Ghost Opera + Bonus DVD

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Customer reviews

review by: Henrik Jürs date: 2009-02-12 rating:
my best buy in 2008
I first discovered this album in 2008 - and its still my best buy for that year. br / br /Aftere having read the other reviews - it is clear that while people might like the same albums - its not the same songs they like - to me the opening violin was great - as was the 4 fisrts songs - "rule the world", "Ghost Opera", "human strain" (my favorite on the CD) and "Blücher" - the only 2 songs I don't like and sometimes skip is "Love you to death" and "anthem" - but to each his own - it is a fatastic album!! br / br /Henrik

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review by: Reaper_FBB date: 2008-05-16 rating:
What a nice surprise
Before I bought this album, I only had one CD by Kamelot and that was "Karma". I enjoyed this, but I found that some of it was a little hard to get into. However, on a recent buying spree, I bought "Ghost Opera" and boy am I glad I did. br / br /Some people may think that the orchestral beginning is a little cliched, but I still like it and it runs really well into tracks one and two. I did notice at this point that the first two tracks were a little more commercial than I had expected, but they are both excellent songs and I always find myself singing along. br / br /I have actually listened to this album almost constantly since I bought it and there are a couple of songs which are losing their appeal slightly, but the majority are still easy to listen to. As well as the first two tracks, I particularly enjoy the tracks where the female vocals complement the male. br / br /I want to finish by singling out two tracks. Firstly, there is "Anthem" which is the obligatory slow song, but as other people have mentioned, it doesn't seem to have been added because it should... It really fits in with the album and the vocals are very emotional. br / br /Finally, "Pendulous Fall" is my favourite track, although I can't quite put my finger on why. It's just that whenever I listen to the album, I'm always looking forward to it and when it does come on, I can't help but sing along, especially in the car. br / br /All in all, an excellent album.

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review by: IMAGES WORDS date: 2008-04-13 rating:
THIS IS A BAND RIGHT AT THE TOP OF THEIR GAME!!
I really don't know exactly how these guys manage to do it-but they keep producing albums of high class symphonic,melodic rock!!I thought that the last album(THE BLACK HALO)was incredible but the band obviously do not like to rest on their laurels because this one is-put simply-AWESOME!!It will be interesting to see if they can keep up the very high standard that they've set for themselves with the next album but lets worry about that one when it comes along!!For now,lets just enjoy every single note of this "masterpiece"!!After the quite restrained voilin intro of "SOLITAIRE",the music kicks in "big time" when "RULE THE WORLD" starts and along with some very heavymelodic music khans voice sounds probably the best it's ever sounded-not that he's ever sounded bad before,it's just that he seems to have got it "spot on" for this album!!Next song up is "GHOST OPERA" with an incredibly infectious chorus and some more great driving music behind khans powerful voice!!That one is followed by "THE HUMAN STAIN"-a more "mid-paced" song but it certainly doesn't sound any less impressive than the first two!!The next tune up is "BLUCHER" another sort of mid paced one with backing vocals by SIMONE SIMONS of EPICA-yet another highly impressive song-that is followed by "LOVE YOU TO DEATH" which is a "haunting" ballad featuring some great vocal interplay between khan and amanda sommerville-the lyrics are quite "disturbingsoothing" at the same time-but the combination of khans dark brooding style along with amandas soft feminine voice make this one of the highlights on the whole album!!Next one up is "ON THROUGH THE ASHES" which is another mid paced one that builds up nicely to another extremley "catchy" chorus!!Then comes "MOURNING STAR" which i would probably describe as a mid paced rocker/ballad with backing vocals again provided by miss.sommerville!!That's followed by "SILENCE OF THE DARKNESS" and that certainly kicks things up a notch or two-great driving hard rock/fantastic vocals and another "sing-a-long" chorus!!Another ballad next in the form of "ANTHEM" and khan shows another side to his singing style here by singing in quite a restrained-almost "soulful" style-very impressive!!Last tune on the album is "EDEN ECHO" which is another excellent mid-paced to fast tune with another awesome chorus brillianly handled by khan to finish off the album and set the seal on(as far as i'm concerned)a "MASTERPIECE"!!I feel fairly certain that this album(along with all their other work)will still be very highly thought of in years to come!!Put quite simply,they're an absolutely great rock band!!If you're a fan of bands like NIGHTWISH/HAMMERFALL OR SYMPHONY X then you'll absolutely love this album and if you don't then there's something "seriously" wrong with you!!

