Ghost Opera

Infobox Album |
Name = Ghost Opera
Artist = Kamelot
Type = studio


Released = June 5, 2007
Recorded = Gate Studios and Pathway Studios, Wolfsburg, Germany, 2007
Genre = Symphonic metal
Power metal
Length = 43:59 "(Original Album)"
47:59 "(Limited Edition)"
47:31 "(Japanese Release)"
Label = SPV/Steamhammer
Producer = Sascha Paeth and Mirocite interview| subject = Roy Khan| interviewer = Patrick Verhoeven| program = Lords of Metal, issue 71| month = June| year = 2007| url = http://www.lordsofmetal.nl/showinterview.php?id=1767&lang=en]
Reviews =
* About.com Rating|3.5|5 [http://heavymetal.about.com/od/cdreviews/fr/kamelotghost.htm link]
* Allmusic Rating|3.5|5 [http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:hvfqxzy5ldte link]
* Lords of Metal rating-10|8.4 [http://www.lordsofmetal.nl/showreview.php?id=9665&lang=en link]
* The Metal Circus rating-10|9 [http://www.themetalcircus.com/review.php?id=1924 link]
* The Metal Crypt Rating|4.75|5 [http://www.metalcrypt.com/pages/reviews.php?revid=3105 link]
* Metal Storm rating-10|8 [http://www.metalstorm.ee/pub/review.php?review_id=4376 link]
* Metal Symphony Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.metalsymphony.com/index.php?name=Reviews&req=showcontent&id=807 link]
* Metal Temple Rating|4|5 [http://www.metal-temple.com/review.asp?id=2148 link]
* PiercingMetal Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.piercingmetal.com/cd_kamelot_ghostopera.htm link]
* Rock Something Rating|4|5 [http://rocksomething.com/reviews/reviewKamelot.html link]
* Sea of Tranquility Rating|4|5 [http://www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=5142 link]
* Tartarean Desire rating-10|9 [http://www.tartareandesire.com/reviews/Kamelot/Ghost_Opera/3805/ link]
Last album = "The Black Halo"
(2005)
This album = "Ghost Opera"
(2007)
Next album =
Misc = extra album cover 2
Upper caption = Reissue cover
Type = studio


Lower caption = "The Second Coming" reissue cover (2008)

"Ghost Opera" is the eighth studio album from metal band Kamelot. It was released in 2007 by SPV GmbH/Steamhammer Records, on June 1 in Germany and followed by releases on June 4 in Europe and June 5 in the United States. It is the first studio album by Kamelot to feature keyboardist Oliver Palotai.

Prior to the release of the album, SPV Records distributed a strictly limited CD single of "Ghost Opera", handed out to fans attending the European Tour in March, April and May 2007. [cite interview
subject = Roy Khan and Thomas Youngblood
interviewer = Silvia Deurwaarder
program = Reflections of Darkness
month = May
year = 2007
url = http://www.reflectionsofdarkness.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2008&Itemid=46]

So far, videos have been released of the songs "Ghost Opera", "The Human Stain" and "Rule the World". [http://www.kamelot.com/news.htm Kamelot.com] From a quick update with Thomas Youngblood, 14th March 2008]

On Billboard 200, the album peaked at number 18 on Top Heatseekers and number 48 on Top Independent Albums. [ [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.chartFormatGroupName=Albums&model.vnuArtistId=246286&model.vnuAlbumId=942332 Billboard.com - Artist Chart History - Kamelot ] ]

Track listing

"All songs written by Kamelot."
# "Solitaire" – 1:00
# "Rule the World" – 3:40
# "Ghost Opera" – 4:06
# "The Human Stain" – 4:01
# "Blücher" – 4:03
# "Love You to Death" – 5:13
# "Up Through the Ashes" – 4:59
# "Mourning Star" – 4:37
# "Silence of the Darkness" – 3:43
# "Anthem" – 4:24
# "EdenEcho" – 4:13

Limited edition version contains a bonus track:
*12. "The Pendulous Fall" – 4:00Japanese version contains a bonus track:
*12. "Season's End" – 3:32

Limited Edition CD + DVD

The limited edition version of the album contains a twelfth, bonus track entitled "The Pendulous Fall" (4:00). Album art remains the same except for two lines of text, "Limited Edition" and "CD + DVD," which are located in the lower corners of the cover. The DVD features the making of and the video for "Ghost Opera" (4:11). There is also a Japanese edition containing the bonus track "Season's End" (3:32).

The Second Coming

In 2008, a reissue of "Ghost Opera" entitled "Ghost Opera: The Second Coming" was released on March 28 in Germany, March 31 for the rest of Europe and April 8 in the United States and Canada. The album was released as a double-disc set, with the first disc featuring "Ghost Opera" as previously released, and the videos for "The Human Stain" and "Memento Mori", filmed in Belgrade, Serbia. The second disc contained 10 live tracks from that show, as well as three bonus tracks from "Ghost Opera" and "The Black Halo" and a remix of "Rule the World".

Track listing

"All songs written by Kamelot."

Disc 1:
# "Solitaire" – 1:00
# "Rule the World" – 3:40
# "Ghost Opera" – 4:06
# "The Human Stain" – 4:01
# "Blücher" – 4:03
# "Love You to Death" – 5:13
# "Up Through the Ashes" – 4:59
# "Mourning Star" – 4:37
# "Silence of the Darkness" – 3:43
# "Anthem" – 4:24
# "Edenecho" – 4:13

Disc 2:
# "Solitaire [Live] " – 1:10
# "Ghost Opera [Live] " – 4:06
# "The Human Stain [Live] " – 4:15
# "Mourning Star [Live] " – 4:30
# "When the Lights Are Down [Live] " – 4:03
# "Abandoned [Live] " – 4:15
# "The Haunting (Somewhere in Time) (feat. Simone Simons) [Live] " – 4:33
# "Memento Mori [Live] " – 9:08
# "Epilogue [Live] " – 2:27
# "March of Mephisto [Live] " – 4:49
# "Season's End" – 3:32
# "The Pendulous Fall" – 3:57
# "Epilogue" – 2:46
# "Rule the World [Remix] " – 4:22

Personnel

Band members

* Roy Khan – vocals, occasional keyboards
* Thomas Youngblood – guitar
* Glenn Barry – bass guitar
* Casey Grillo – drums
* Oliver Palotai – keyboards

Guest musicians

* Miro – orchestrations, keyboards
* Simone Simons – female vocals on "Blücher", "Season's End" and "The Haunting (Somewhere in Time)"
* Amanda Somerville – female vocals on "Mourning Star", "Love You to Death" and "Ghost Opera"
* Sascha Paeth – guitars
* Ghost Opera Choir – Amanda Somerville, Thomas Rettke, Robert Hunecke Rizzo and Cinzia Rizzo

References

External links

* [http://www.ghostopera.com/ Official "Ghost Opera" Website]