American band KAMELOT has released the album The Black Halo. The album contains 14 compositions. The style is difficult to define, but generally speaking, it's epic power metal with progressive elements. The album turned out very beautiful, atmospheric, and at the same time varied — there are fast compositions typical of power metal with vocals in the upper register, interesting instrumental passages, and guitar solos, all accompanied by keyboards. The structure of some compositions is very complex (which is precisely what prevents classifying the album as ordinary power metal), with changing rhythms, themes, and performance techniques. The album is a cohesive whole, with longer compositions alternating with shorter ones, including three minute-long interludes — one resembling a prayer, another a folk song. In addition to Roy's main vocals, there is also female vocals and even some brutal male vocals in places. The album features a great deal of vocals with minimal accompaniment (often just keyboards, or keyboards with acoustic guitar), which can't be called an unequivocal plus.
It's hard to single out the best composition on the album — all the tracks truly harmonize with each other — but Memento Mori can probably claim that role as the longest, most interesting, and most complex composition on the album. Overall, the album is very compelling. Fans of progressive and epic power metal will surely enjoy it. The only advice would be not to judge the album after a single listen — this album demands repeated listening.