KAMELOT Guitarist Talks About Making Of 'Silverthorn'

Kamelot France recently conducted an interview with KAMELOT guitarist Thomas Youngblood. A few excerpts from the chat follow below.

Kamelot France: Fans' reaction to "Sacrimony", the new song you played [on the recent European tur], was also great! Was this choice kind of obvious or were there other "big candidates?"

Youngblood: We have a lot of strong songs on the album, but this one was the first one that we wanted to play. Ironically, it was one the last song we wrote the music for. I remember sitting with [KAMELOT keyboardist] Oliver [Palotai] in Stuttgart and I had to leave the next day for Florida. I said, "Let's make one more song, something fast and uptempo." That was the genesis for "Sacrimony". Later, [new KAMELOT singer] Tommy [Karevik] laid down a killer vocal melody and it was pretty much like on the demo. Later, we invited Elize Ryd [AMARANTHE singer and KAMELOT touring backing vocalist] to sing on that song.

Kamelot France: [Longtime KAMELOT producer] Sascha Paeth told us that [the new KAMELOT album] "Silverthorn" [is] probably the best KAMELOT album so far, in his opinion. Do you agree with that and what can you say about the production work?

Youngblood: I cannot say this, but it's definitely top 3, maybe the best ever. I don't want to say the typical band response that it's our best ever. Sascha, of course, has been with us for 10 years and hearing him say this is awesome.

Kamelot France: KAMELOT fans' reaction to the announcement of Tommy Karevik as the new singer has been unanimously good. Did you expect so much support?

Youngblood: After hearing the test version of "Song For Jolee" [the first new song written with Tommy], we kinda got a feeling most of fans would support the eventual decision to go with Tommy Karevik. He is engaging on stage, amazing with melodies and his range is phenomenal. I can't wait for the fans to meet him on the upcoming tours. He also respects the past of KAMELOT and gives the older songs the justice they deserve.

Kamelot France: Last January, you revealed that six or seven songs were already co-written with Oliver. When, and how, did Tommy step into the process?

Youngblood: Around February, we started sending him ideas for songs. "Song For Jolee" was the first one, then "Solitaire", and so on. He worked closely with Sascha in Wolfsburg on the vocals and lyrics.

Kamelot France: How much has he been involved in lyrics?

Youngblood: For the most part, he did all the lyrics, along with Sascha. I did some lyrics and we all worked together on the concept and storyline.

Kamelot France: Did you change ur way of working for this album — for yourself, and with the rest of the team?

Youngblood: Not at all. We approached the songs the same as always. This was important to maintain the KAMELOT sound, at least on the music side. We chose a singer that fits into the KAMELOT picture instead of picking someone that would require changing tunings, etc. Of course, Tommy adds his unique style to the base of this equation, making a perfect transition to the next generation of KAMELOT.

Kamelot France: Can you reveal a few things about the upcoming "Sacrimony" video? We already know that it's gonna feature Alissa White-Gluz [THE AGONIST]... Any other guests? Is it gonna be same production team than the other videos?

Youngblood: We returned to Serbia and working with the crazy and amazing director Ivan Colic. I had been discussing ideas with Stacca, the studio producer, about ideas and making a video that will be killer. They also did [previous KAMELOT videos] "Ghost Opera", "Rule The World", "Love You To Death" and "Human Stain". Alissa is featured in the video as well as Elize Ryd.

Kamelot France: Can you tell us a bit more about the original concept and story of the album?

Youngblood: The limited box set has a book that outlines the story, its based in the 19th Century and deals with an affluent family that deals with tragic events that leads to coverups, secrets and betrayal. The fans need to dig into the story once they have the album.

Kamelot France: The album artwork for "Silverthorn" looks amazing. Where did the style and elements come from and are they related to the story?

Youngblood: The cover is Jolee, the main character in the story. This is her as an adult, she is the angel of afterlife. Heile did an amazing job on the cover and the booklet is full of great images.

Read the entire interview from Kamelot France.

Making of "Sacrimony (Angel Of Afterlife)" video:

"Sacrimony (Angel Of Afterlife)" live performance: