Power metal maestros KAMELOT have gained the reputation of being on of the most innovative acts in metal through their unique blend of melodic, progressive and doom/gothic influences that have ensured some solid releases. They are set to release their latest creation titled The Shadow Theory and it will do more than open minds. Distorted Sound‘s Lotty Whittingham speaks to guitarist and founding member Thomas Youngblood about the deep rooted messages within the song’s lyrics, their processes put in place when creating the record and what to expect on their upcoming world tour to promote The Shadow Theory.
Your upcoming release The Shadow Theory will be released next month, I found the lyrical content to be a little bit different to the fantasy concept albums you have released previously whereas this one the content is more contemporary.
Thomas: I think that’s probably accurate but we still use a lot of the romantic tragedy aspect to the lyrics and the music that we’ve always done. There’s a lot of metaphoric connections. The album is kind of a step further into the future from where Haven was and it’s this idea of where we see the world going is where we saw the record going. You’re also probably referring to some of the lyrics in Amnesiac that actually talks about beautifying filters and things like that. It’s important to always try new things with this record where we’re able to continue that balance of keeping the KAMELOT sound and also trying new ideas.
When you say beautifying filters, could that also refer to technology like Photoshop and Instagram where you can manipulate what people see?
Thomas: There’s a concept around the album but it’s not a concept record with a storyline. Amnesiac is a take on the way on how society is dumbed down to what’s really going on so you’re not thinking or noticing what’s happening and they’ve upped the level on Beauregard’s and super rich people that make the decisions for everybody. The point of this is all the diversions from your smart phones, Facebook, these wars that distract us from what’s really happening. So that’s what the song is about in a rough way but if you were to listen to the song and not overthink it, which I hope a lot of people do. The song is a similar vibe to Insomnia, it’s from that kind of world in the KAMELOT frame.
Speaking of being dumbed down, it got me thinking of something that British comedian Russell Howard said about all these reality shows placed on the TV to keep us thick as the government continue to pass those laws or something along those lines.
Thomas: What I have seen over the last fifteen years of touring the United States is this anti-intellectual approach to everything. It’s really frustrating, I mean I don’t consider myself to be Mr. Intellectual but I do feel like I am this normal, curious guy who likes to assess things on an intellectual level. I can even imagine how these super-duper smart people can even deal with going to the store with some of these idiots. It’s kind of sad because what it does is enable decisions to be made, whether it’s leaders of each country to doing things and nobody really questions it. It’s frustrating. In terms of KAMELOT, we want to make to have songs that always question things and make you think about what’s happening and how you’re living in life. We always have some kind of message in our music that hope our fans either consciously or subconsciously kind of get.
Kevlar Skin talks about not wanting to be vulnerable but then realising that opening up is the best way to deal with your problems. It reminded me of struggling with a mental illness but I can see it applying to those who have struggled with an addiction or coping with a huge life change.
Thomas: Definitely. It’s a personal lyrical song for Tommy [Karevik], I don’t specifically know what he’s referring to in the song. I always came from the camp of trying things like taking your foot off the shore to discover new islands and the worries come from that mindset. A lot of people play it safe, they never want to let themselves out to fail. It’s important in your growth as a person, whether that’s in music or business you are going to have a tonne of mistakes and failures before you have any successes. I always come from that camp where I say go for it and you should make calculated risks on everything. I love the idea of trying things, doing things whatever that might be in life. I think it’s part of how we evolved and the way we are stuck doing a job because of mortgages, debts and things like that. Before I did KAMELOT full time, I was sat in the cubicle for ten years and just wasted all this time. It was because I had a rent, a car and a home I had to have so you kind of get trapped. At some point I sold everything I had and bought a bike, this was around the time of Fourth Legacy. I started fresh with zero debt and it was the most, amazing freeing experience. So, I talk to people and say it’s not about how much you make, it’s about how much you spend. In term of what I have learnt about taking risks if you don’t have all this debt, you can afford to take a year off and start a new career.
Given your musical career started in the 90s and you would have seen a lot of changes within the music industry over the past two decades, would you say these changes in the music industry and in general influenced your decisions on the theme of the album? Particularly how we can access different information.
Thomas: I think all these things influence the record but in general I’ve always kind of had the philosophy of a certain type of song writing where I include new things with each record whilst it stayed within the time period. That’s one of the most important things we do on tour, we always bring out new songs; a lot of bands that have been around for more than ten years basically stick to their old set list and play one or two songs from the new record but we’ve always been the kind of band that are always forward thinking and living in the moment. That’s why I love these songs and why I love the songs from Haven, that’s why the set is usually heavy with new material from the new record.
I noticed you’re starting your tour a week after The Shadow Theory’s release date, I know some bands release it so the fans can hear the new songs on record before hearing them live. Was this a similar intention for KAMELOT?
Thomas: Usually our albums are so delayed. The tour has been planned for a year and half, usually the album comes out in the middle of a tour but this time it’s definitely coming out ten days before the tour. The fact the fans will have a chance to listen to all the songs on the album before we get there, the video songs will be out before we get there so that’s an important part of it. A lot of the time, people who have never heard of the band come to the show and they get their picture after the show. So, there’s different models and philosophies to releasing an album but we release a week or two before the tour.
Speaking of video releases, which songs off the album are you going to be releasing as singles?
Thomas: We’re planning on doing what they call an instant gratification track for pre-orders so we’re releasing a lyric video for the song Ravenlight then we’re doing a full blown massive video for The Phantom Divine which will come out a month later. We will then do a third single for around the middle of May for one of the other tracks which I can’t say yet.
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