KAMELOT's THOMAS YOUNGBLOOD Has No Plans To Celebrate 20th Anniversary Of Debut Album

Taylor Phelps of Ghost Cult Magazine recently conducted an interview with KAMELOT guitarist and founder Thomas Youngblood. You can now watch the chat below. A few excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On the new KAMELOT album, "Haven":

"It's got the KAMELOT DNA that everyone expects but we have new elements; we have industrial elements in it, folk... modern metal. [It contains] some of our heaviest songs but also some of our most lush ballads as well. So it's got everything that metal fans love, but also people that like music in general. We really try to just make good songs."

On which other guest musicians he would love to collaborate with in the future:

"I wouldn't mind having, like, Lzzy Hale [HALESTORM] maybe as a guest. What's the girl that plays violin? I can't remember her name… Lindsey Stirling. Somebody that's a little bit ourside of the metal genre in a way, slightly different."

On how KAMELOT's new deal with Napalm Records affects the band's company, Kamelot Music LLC:

"Kamelot Music LLC is still there. We license our songs through that company to Napalm or King Records in Japan. So it's a ilicensing deal, but essentially we're on that label and they're working their ass off on the album, which has been great. Yeah, it's one of those things. We were fortunate to have a couple of labels sort of fighting for the band, and, in the end, Napalm, in our opinion, was the right fit… based on a lot of different criteria."

On whether KAMELOT has any plans to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the band's debut album, "Eternity":

"I'm just happy that we're still doing this. I don't really think too much about… I'm not a nostalgic kind of guy too much. I'm always focused, looking forward, having goals… It's always great, though, to think about… I think back… I can remember like it was yesterday signing the record deal, going into the studio, the first touring… all that stuff. But I don't know… I think one of the reasons why KAMELOT's still relevant is because we always try to evolve with each record and looking forward and not looking too much in the past. We've had some personnel changes, which I think also makes it a little bit more difficult to kind of, like, go, 'Oh, yeah, let's do redo an album,' for example, or something. But it's fine. Time's flying. We're still doing this, and it's great."

"Haven" was made available on May 5 in North America and May 8 in the rest of the world (excluding Asia) via Napalm Records as part of an exclusive licensing deal through the band's Kamelot Music LLC.

Produced by Sascha Paeth and mastered by Jacob Hansen, "Haven" is a massive album that is sure to please critics and fans alike. Guest musicians on the CD include Alissa White-Gluz (ARCH ENEMY),Troy Donockley (NIGHTWISH) and Charlotte Wessels (DELAIN). The breathtaking cover and artwork was created by Stefan Heilemann and additional art/layout was done by Gustavo Sazes.