Thomas Youngblood - Kamelot
Kamelot have been on an interesting musical journey for almost the last two decades and it has brought them to this. Poetry For The Poisoned is a dark affair that circumnavigates your feelings to make you aware of what you are hearing. This is no ordinary metal record, this is a true event not to be missed. Metal Exiles caught up with Thomas Youngblood, their spellbinding guitarist, to talk about the record and what moves him to compose.
An interview with Thomas Youngblood of kamelot.
By Jeffrey Easton
Metal Exiles: I have to start out by saying that this is the best work Kamelot has put out to date. The work ethic is amazing.
Thomas: You know, In a time when bands are selling fewer records we continue to grow in terms of fans and record sales. It’s a testament to our fans and working very hard, growing with album and hopefully doing things right.
Metal Exiles: Speaking of selling records, you are no longer on SPV, correct.
Thomas: That is true. In Europe we are on Ear Music, a division of Edel which is a major label in Europe. In North America we started our own label called Kamelot Media Group and we are distributed by E1. It is really exciting for us to have our own record label and it may be a sign of the times for other bands in the future.
Metal Exiles: How easy, or hard, is it to do your own thing in America and still have good record sales?
Thomas: First of all you have to have people working for and with you that believe in the band. We have amazing people working with us that know what they are doing and we got the numbers for the first week of sales of Poetry For The Poisoned and we almost doubled what we did for our last record on SPV. It is a cool thing to do our own label and decide where the money goes. We know our fans better than anybody sitting in a record company office, we know the right ways to market the band.
Metal Exiles: As far as the direction, this is possibly Kamelot’s most diverse album. It seems to me with The Black Halo Kamelot started turing away from traditional Power Metal and with this album it seems to be a darker affair. Did this come out in the writing or was it intentional.
Thomas: Each record has its own thing and we do not set any goals or directions, it just evolves with the song writing. I will agree with you, it is possibly the most diverse album since Karma, it has every element that makes Kamelot who we are. For some of the newer fans it may take longer to get into this album but for the older fans they love it.
Metal Exiles: It seems as though the keyboards have taken a bit more of an electronica edge to them.
Thomas: I think it is a mixture because on The Fourth Legacy we used some electronics but I would say that there are big orchestral parts on the record as well. Maybe it is a bit more on the modern side with the keyboards on this record, I can see that.
Metal Exiles: It makes for a more diverse album, different than a lot of records out there.
Thomas: We do want to be unique and I think that is what’s missing in the metal genre right now. There are a lot of generic, copycat bands out there right now. All of the mallcore bands sound the same, all of the power metal bands sound the same, we seriously want to be unique in the metal genre, our own band. I think it is good to know that you hear that.
Metal Exiles: For awhile I gave up on Power Metal because I knew what was coming. The formula was the same, the guitar gallops, the chorus, all of it.
Thomas: You become stuck because people get afraid to try something different. “It has worked so far so lets stick with the formula”. What happens is what you said, fans can start guessing what the next part is going to be and you do not want to get stuck in that camp either. For us I think we are at a point in our career that we can experiment and try new things. We want to make sure the album has the Kamelot signature but at the same time challenge ourselves and our fans for different sounds. You really do it hear it though with the emo mallcore bands that have the clean and rough vocals. Normally I do not like talking shit about bands because everybody works hard to get where they are at but you have to change it up and challenge yourself and the listeners to something different.
Metal Exiles: You are right and wrong. Some bands try hard to develop a sound then you have 20 bands come behind you, learn a few chords and say “If I do that I will make it”.
Thomas: For a lot of bands it comes down to image and not what the music is. It just depends on what genre you are talking and about and what country you are talking about. There are different scenes everywhere.
Metal Exiles: As far as the themes on this album are concerned, the lyrics do you take you to another place. To start off with, how much did religion play in this album? I do hear some things on this album that speak to me from that.
