Kamelot Brings 2015 Haven World Tour to Austin -

AUSTIN – It was a warm cloudy late afternoon in Austin; one that would turn into a rainy evening before the show even began. The venue was the The Mohawk. This is an interesting venue, in that it has 2 stages, and a unique layout. One small stage that is inside, and the larger stage outside. The larger stage was where the show would be presented. Along with the stage is a floor area to watch along with a staircase leading up to three different viewing levels.

Kicking off the night’s entertainment was British Power Metal band Dragonforce who are known for their songs based on fantasy type lyrics, and exceedingly blazing fast solos (with what you would think are sounds from 1980’s video games). It would be easy to assume that these are merely studio tricks done during the recording of their songs, however, as was proven on this night, it is not studio trickery. Both guitarist Herman Li and Sam Totman, proved this by flawlessly performing each and every song they played. Although it started raining about 15 minutes before their set, the crowd that was packed on the open floor area stayed for the entire show. They played a variety of material and the hit’s from each of their five releases, with the majority coming from their 2014 release Maximum Overload. They even threw in a blazing version of the Johnny Cash song Ring Of Fire. The crowd showed their love by singing along through the show.

Kamelot is a US/German/Swedish band that has been around quite a few years in the symphonic metal genre. Having been founded in 1991, through many years of touring, they have developed a worldwide following. Touring for the newly released Haven album, they brought the North American leg of their 2015 Haven world tour to Austin. Just from the number of people sporting Kamelot t’s, you could tell that a majority of the people were specifically there for them. From the opening strains of Rule The World and the ensuing crowd reaction, you knew you were in for a great show. Although their set was heavily weighted toward playing cuts from the previous and new release, they did play many crowd favorites, such as Ghost Opera, Karma, Center Of The Universe, and March Of Mephisto. Singer Tommy Kraverik, once again, proved that he is a worthy replacement for former singer Roy Kahn. He managed to show that by easily covering the older material with the same passion and emotion as Kahn and bringing an energy that bodes very well for the future of the band.

Article and photos by: Jim Wilkinson