Album Review: Kamelot - Poetry for the Poisoned (2010)

Kamelot - Poetry for the Poisoned (2010)

Having climbed the mast of the symphonic metal scene to finally fly their flag with 2005's The Black Halo, Kamelot have spent the past five years capitalizing on their recent ascendancy for better or for worse. Whereas 2007's Ghost Opera was more or less a holding pattern for the band, Poetry for the Poisoned (2010) is a welcome progression, even if the results are, at times, inconsistent and awkward.

First and foremost, Poetry is heavier and darker than anything prior, and that alone makes it far more interesting than Ghost Opera (which felt almost lazy by the album's second half). In addition, Poetry boast some of band's best songs to date, especially the sinister opener "The Great Pandemonium." Other standouts include the moving "Hunter's Season" and "House on a Hill," the latter being arguably the band's best duet power ballad (featuring a excellent performance by returning siren Simone Simons). Unfortunately, much of Poetry's middle suffers from overly ambitious production with lackluster songwriting; it's not that the songs aren't interesting, they just don't achieve the musical impact that the best of Kamelot songs achieve (but at least it's not due to laziness). Despite this drawback, you have to hand it to the band for trying new things, and fortunately, things pick up toward the end. The title suite is absolutely fantastic and the closer "Once upon a Time" is the most rousing moment on Poetry (even if this track feels more vintage Kamelot than anything else on the album).

In the end, Kamelot make good on their promise to change things up a bit. And while Poetry is certainly not their best work, it's their most engaging work. The darker direction is something they can work toward perfecting on their next album; however, with vocalist Roy Kahn's recent departure, it will be interesting to see whatever comes next.

- McS

Album Review: Pete Yorn - Pete Yorn (2010)

Pete Yorn - Pete Yorn (2010)

Say what you will about Pete Yorn, but he's been putting out dependable folk-rock for the last decade. And even if some albums were better than others, at least he's amassed a handsome discography to go along with his rugged good Jesus-like looks. In 2009 alone he had twin releases (Back and Fourth and Break Up, the latter of which was with Scarlett Johansson), and barely a year later he has another! It would be easy to assume that this prolific period means a diluted pallet for Petey, but this is far from the case, as his eponymous self-titled fifth release is as vibrant a record as when he debuted ten years ago.

Like most acts that still mine the folk-rock scene, Yorn's musical style hasn't varied too much throughout his career; however, each release does bring its own twist to the table. With Pete Yorn (2010), the twist is a raw edge to the music previously unheard on any previous albums, and that makes for a relatively surprising listen considering his last two albums were more along the lines of acoustic pop. It's not to say that Yorn is now embracing punk, far from it, but he does rock a little harder this time. The guitars fuzz, the drums rollick, and the vocals don't always stay in tune, but that's fine because the music as a whole embraces a pleasurable amount of grit (thanks in part to the raw production of the Pixies' Frank Black/Black Francis). Such is the case with the excellent rockers "Precious Stone" and "Paradise Cove 1." But that doesn't mean that Yorn has lost his sensitive side, "Stronger Than" is one of his better tender moments, with it's earnestness only amplified by the raw production.

All in all, Pete Yorn just sort of works and is a rocking addition to Yorn's fairly sizable catalog. And while it's difficult to beat his seminal musicforthemorningafter (2001), Yorn has certainly left his first decade on a high note.

McS

Album Reviews

Warning: there were a few key albums from last year that I just didn't get to in time, but I'm going to get to them now, so sorry if they're a year late...

McS