Thomas: I think religion has been a key element on Kamelot records but we do not take a stance either way on religion. On the new album the lyrics were written by Roy (Khan) and there are a lot of ambiguous lyrics so we really leave it up to the listener to decide what they are about. Obviously it is important to challenge yourself to different religious concepts and ideas and it is something that we talk about as a band. There is a lot of hypocrisy in religion to discuss so it is going to come up lyrically because it is such an important topic. There are a lot of wars started over religion and the division that religion causes among people. It is something that started with the Karma record and has evolved into becoming part of some of the songs on each record.
Metal Exiles: As said, the mood on this album is quite dark. I know that your mother died, amongst other things, so how much of your personal life did you put into creating the scenes of this album?
Thomas: I think that had to subliminally come into the creation of this album. We did write a song about my Mom which is Hunter’s Season but there is a down mood on the album. It is not only based on my mom passing away but we have friends and family who have lost their homes and their jobs because of the economy so it’s not a time where we are inspired to write about Unicorns and Rainbows. There are a lot of crappy things going on so it is just not a mood you can erase.
Metal Exiles: The first song on the album, “The Great Pandemonium”, is possibly the best song Kamelot has conceived. It really sets the mood and lets the listener know what they are in store for. Where did that track come from?
Thomas: The Great Pandemonium started with the main riff and we grew it from there. We wanted to have a modern verse in the song so that is where that down, spoken verse came from and it all evolved from there. The mid part gets heavier where it almost takes on a Black Metal element into the song. We wanted a shredder style solo in it as well because a lot of fans have ask why I do not shred more which I think it is pointless but it did fit with this song. In the end everything worked really well which is why we picked it for the video.
Metal Exiles: For that track you have Bjorn Strid as a guest vocalist, how did he fit into the equation?
Thomas: There is a very heavy vocal part in it and Bjorn was the perfect choice for the video. We are friends with Bjorn and there is a mutual respect between bands. He is in the video as well doing his vocal part with the fire in his mouth. It is a dark video and it came out perfectly.
Metal Exiles: There are other guests on the album as well. Why do you have guests on your albums and what do they usually bring to the song that was not there before?
Thomas: Sometimes it is a friend thing like with Gus G. We just asked him if he wanted to play on the new record and he said yes. He is a guy that we respect as a musician and he is also a cool guy. We thought it would be fun and interesting to have him on. With Simone Simons (Epica Vocalist) we had parts that needed a female vocalist so we wrote the parts for her because it is in her range. With Jon Oliva his name just popped with the line that Roy wrote (in the song The Zodiac)so I said that we need to get Jon on here. He lives very close to us which made it easy for him to come down. Also growing up here in Tampa I used to watch Savatage before I even learned to play guitar. So having him on my record is very cool to me, he is an icon.
Metal Exiles: Having Jon on that part really makes the track have a “Power Of The Night” feel to it.
Thomas: Obviously having Jon on there makes it a connection to Savatage and that second verse is definitely Savatage influenced. We never thought about Savatage when we were writing it and that second verse sounded like something Jon would have done.
Metal Exiles: What is the song about that made you think about Jon?
Thomas: The line itself and the chorus I thought fit into his character and we wanted to have somebody represent the Zodiac in that song. He has that signature evil voice that is unmistakable so he he was the guy to put in there.
Metal Exiles: Well you wrote and put him on the best thing he has sung on in years.
Thomas: (laughter) Thanks man.
Metal Exiles: That is just my personal opinion as I grew up listening to Savatage and albums like Power Of The Night just did it for me.
Thomas: When you say Power Of The Night it gives me goose bumps. Before I ever thought about being in a band I saw Savatage and they were such a huge inspiration to me. Not necessarily musically but to say “you can get outside of Tampa playing music”. Savatage and Crimson Glory, for us growing up here as musicians, were the bands you looked up to because we knew that you could play outside of the Florida region, that you can go to Europe, Japan and other coutries.
