- Country: USA
- Style: Symphonic power metal
- Label: Napalm Records
- Release date: 28 August 2026
Thomas Youngblood started Kamelot in Tampa back in 1987, and nearly four decades and fourteen albums later the band are still among the finest in symphonic power metal. Dark Asylum is a concept piece set in a neo-Victorian world, inside RavenHill Asylum, a former cathedral where science, faith and madness live uneasily under one roof. Long-time producer Sascha Paeth co-produced it with the band, and Jacob Hansen handled the mix and master.
Tommy Karevik is in superb voice, and the guest list reads like a who’s who of the genre: Avantasia’s Tobias Sammet trades lines with him on “One Last Masquerade”, Visions of Atlantis singer Clémentine Delauney and Decessus frontwoman Ignacia Fernández join “Sanctuary”, and Fernández also adds harsh vocals to lead single “Ashen World”. The orchestral arrangements are lush and cinematic, and Youngblood’s lead work is as tasteful as ever.
At fifteen tracks it is long, and the theatrical interludes occasionally slow the pace. But when the melodies soar, few bands do this better.
Best tracks:
Ashen World (feat. Ignacia Fernández)
Sanctuary (feat. Clémentine Delauney, Ignacia Fernández)
One Last Masquerade (feat. Tobias Sammet)
Godlike Alchemy
Author’s rating: 8/10
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