THE HIGHWIRE DAZE INTERVIEWS

Updated: 09/16/01

With Karma being their strongest release to date, Kamelot is making a name for themselves all over the world with their stylish brand of power metal. Highlighted by a trilogy of tunes focusing on the life of the infamous Countess Bathory, Karma includes the mastery and brilliant musicianship that we've all come to expect from this Florida-based band. Although these guys have yet to do a proper tour of the States, Kamelot remain a compelling force on the heavy metal scene. Our interview is with guitarist Thomas Youngblood.

Highwire Daze: How do you think Karma compares to the other Kamelot releases and why did you decide to use that name for the album?

Thomas Youngblood: It's hard to say for me to judge how it compares to the other ones, but I think it's our best record for sure, without trying to sound cliché. The reviews we've gotten so far in Europe sort of solidifies that opinion. The title Karma basically comes from sort of a feeling or realization that it's really important how we react to other situations to how we react to each other - and to how our own life is going to basically turn out. And that's the real genesis for a lot of the songs - this whole vibe of a certain type of positive thinking in a way.

HD: What fascinates you the most about the legend of Countess Elizabeth Bathory and why write did you write a song about her?

Thomas: The idea to do a trilogy was always there - we just didn't really have the inspiration. We were looking through one of the Renaissance magazines and I found the story of Elizabeth Bathory, and I just thought it was fascinating. I had never heard of her before. We started writing a song about her. Then we heard about some other groups who had done songs or albums completely based on her life. Our viewpoint was always trying to go more for the human side of who she was, and not so much the beast or demonic side of her. We really wanted to look at her as a person and try to explore a little bit of why she thought like she did.

HD: Yeah, well she certainly got her Karma in the end.

Thomas: She represents the bad Karma.

HD: What are some of the other songs on Karma inspired by?

Thomas: Different things. Don't You Cry was inspired by my father. When I was twelve years old he passed away, and basically he raised me from when I was an infant. That was something that I really wanted to touch on and open up to. The whole album is a little bit more personal, whether we are using metaphors that are based on history or not - it's definitely a more personal album for myself and Khan.

HD: Did you father ever have anything to do with music?

Thomas: No, actually he didn't. But I really feel this sort of guidance. I don't really believe in guardian angels or things like that - but I've always felt that things always work out and I kind of get the sense that his presence is there when there's hard times. And that's one of the reasons why I wanted to do that song.

HD: Tell me about the extra track on the US version of Karma.

Thomas: When we did the song Don't You Cry, we wanted to do a French version for France. They did a limited edition of only 2000, so we thought with the US fans having to wait two months after the European release, we wanted to have something different on there for them without having to go and make up a song. We didn't want to write or rush in to do one bonus track - we wanted to have something different and really special on the US version. And I kind of like the French version better personally - I kind of feel the way the words are sung is a little bit more symphatic. It's kind of cool to know what the words are in English and then listen to it in French.

HD: Is Khan actually fluent in French?

Thomas: Yeah, actually he is. His mom is a French and English teacher in Norway. She helped do some of the translations and things like that. According to some of the French fans, it sounds great. Apparently it's pretty good, as far as the French in it.

HD: Are all of the band members now living here in the US?

Thomas: No, Khan still lives in Norway. We do so much now as far as travelling - whether it's recording in Germany or doing shows or being here to rehearse. It doesn't really matter - our base is wherever we are.

HD: Even though most of the Kamelot guys are from the US, why is it that you rarely play shows here?

Thomas: It has a lot to do with the market. In Europe we could play concerts in cities and have between 500 and 1000 people. We do shows in Tampa, but to do (an American) tour would be expensive. It doesn't really make sense to drive in a van and have to sleep in a van. Basically it has a lot to do with the economics and things like that. We're not trying to make a killing, but we have to at least break even. And at this point, there has not been the right tour to do that.

HD: Isn't it kind of frustrating to see that you guys are more popular overseas than over here?

Thomas: It is to some extent, but then and the other hand, it's good that we have a market that we could say is ours. I think things are going much better in the US now. I mean, our first two records were never even released here.

HD: Is there any chance of a Kamelot tour for this release or a few shows maybe in Los Angeles?

Thomas: We're trying to work on a cool package for the fans that makes sense for everybody. We're working with the record company and different booking agents to try to get together something that would be really cool. So hopefully within the next month or two we'll have something together that we can really look at seriously and say - hey, we're gonna tour the US! We're also working with Sanctuary Records now and we're hoping that maybe we could do something with one of their bands too.