Metal Exiles: To put yourself in the mood for this album, you wrote and recorded in other countries. Does writing in far off countries really put you in the mood to write this kind of record?
Thomas: It definitely helps when you can get away from the day to day routines. Get away from the TV, no internet and just your portable pro tools set up. Your mind is free to get these ideas from anywhere. Some of the stuff is composed in our small studios at home but the real magic happens when we are outside of our real element, where we can focus on writing music.
Metal Exiles: What does writing and recording in Norway do for you?
Thomas: It us such a beautiful country and we can usually find remote places like out in the mountains where you are one with nature. We also did some writing and recording in Germany as well. It is just getting away from your day to day lifestyle, it could be anywhere as long as you are away from the phone ringing and the distractions.
Metal Exiles: As far as the guitar sound, you have a phenomenal tone. For your fans who want to know what you use, can you tell us the set up that you had for the record?
Thomas: I have been using ESP guitars for about seven years now, they have been an amazing company. The first time I worked with them we were in Japan and I went to their office. I told them I was in Kamelot and that I had been using Jackson for years and there were a few guitars there that I tried out and liked. They asked me if I wanted to use one for the show and they showed up three or four so that kind of support was amazing for me. In the studio I use Marshall and Mesa Boogie Amps but I do not really use pedals, I just plug directly into the amps. I try to keep it simple, to me the whole tech thing is to over the top.
Metal Exiles: To close this out, you guys had to cancel your tour which I was very much looking forward to. I think Michael Eriksen is a great singer but I understand why you pulled the plug. Do you have current tour plans or is everything on hold for awhile?
Thomas: I am waiting to hear back from Roy as he is going to the doctor again this week and see how it goes from there. We have tour dates set up for March in Europe, South America in April and then we come back to the U.S. again to make up those dates. The whole band was bummed out about not doing the U.S. If it is indefinite, we will just have to bring in someone to fill in the dates and see what happens after that.
If you have yet to be hooked into the power of Kamelot then I suggest you become one with Poetry For The Poisoned. It should not be unheard by a true metal head.
Official Kamelot Website
BUY POETRY FOR THE POISONED!
An interview with Thomas Youngblood of kamelot.
By Jeffrey Easton
Metal Exiles: I have to start out by saying that this is the best work Kamelot has put out to date. The work ethic is amazing.
Thomas: You know, In a time when bands are selling fewer records we continue to grow in terms of fans and record sales. It’s a testament to our fans and working very hard, growing with album and hopefully doing things right.
Metal Exiles: Speaking of selling records, you are no longer on SPV, correct.
Thomas: That is true. In Europe we are on Ear Music, a division of Edel which is a major label in Europe. In North America we started our own label called Kamelot Media Group and we are distributed by E1. It is really exciting for us to have our own record label and it may be a sign of the times for other bands in the future.
Metal Exiles: How easy, or hard, is it to do your own thing in America and still have good record sales?
Thomas: First of all you have to have people working for and with you that believe in the band. We have amazing people working with us that know what they are doing and we got the numbers for the first week of sales of Poetry For The Poisoned and we almost doubled what we did for our last record on SPV. It is a cool thing to do our own label and decide where the money goes. We know our fans better than anybody sitting in a record company office, we know the right ways to market the band.
Metal Exiles: As far as the direction, this is possibly Kamelot’s most diverse album. It seems to me with The Black Halo Kamelot started turing away from traditional Power Metal and with this album it seems to be a darker affair. Did this come out in the writing or was it intentional.
Thomas: Each record has its own thing and we do not set any goals or directions, it just evolves with the song writing. I will agree with you, it is possibly the most diverse album since Karma, it has every element that makes Kamelot who we are. For some of the newer fans it may take longer to get into this album but for the older fans they love it.
Metal Exiles: It seems as though the keyboards have taken a bit more of an electronica edge to them.
