KAMELOT – THE SHADOW THEORY

Kamelot
The Shadow Theory
Napalm Records

Euro-American rockers Kamelot are back at it again with their latest release The Shadow Theory. The highly anticipated follow-up to their previous release Haven delivers a more polished collection that is still jam-packed with grandiose dramatic flair and thematic lyrics that Kamelot fans crave.

The album kicks off with their first single “Phantom Divine (Shadow Empire)”. This is an instantaneous hit that is immediately infectious. The chorus will stay with you for days for all the best reasons. Lead singer Tommy Karevik is in fine form throughout this album. His passion and magnetism paired with his haunting voice is inherent not only in the video for “Phantom Divine” but clear throughout the recording. This song also features Lauren Hart from the death metal band Once Human on guest vocals. She has a great talent for both clean and demon vocals and she uses both to great effect paired and contrasted with Karevik’s voice.

Narrowing down a few highlight tracks off this album is hard as they’re all great offerings in their own way. The latest single “Amnesiac” is a solid song featuring an intensely heavy and driving bass line from bassist Sean Tibbetts that kicks off the song and leads into guitarist Thomas Youngblood, who also delivers a great guitar solo on the song “Kevlar Skin”, doing what he does best. Once again, the chorus here is an earworm waiting to happen.

These next tracks stand out due to their uniquely symphonic melodies that are just beautiful. “In Twilight Hours” is the power ballad to end all power ballads. Featuring the ethereal vocals of Jennifer Haben from Beyond the Black, the duet is rich and emotive.

Upon the first few chords of “Static”, I knew this would be one of those songs I’d play on repeat. The melodies here soar and pull on emotional heartstrings while it still holds up as a perfectly solid metal track.

“Vespertine (My Crimson Bride)” and “The Proud and the Broken” are songs that bring me right back to the hay day of Kamelot when their former front man Roy Khan was at the helm of the ship. The lyrics here are richly poetic and reminiscent of old fantasy realms.

The album as a whole is one of the strongest metal albums I’ve heard this year. The arrangements by Youngblood are topnotch throughout. There is not a poor or weak song on this album. As with all albums, certain songs will speak to individuals more than others, but every song here, including the instrumental intro and outro, are impeccably crafted and stunning.

Kamelot have outdone themselves with The Shadow Theory and this will certainly be known as one of the band’s best albums and if not the best album of the current Tommy Kerevik era. It’s hard to say if this is a themed album but the consistent vein that permeates its whole of this album is the idea of technology taking over the human mind which adds a whole other unique layer of enjoyment and exploration to the album.



Artist Links

website_flat_2016 facebook_flat_2016 twitter_flat_2016 instagram_flat_2016

Editor Pick
Item Reviewed

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: KAMELOT – THE SHADOW THEORY

Author

Samantha Wu

Here's what we think...
Spill Rating
Fan Rating
Rate Here
New Criteria
10
9.7
10
Total Spill Rating
9.7
Total Fan Rating
1 rating
You have rated this
Album Reviews
album reviewalbum reviewskamelotlauren hartnapalm recordsphantom divine (shadow empire)the shadow theory
album review, album reviews, kamelot, lauren hart, napalm records, phantom divine (shadow empire), the shadow theory
About the Author
Samantha Wu
Samantha Wu
Samantha is both a writer and a fan of the arts and has been able to find numerous ways to pair the two. Eager to dive head first into writing for Spill, Samantha is an avid partaker and reviewer of live art in Toronto serving as an editor at Mooney on Theatre exploring live local theatre, she's a photojournalist for Been Here Done That, a travel, dining and tourism blog that focuses on Toronto and abroad and previously for Lithium Magazine. She's passionate about music, theatre, photography, writing -- not necessarily in that order. She drinks tea more than coffee, prefer ciders over beers, and sings karaoke way too loudly. You can follow her on various social media including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
RELATED ARTICLES
album reviewalbum reviewskamelot
 
8.0
Monowhales

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: MONOWHALES – DAYTONA BLEACH

by Gerrod Harris on March 5, 2021
MONOWHALES Daytona Bleach Independent Over the years, Toronto’s MONOWHALES have become an essential band among the independent scene known for their impressive alt-pop sound and their [...]
 
8.0
Hysterics

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: HYSTERICS – SLEEP

by Gerrod Harris on February 27, 2021
Hysterics Sleep Tarantula Tapes Returning with their sophomore EP, Sleep, Newmarket, ON- based Hysterics is returning with an unrelenting and uncompromising punk record. Following 2018’s [...]
 
