TOMMY KAREVIK On Joining KAMELOT: 'It Has Really Been A Big Change In Every Aspect Of My Life'

Kamelot Germany recently conducted an interview with new KAMELOT singer Tommy Karevik. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Kamelot Germany: Five months ago you were announced as the new singer of Kamelot. How do you feel looking back at 2012 so far?

Tommy Karevik: It has really been a big change in every aspect of my life. I was coming from not playing so many shows and mostly working in the studio and also working as a firefighter. Now I have this part-time job as a musician, traveling around, meeting new people, playing in front of thousands of people, doing many more shows then I've ever done before. It's really a big difference and it's a big challenge, but I think for me, it's something I really want to do. I can feel it. You can't even compare it to 2011; it's a new start for a big part of my life.

Kamelot Germany: When you told your family and friends that you were going to join KAMELOT, how did they react?

Tommy Karevik: It's not really black or white here. It was like two years, or one and a half years at least, when everything was kinda floating in the air and of course everyone was asking me like every week, "Any news, any news, any news?" So everyone was basically in on it for a long time. Of course, when you are not in the very situation that you have to make a decision on your own, people will always say, "Yeah, go for it, do it. You only have one life!" They don't count in everything else, as when you are the one who's being asked. But I had a lot of time to think and talk to my friends, to [my girlfriend] Silvia, my bandmates in SEVENTH WONDER and everyone approved. I really wanted to do it, so everyone was happy in the end. I know it's really stressful for Silvia when I'm away for such a long time and it's stressful for me too, but we've been together for 8 years, going on to 9, so we know each other and trust each other. We have been through a lot together already; eight years are eight years. We know that we have each other, so it's not going to be a problem.

Kamelot Germany: How long did it take to really settle into the KAMELOT family? I hope the guys didn't give you a too hard time!

Tommy Karevik: No, no, no. They have been amazing; it has been really easy for me. It was different during the European tour in 2011 as the backup singer. There was a lot on the bands mind regarding Roy [Khan, former KAMELOT singer] and the tour with [KAMELOT fill-in singer] Fabio [Lione]. Since becoming a full time member, everything is more focused on me as the singer and it's working out just fine. It's really good.

Kamelot Germany: There is tons of praise for you and the band out there, but of course there are always some people who have to complain. Are you following the reactions of the people on the Internet?

Tommy Karevik: Yes, of course. I think it's nice to read both. Of course, I know that it cannot all be good, it doesn't matter who the new singer would be, what he would look like or how good he would sing. Of course, there are people complaining about me being similar to Roy, but on the other hand if I wasn't similar to Roy, there would be a lot of people complaining about that too.

Kamelot Germany: Maybe even more.

Tommy Karevik: Maybe even more, because you see, the Tarja [Turunen] and Anette [Olzon] situation [in NIGHTWISH] was completely different and she got a lot of shit for that and the band too. I just try to carry on the legacy that already exists. A lot of things that Roy sang or wrote were actually called for in the music and I would probably have written the same or close to it at least. The vibe in the music is already there, you just have to follow it and it would be strange if I sang a bunch of SEVENTH WONDER stuff above this kind of music, you know?

Kamelot Germany: Yes, but that's what some people were expecting, even that it makes no sense. It doesn't fit.

Tommy Karevik: Yeah, that would be like SEVENTH WONDER all over again. But… nah, I'm really happy we did it this way. I'm sure a lot of people are eased into the new era since I do the old songs like Roy did them and the new songs have a touch of the old KAMELOT as well. I cannot see that we could have done it differently.

Kamelot Germany: KAMELOT's new album "Silverthorn" is out since a couple of weeks. And may I say it turned out absolutely amazing! It has been said that you wrote most of the lyrics and the vocal lines yourself, which is great in my opinion. What did you do to match the sound and feel of KAMELOT so well? It sounds like you did this forever!

Tommy Karevik: I just try to follow the mood. I listened to all the KAMELOT records to get a feel on how it's built up, how the lyrics are structured and then I just tried to rely on my own sense of melody. It wasn't the goal to make it sound exactly like before, I wanted to add something new, but I also wanted to keep that resemblance of the old stuff so that people feel familiar with the music and the material. I think that was an important part. And then I had some help of course from the guys in the band and Sascha (Paeth, producer). They directed me a little bit in the beginning to make it really KAMELOT, since I'm so new to the band and I didn't really listen to much KAMELOT in the past years. I think all of that together was the recipe that ended up in the new album.

Read the entire interview from Kamelot Germany.