Thomas: I think it is a mixture because on The Fourth Legacy we used some electronics but I would say that there are big orchestral parts on the record as well. Maybe it is a bit more on the modern side with the keyboards on this record, I can see that.
Metal Exiles: It makes for a more diverse album, different than a lot of records out there.
Thomas: We do want to be unique and I think that is what’s missing in the metal genre right now. There are a lot of generic, copycat bands out there right now. All of the mallcore bands sound the same, all of the power metal bands sound the same, we seriously want to be unique in the metal genre, our own band. I think it is good to know that you hear that.
Metal Exiles: For awhile I gave up on Power Metal because I knew what was coming. The formula was the same, the guitar gallops, the chorus, all of it.
Thomas: You become stuck because people get afraid to try something different. “It has worked so far so lets stick with the formula”. What happens is what you said, fans can start guessing what the next part is going to be and you do not want to get stuck in that camp either. For us I think we are at a point in our career that we can experiment and try new things. We want to make sure the album has the Kamelot signature but at the same time challenge ourselves and our fans for different sounds. You really do it hear it though with the emo mallcore bands that have the clean and rough vocals. Normally I do not like talking shit about bands because everybody works hard to get where they are at but you have to change it up and challenge yourself and the listeners to something different.
Metal Exiles: You are right and wrong. Some bands try hard to develop a sound then you have 20 bands come behind you, learn a few chords and say “If I do that I will make it”.
Thomas: For a lot of bands it comes down to image and not what the music is. It just depends on what genre you are talking and about and what country you are talking about. There are different scenes everywhere.
Metal Exiles: As far as the themes on this album are concerned, the lyrics do you take you to another place. To start off with, how much did religion play in this album? I do hear some things on this album that speak to me from that.
Thomas: I think religion has been a key element on Kamelot records but we do not take a stance either way on religion. On the new album the lyrics were written by Roy (Khan) and there are a lot of ambiguous lyrics so we really leave it up to the listener to decide what they are about. Obviously it is important to challenge yourself to different religious concepts and ideas and it is something that we talk about as a band. There is a lot of hypocrisy in religion to discuss so it is going to come up lyrically because it is such an important topic. There are a lot of wars started over religion and the division that religion causes among people. It is something that started with the Karma record and has evolved into becoming part of some of the songs on each record.
Metal Exiles: As said, the mood on this album is quite dark. I know that your mother died, amongst other things, so how much of your personal life did you put into creating the scenes of this album?
Thomas: I think that had to subliminally come into the creation of this album. We did write a song about my Mom which is Hunter’s Season but there is a down mood on the album. It is not only based on my mom passing away but we have friends and family who have lost their homes and their jobs because of the economy so it’s not a time where we are inspired to write about Unicorns and Rainbows. There are a lot of crappy things going on so it is just not a mood you can erase.
Metal Exiles: The first song on the album, “The Great Pandemonium”, is possibly the best song Kamelot has conceived. It really sets the mood and lets the listener know what they are in store for. Where did that track come from?
Thomas: The Great Pandemonium started with the main riff and we grew it from there. We wanted to have a modern verse in the song so that is where that down, spoken verse came from and it all evolved from there. The mid part gets heavier where it almost takes on a Black Metal element into the song. We wanted a shredder style solo in it as well because a lot of fans have ask why I do not shred more which I think it is pointless but it did fit with this song. In the end everything worked really well which is why we picked it for the video.
Metal Exiles: For that track you have Bjorn Strid as a guest vocalist, how did he fit into the equation?
Thomas: There is a very heavy vocal part in it and Bjorn was the perfect choice for the video. We are friends with Bjorn and there is a mutual respect between bands. He is in the video as well doing his vocal part with the fire in his mouth. It is a dark video and it came out perfectly.
Metal Exiles: There are other guests on the album as well. Why do you have guests on your albums and what do they usually bring to the song that was not there before?