6.0
Melvins
10

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: MELVINS – GLUEY PORCH TREATMENTS (VINYL REISSUE)

by Nathan Pike on February 26, 2021
Melvins Gluey Porch Treatments (Vinyl Reissue) Ipecac Recordings Years ago in the small town of Montesano, WA, a three-piece band was playing with a musical fire they [...]
 
10
NOFX
9.9

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: NOFX – SINGLE ALBUM

by Jake Collier on February 26, 2021
NOFX Single Album Fat Wreck Chords NOFX is still around 40 years since their early beginnings, and what is there left to do when the rest of their era’s punk bands have fallen or sold out? Well, [...]
 
8.0
Alice Cooper

SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: ALICE COOPER – DETROIT STORIES

by Gerrod Harris on February 26, 2021
Alice Cooper Detroit Stories earMUSIC For his 28th studio album, Alice Cooper has returned with Detroit Stories, his first record since 2017’s Paranormal. The album features15 tracks – [...]
Latest Album Reviews
View All
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: MONOWHALES – DAYTONA BLEACH
8.0
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: HYSTERICS – SLEEP
8.0
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: MELVINS – GLUEY PORCH TREATMENTS (VINYL R...
6.0
10
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: NOFX – SINGLE ALBUM
10
9.9
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: ALICE COOPER – DETROIT STORIES
8.0
Latest Live Reviews
View All
 
Lord Huron

SPILL LIVE REVIEW: LORD HURON ALIVE FROM WHISPERING PINES: EPISODE 2 OF 4 (VIRTUAL EVENT)

by Robert Defina on February 18, 2021
92
 
Small Town Titans

SPILL LIVE REVIEW: SMALL TOWN TITANS @ SMT HQ, YORK (PA)

by Gerrod Harris on February 6, 2021
36
 
Lord Huron

SPILL LIVE REVIEW: LORD HURON ALIVE FROM WHISPERING PINES: EPISODE 1 OF 4 (VIRTUAL EVENT)

by Robert Defina on January 7, 2021
431
 
Wardruna

SPILL LIVE REVIEW: WARDRUNA – ‘KVITRAVN’ PRESENTATION (ONLINE PERFORMANCE)

by Samantha Wu on December 10, 2020
200
 
Evanescence

SPILL LIVE REVIEW: EVANESCENCE @ ROCK FALCON STUDIO, NASHVILLE (TN)

by Melinda Welsh on December 5, 2020
63
Tweets by @spillmagazine

SPILL MAGAZINE MENU
  • Home | The Spill Magazine
  • Premieres
  • Album Reviews
  • Books + Movies
  • Features
  • Live Reviews
  • Festivals
  • Portraits
  • News
  • Events
  • Entertainment Headlines
  • Concert Listings
  • Toronto Concert Venues
  • About Us
  • Contests
  • New Music
  • Spill Magazine Contributors
  • TOTD
  • Privacy Policy
  • The Scene Unseen
  • Newsletter

Copyright © 2020 | The Spill Magazine
All Rights Reserved.

TRENDING RIGHT NOW
   
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: NOFX – SINGLE ALBUM
1928
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY – MECHANICAL SOUL
683
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: PAUL McCARTNEY – McCARTNEY III
581
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: GUIDED BY VOICES – STYLES WE PAID FOR
562
 
SPILL MUSIC PREMIERE: CHURCH OF TREES FEAT. CAROLE POPE – “WORLD’S A BITCH”
464
 
SPILL LIVE REVIEW: LORD HURON ALIVE FROM WHISPERING PINES: EPISODE 1 OF 4 (VIRTUAL EVENT)
431
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: BLACK PISTOL FIRE – LOOK ALIVE
382
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: GEORGE THOROGOOD AND THE DESTROYERS – LIVE IN BOSTON, 1982: THE COMPLETE CONCERT
351
 
SPILL NEW MUSIC: “SHAMELESS” STAR WILLIAM H. MACY RELEASES DEBUT SINGLE “WHISKEY DELL” UNDER “WILLIE CREEKS” MONIKER
333
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: THE DIRTY NIL – FUCK ART
288
 
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: CHRIS CORNELL – NO ONE SINGS LIKE YOU ANYMORE
285
 
SPILL FEATURE: TRULY ORCHESTRATING HIS OWN LIFE – A CONVERSATION WITH RICK SPRINGFIELD
281
 
SPILL FEATURE: HIS STORY RIGHT NOW – A CONVERSATION WITH cEvin Key
277
ENTERTAINMENT HEADLINES