HD: Speaking of live shows, I guess we're going to go back one album to The Expedition. What made you decide to do a live album at that point in your careers?

Thomas: In the old days, the rules were you do a live album after a certain chapter in your career. And I think that's changing. If a band wants to do a live record, they can do it anytime they want. With the record company, the idea was to do five live songs and release it as an EP. But we decided to add some more songs to it and add some bonus tracks, and it turned out to be really cool. I kind of look at it as a nice little snapshot of the history of the band. We can look back when we do the next live album and kind of compare. I think it was a good experience - it was a lot of fun.

HD: Will the earlier albums like Eternity and Dominion be released here in the States?

Thomas: I'm not sure. I don't see that happening. There's not really been any talk about it and I don't know if the demand is enough there to actually catalog. But it would be cool to see the whole catalog here in America as well.

HD: When you look back at the earlier albums, what do you think of them now?

Thomas: I'm proud of them. I think the songwriting was definitely in the early stages of where we are now. I think our songwriting has improved dramatically. Musicianship is kind of subjective, but I definitely think we write much better songs now.

HD: Although you guys are scheduled to play Wacken this year, didn't you have a back-up plan if you were not able to play?

Thomas: Yeah and we probably will still do that. What we did was we wanted to do a promotion to give the fans that support Kamelot at the Wacken festival a chance to send their pictures in from Wacken. The coolest picture we were going to pick and send them a nice package with Kamelot merchandise. We will probably still do that, even though now we're finally playing the show.

HD: What does the production team of Sasha Paeth and Miro add to the Kamelot sound?

Thomas: They were really crucial in defining our sound, especially with The Fourth Legacy and up to Karma. They bring a professionalism and experience from doing great productions in the past. They're both musicians, so they can understand what we're doing musically. And Miro is a keyboard player and arranger, so it's also killer to have since we don't have a keyboard player in the band. They've done all the Rhapsody records and Angra and several other projects. They're not only great producers but really cool people - and that's important for us to be surrounded by people who are cool that are not jerks or people with big egos. So the vibe when we record there is really good.

HD: Who did the cover artwork for Karma and how much input did you have on it?

Thomas: The cover artwork was done by Derek Gores who has done all of our covers except for The Expedition and the first record Eternity. Usually it's a concept that the band comes up with and we go to Derek and have him sketch out ideas and we just go from there. It's usually a concept that comes from the band and we have Derek do his magic and make it look like we had it in our heads.

HD: It looks like you've got the Countess there on the cover…

Thomas: Yeah, that's who that is. That's our Kamelot vision of who she is. A little bit sexist, but hey, that's too bad, ya know.

HD: Yeah, the Countess does look a little sexy on the cover.

Thomas: (laughs) Yeah, I guess the blood worked.

HD: Well that kinda goes with the next question - so does Kamelot have any groupies while out on the road?

Thomas: Well, I mean… I can't really comment on that right now…

HD: (laughter) No comment! Take the fifth, okay whatever….

Thomas: (laughs) I mean, nothing is like how it was in the 80's, but there's always that element with touring and stuff - and I think it will always be that way.

HD: Seriously, if there was one thing you'd like to leave a listener with after hearing your music, what would it be?

Thomas: An uplifting kind of feeling - to make them feel good about what they're doing. We really don't want our music to be this sad kind of thing, where after you listen to it you want to blow your head off. We really try to make sure that the songs have some kind of positive message in what we're doing, and I think that whole positive kind of vibe is on this record too.

HD: When you're not doing Kamelot, what do you like to do in your spare time?

Thomas: Basically I don't have a lot of spare time. But I try to relax. We live near the Gulf, so I like to go to the beach a lot. But right now, there's not a lot of free time. If we're not playing live shows or recording, then we're busy working on records.

HD: Do you have any messages for Kamelot fans here in the States?

Thomas: I want to say thanks for all of the support that we've had from the guys on the Internet and all the supporters that are still out there for metal. Hopefully with everybody getting together, we can bring this thing back to a respectable level. And once we set a tour for the US, I want to make sure everybody can come out there and see us live.

The Kamelot line-up is Khan on vocals, Thomas Youngblood on guitars, Glenn Barry on bass, and Casey Grillo on drums.