Thomas: Sometimes it is a friend thing like with Gus G. We just asked him if he wanted to play on the new record and he said yes. He is a guy that we respect as a musician and he is also a cool guy. We thought it would be fun and interesting to have him on. With Simone Simons (Epica Vocalist) we had parts that needed a female vocalist so we wrote the parts for her because it is in her range. With Jon Oliva his name just popped with the line that Roy wrote (in the song The Zodiac)so I said that we need to get Jon on here. He lives very close to us which made it easy for him to come down. Also growing up here in Tampa I used to watch Savatage before I even learned to play guitar. So having him on my record is very cool to me, he is an icon.
Metal Exiles: Having Jon on that part really makes the track have a “Power Of The Night” feel to it.
Thomas: Obviously having Jon on there makes it a connection to Savatage and that second verse is definitely Savatage influenced. We never thought about Savatage when we were writing it and that second verse sounded like something Jon would have done.
Metal Exiles: What is the song about that made you think about Jon?
Thomas: The line itself and the chorus I thought fit into his character and we wanted to have somebody represent the Zodiac in that song. He has that signature evil voice that is unmistakable so he he was the guy to put in there.
Metal Exiles: Well you wrote and put him on the best thing he has sung on in years.
Thomas: (laughter) Thanks man.
Metal Exiles: That is just my personal opinion as I grew up listening to Savatage and albums like Power Of The Night just did it for me.
Thomas: When you say Power Of The Night it gives me goose bumps. Before I ever thought about being in a band I saw Savatage and they were such a huge inspiration to me. Not necessarily musically but to say “you can get outside of Tampa playing music”. Savatage and Crimson Glory, for us growing up here as musicians, were the bands you looked up to because we knew that you could play outside of the Florida region, that you can go to Europe, Japan and other coutries.
Metal Exiles: To put yourself in the mood for this album, you wrote and recorded in other countries. Does writing in far off countries really put you in the mood to write this kind of record?
Thomas: It definitely helps when you can get away from the day to day routines. Get away from the TV, no internet and just your portable pro tools set up. Your mind is free to get these ideas from anywhere. Some of the stuff is composed in our small studios at home but the real magic happens when we are outside of our real element, where we can focus on writing music.
Metal Exiles: What does writing and recording in Norway do for you?
Thomas: It us such a beautiful country and we can usually find remote places like out in the mountains where you are one with nature. We also did some writing and recording in Germany as well. It is just getting away from your day to day lifestyle, it could be anywhere as long as you are away from the phone ringing and the distractions.
Metal Exiles: As far as the guitar sound, you have a phenomenal tone. For your fans who want to know what you use, can you tell us the set up that you had for the record?
Thomas: I have been using ESP guitars for about seven years now, they have been an amazing company. The first time I worked with them we were in Japan and I went to their office. I told them I was in Kamelot and that I had been using Jackson for years and there were a few guitars there that I tried out and liked. They asked me if I wanted to use one for the show and they showed up three or four so that kind of support was amazing for me. In the studio I use Marshall and Mesa Boogie Amps but I do not really use pedals, I just plug directly into the amps. I try to keep it simple, to me the whole tech thing is to over the top.
Metal Exiles: To close this out, you guys had to cancel your tour which I was very much looking forward to. I think Michael Eriksen is a great singer but I understand why you pulled the plug. Do you have current tour plans or is everything on hold for awhile?
Thomas: I am waiting to hear back from Roy as he is going to the doctor again this week and see how it goes from there. We have tour dates set up for March in Europe, South America in April and then we come back to the U.S. again to make up those dates. The whole band was bummed out about not doing the U.S. If it is indefinite, we will just have to bring in someone to fill in the dates and see what happens after that.
If you have yet to be hooked into the power of Kamelot then I suggest you become one with Poetry For The Poisoned. It should not be unheard by a true metal head.
Official Kamelot Website
BUY POETRY FOR THE POISONED!
