Editor’s Note: It was a gorgeous day where spring was in the air down in Des Moines as Tampa, Florida metal band Kamelot was ready to destroy Wooly’s with special guests Delain and Battle Beast. Kamelot recently released their latest record entitled “The Shadow Theory”, which has received some mixed reviews. Kamelot will be touring Europe this fall with Once Human and fans can find Kamelot at the following locations:
www.facebook.com/kamelotofficial
www.twitter.com/kamelotofficial
www.instagram.com/kamelotofficial
Madness To Creation: Thank you for taking the time to interview with me for Madness To Creation. Tell us who you are and what do you do in the band?
Oliver: I am Oliver and I play keyboards and help compose the music for Kamelot.
Madness To Creation: How has the tour with Delain and Battle Beast been going so far?
Oliver: The tour has been very nice. The audiences have really responded well to our new music off of “The Shadow Theory” and it’s always a pleasure touring with our friends in Delain and Battle Beast.
Madness To Creation: Tell us about the recording process of “The Shadow Theory”, what was the most rewarding and most challenging part in the recording process?
Oliver: Tom Karevik, our vocalist, Thomas Youngblood, our guitarist, and myself worked at my place in Germany on the writing. Basically, we send the music back and forth to each other until its finished.
Madness To Creation: One of the highlights was that Kamelot worked with Lauren Hart of Once Human for the single “Phantom Divine”, take us into that song and what was it like working with Lauren?
Oliver: It was a pleasure working with Lauren, she was very eager to work and she was a natural fit for the single “Phantom Divine”, in terms of the lyrical content of the song, in “The Shadow Theory”, we explored concepts of the power of oppression and Draconian law, for example, getting arrested for thinking about committing a crime in the future, being under a total authoritarian regime, and the sad thing about it is is not only the corruption of the power, but that people under authoritarianism or a dictatorship doesn’t allow people to innovate, to create any art, or even pick up a skill, whether it’s being a musician or being a carpenter to build houses. We wanted to explore this philosophy in this song.
Madness To Creation: What was the most challenging aspect of the studio or making music in general?
Oliver: Well, those that know me know that I like being quiet and still so I can think about melodic structures, and to feel the art when I’m playing. I like sensing how the music is going to flow through being silent, it is something that we are always consumed by phones and technology and there are times where I just want to read a book, or just simply being silent so I can think.
Madness To Creation: So how do you feel about cell phones at concerts?
Oliver: Well, its not really up for me to decide, as a keyboardist, I am concentrated on making sure that the band sounds like it should in terms of the equipment and that we are on cue with our songs. I don’t really notice, but American crowds are on their phones a lot more than European crowds. That’s the main difference I’ve noticed between American and European crowds.
Madness To Creation: What can fans expect at a Kamelot show?
Oliver: A Kamelot show that plays Kamelot songs! *laughs*. We enjoy playing in front of our fans and I also have a new keyboard that I will be debuting soon and I can’t wait for the fans to see and hear the new keyboard.
Madness To Creation: Plans for the rest of 2018?
Oliver: Play some shows in Europe with Once Human and other things that I can’t reveal yet.
And there you have it! Special thanks to Jon Freeman at Freeman Promotions for setting this up for us! Fans can check out Kamelot fall European tour dates below!
For tickets and further information on the shows listed above, click here!
ICYMI: Check out Madness To Creation’s review of “The Shadow Theory” by Kamelot here!