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review by: Baron von Goremeat date: 2008-03-10 rating:
It's all about Anthem...
Kamelot, in my opinion, put out the best metal release of 2006 with One Cold Winter's Night Live DVD + CD and a lot of critics hailed Ghost Opera as being the best release of 2007. 2007 wasnt a great year for metal anyway with all the big guns producing sub-quality stuff (I'm looking at Dimmu, Nightwish, Epica, Maiden the list goes one), but was Ghost Opera really all that good? In short, I thought it wasn't quite worth the fuss made over it. I'll break it down song by song: br / br /1. Solitaire (Inst) br /Nothing special here. Violin solo is well written and it creates a mood that sets up the album very well, but musically bland and not all together worth listening to on its own. br / br /2. Rule the World br /Some of the riffs in this one are good, but the vocal melodies were surprisingly weak given Kahn's proven track record in that respect. The song never really picks up energy nor did it offer enough emotional dynamics to keep the interest of the listener. It just kind of drones on. br / br /3. Ghost Opera br /I almost always reserve judgement on a record until i hear it's title track. This one starts of with a sonically altered (as though played on a gramophone) orchestral introduction. I'm a fan of orchestral music, but the intro was nothing special, serving only as a slight teaser at the start of the track. Once the metal kicked in however, the mood was changed. There's a real menace to this song and it seethes through everything. The chorus is unique and holds interest throughout and the verse is the best example of staple Kamelot vocal parts you will find. This song was let down by sub-par orchestral elements, but it's a very interesting piece of music that deserves plenty of respect. br / br /4. The Human Stain br /This is one of those songs that need the listener to be in a particular mood. It's nothing melodically exciting and there is nothing particularly likeable in the riffs or melodies, yet it creates a certain spine-chilling feeling, perhaps brought about by a well brought together lyric combined with music that can create an emotional response that matches the lyric. br / br /5. Blucher br /Once again, this piece was melodically quite poor, but still managed to create emotion that rouses sufficiently. This piece is one of the least memorable and was wisely placed buried in the middle of the record. br / br /6. Love You To Death br /Unlike Blucher, this was a memorable song. Enough hooks were good enough to grab you and take you with the music. The problem that plagued this song, and indeed much of the album, was a relatively poor focus on melody. It's all atmosphere and texture without particularly much musical substance. The production values whilst very high, also intruded in the vocal performance far too much. br / br /7. Up Through the Ashes br /This song was somewhat a relief. The orchestral elements were quite well done and the solemn menace was aided with a more pleasant offering of melody. The vocal parts were outstanding in this piece and really made the song a winner. I've sung along to this plenty of times and it isnt getting dry yet. br / br /8. Mourning Star br /I suspect this as somewhat of a filler. It's void of both artistic creativity and clinical care. Nothing catches you and the song is quickly forgotten. br / br /9. Silence of the Darkness br /A return to the musical style that made Kamelot famous in the metal world. Power metal with easy to listen to vocal lines. Unfortunately, this is a poor man's Karma/Center of the Universe etc. It's good, but pales compared to their previous work. br / br /10. Anthem (9/10 song; absolutely awesome) br /This song was harmed by the production choices. Not sure what Paeth was thinking, but when you have metal's best clean voice on your team, you dont cover him up with processing fx. Anyway, this song is absolutely brilliant. The lyrics are essentially kahn's message to his (then unborn) son and they are truly and honestly heart warming without being sappy or clichéd. The vocals are of course excellent and you can feel the song's message. The piano and synth accompaniment is also top quality and this is the first song on the record that offers both atmosphere and melodic beauty. This song is worth the album's price alone, but unfortunately it was never released as a single nor as a video. Whichever muppet makes those decision for Kamelot needs to be fired! br / br /11. EdenEcho br /After Anthem, it would take something special to grab attention and approval. EdenEcho isnt too bad at all, and it rounds of the album's emotional movement very well. It is dark, but offers enough light, which is consistent with the album's theme. Again however, the absence of melodic attention means that this song is soon forgotten and cast into never-play-land buried deep somewhere on iTunes for the attention of shuffle play once in a while. br / br / br /Overall Rating - 4 Stars br /This is a very good album with a selection of good songs. Anthem is also the best song of 2007 in metal beyond any doubt. It is so skilfully written, emotionally honest and inspiring that it would make any album worth purchasing. I highly recommend this if you can stomach metal that isnt balls to the floor trash riff heaven! It's about emotions and you 'feel' the music rather than listen to it. A very unique sound too. br / br /The digipak case + booklet are delightfully attractive which has helped me give this the 4 star rating. The DVD is a pretty small bonus, but a bonus all the same! br / br /I was happy to have bought this, and it is one of the better releases of 2007.


review by: Big Jim date: 2007-11-27 rating:
Man playing fiddle on sleeve alert!
Prog Metal has cost me a fortune this year as I have discovered some great bands and albums that I had quite frankly never heard of. This is another of the latest slew of European progsters who have upped the anti away from the doodly twiddly style of prog and incorporated elements of the heaviest of heavy metal in the many tuneful tracks on this album. Opening with an admittedly passé operatic/symphonic track this album soon transforms into a bludgeoning riff-fest with excellent instrumental passages linked with powerful singing and furious drumming. In a mighty year for prog metal this one ranks with the best

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