KAMELOT's TOMMY KAREVIK Explains 'Dark Asylum' Album Concept

In a new interview with Poland's MetalSide.pl, KAMELOT frontman Tommy Karevik was asked if it was difficult for him and his bandmates to work on material for their latest album, "Dark Asylum", while spending so much time on the road in the last couple of years. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, we probably had a couple of songs brewing on tour, if that's what you're asking. But then most of the songs came after the fact. I guess it's true — we have been playing festivals and playing shows when we were writing at the same time, which is not always optimal. For me, I either play live and all my energy goes into that, or I am in creative mode. I have a hard time being in both. So, to answer your question, [it's] a little bit challenging, at least for me personally, to juggle the two different worlds."

Asked to describe "the official storyline" of "Dark Asylum", which is said to be a concept album, Tommy said: "Well, the overarching theme of it, it's set in this dark asylum imagery, where we are the prisoners of our own creations. It's easy to get caught in the fear and the doubt and all the experiences you had and not know how to get out of it. And I think we wanted to portray a world where that doesn't have to be the case. Even if you're feeling all these feelings, there is a way out. There's a light at the end of the tunnel at some point. And maybe that light is actually always with you inside of you. Rather than reaching out for salvation somewhere to something, asking for permission, maybe you already have everything you need inside of you. So you just have to peel the layers back and find the core of who you are and find peace that way. So that is kind of the overarching theme. But then it takes place in this asylum. It has characters. It has different scenes, different rooms. We have the doctors, we have the patients. And it's an interesting thing to write about because there's so much in the human mind and the conscious mind and the subconscious mind that it's fun to explore."

Tommy went on to say that he made sure that the lyrics of the individual songs are understandable on their own without having to know the whole story of the album. "Yes, correct," he said. "I mean, there are certain songs that are a little bit more specific, but most of the songs have this — you can listen to it as a song out of context, and you still get a good message and still get a good feeling. But it can also be put in the context of the album and make sense."

Regarding how he made sure that the lyrical concept didn't take priority over the music during the writing process for "Dark Asylum", Tommy said: "I can only speak for myself here, but I work very well with having imagery to work with. Like, 'Okay, this is the setting and the scene. This is what it looks like. This is what I wanna portray, what emotion I wanna write about.' And it comes natural to me after a while. I have to live with the music for a bit. Even if I wrote the song — it takes a little bit longer to write the song from scratch — so if I wrote the song, I've had time to really live with the song before I start writing lyrics and melodies. And sometimes I get a song delivered to me without vocals and lyrics. Then I also wanna sit and listen to that song a lot and breathe with it and live with it in my headphones for a long time until I feel, 'Ah, this has to be this way.'"

"Dark Asylum" was released on a plethora of platforms, including standard gold, solid silver, and classic black vinyl editions, certified vinyl with the white label, white splatter, and blood filled variants, the latter of which are each paired with an official 24-page booklet. Multiple CD digipak available, with the two-disc version including an instrumental version of the album, alongside cassette and digital options.

Longtime KAMELOT producer Sascha Paeth returned to helm the album, alongside Jacob Hansen, who overaw mixing and mastering.

Formed in Florida in the early 1990s, KAMELOT became one of the defining names in modern symphonic and progressive power metal through albums such as "The Fourth Legacy", "Karma", "Epica", "The Black Halo", "Ghost Opera", "Silverthorn" and "The Awakening". Across more than three decades, the band has built an international following through conceptual storytelling, orchestral arrangements, and ambitious live productions.

KAMELOT is headlining a North American tour which kicked off on August 28 in Orlando, Florida and is hitting a month of dates before ending in Silver Spring, Maryland on September 27. Each night features very special guests VISIONS OF ATLANTIS as direct support, with FROZEN CROWN opening each show.

Next, the band will head out on a European headline tour, featuring very special guests EXIT EDEN and support artist TEMPERANCE. The tour will deliver KAMELOT's trademark brand of cinematic, top-charting melodic metal to 18 venues across Europe, culminating on November 22 in Madrid.

The European tour is set to launch with KamFest — a unique concert experience featuring two distinct lineups across consecutive evenings, showcasing performances from both established and emerging artists from across the symphonic and melodic metal spectrum. KamFest will take place on October 30 and October 31, 2026 at O13 in Tilburg, The Netherlands, where KAMELOT will be joined by XANDRIA, LEAVES' EYES and ELEGY on night one, and BLACKBRIAR, EXIT EDEN and TEMPERANCE on night two.

KAMELOT is:

Tommy Karevik - Vocals
Thomas Youngblood - Guitars
Oliver Palotai - Keyboards
Sean Tibbetts - Bass Guitar
Alex Landenburg - Drums