Delusion-Elle

Kamelot announced this morning that their new vocalist is none other than Tommy Karevik from Swedish progressive metal band Seventh Wonder. And I couldn't be happier! (Okay, well, maybe if Khan had said "j/k i'm back for good now that was all just jokes k?" and rejoined Kamelot as their vocalist, that would top this, but...)

Oh baby, you can stay my alley cat for ever and always~

Of course, with the addition of Tommy to the band, our secret hopes that Khan would return have been thoroughly dashed to the ground, and this does lead to some naysayers and bad feelings. But, dear anti-Karevik-ians, do not hate on Tommy so soon! Granted, the response has been positive for the most part, but there will be those who are apathetically neutral or against this choice of vocalist. "He doesn't sound like Khan," some whine. "His voice isn't as deep." Alright, the thing is that of course no one is going to sound like Khan. He was one helluva vocalist, and his unique vocals were one of the biggest draws about Kamelot's music. But you don't want someone who sounds like Khan. If Kamelot had recruited a singer who had the same tone and timbre to his voice as Khan, then it would be easier to compare the two and to state that the new one was doing a poor job of copying. When it is obvious that a band is trying to capture that same sound from vocalist to vocalist, whoever the current vocalist is will never measure up. By choosing Tommy Karevik, Kamelot avoids this and, sure, there are some folks who will still try to compare the two very different singers, but the comparisons ring hollow; they're just too different (and insanely good in their own ways) to compare.

So if you're one of the Kamelot fans going, "wait, who is this Tommy Karevik guy exactly?" let me give you the lowdown...

Tommy Karevik is, as I stated earlier, the singer of Swedish progressive metal band Seventh Wonder. The band has released 4 studio albums, two of which I have listened to, and let me tell you, this is technical virtuosity in prog metal form. Kamelot did not pick Tommy Karevik out of the blue; Tommy had performed as a guest vocalist with the band on tour mostly doing back-up vocals, but also stepping up and singing lead vocals on "EdenEcho" and "Center of the Universe":
As you can see, Tommy is more than capable of singing Kamelot's songs. No, he doesn't sing them exactly the same way that Khan did, but you know what? Those were songs that Khan helped write. They were made for him. There is no way that any other singer singing them can compare, but Tommy does a damn good job of it, and of all the choices the band could've made for a new singer, I don't think that there is a better one out there. Remember, they didn't want someone who would be a Khan clone. They wanted someone who would merely fill his shoes, talent-wise, and get along with the rest of the band -- fitting in is a big part of any job. And those are some big shoes. If these above videos don't convince you, then listen to some of his studio work off Seventh Wonder's latest release, The Great Escape (which is a great album, by the way, that you should check out if you even remotely give a damn about Kamelot and/or enjoy progressive metal):

Personally, I'm extremely excited. I enjoy Seventh Wonder's music and I adore Kamelot with all of my heart. Seeing this crossover is great. In my opinion, there aren't any already-established singers better suited for the job. Congratulations to Tommy, and I look forward to catching the band live -- with Tommy -- in Seattle this fall!

Look! He's already got the facial hair thing DOWN. Perfect.

[EDIT: Fixed up my grammar since I wrote this entry with my eyes half-closed. Also...]
DISCLAIMER: Upon further reflection and about 6.5 hours of sleep, I realized that I don't really give a flying fig about what the Fare Card's named. The only translink-related project I care about is some sort of rapid transportation to UBC along the Broadway corridor. I'm just not fond of what the choices have been whittled down to.

This is going to sound so ridiculously stupid, but... I just found out that the Blackberry is a Canadian product. And the company behind it, RIM (Research in Motion) is known for taking on a lot of "fresh, young" co-op students. Rad. But yeah, I finally understand all the hype about RIM now. *epic headdesk*

[ranty Metro Vancouver-related ramble ahead! You have been warned!]

In real life news, the winner for the Translink fare card naming contest should be decided tomorrow. Or at least, the voting phase finishes tomorrow. The final 3 names are: Tpass, Compass, and Starfish. First and foremost, I really really dislike these names. None of these embody Vancouver, nor can any of them be quickly and closely related to Vancouver, the west coast, or even Canada. How are any of these things relevant?! Obviously, there are explanations on the voting page, but I want to point a few things out...

• Tpass: Yes, the 'T' is kind of our symbol for transit/translink/transportation around the city (so the description says, though I've never noticed any such signage), but this name can so easily be manipulated to be as such: TP-ass. Toilet. Paper. Ass. On this basis alone, this option should be banhammered and whoever suggested it should be told of urbandictionary.com or acronymfinder. Honestly. If the letters "ass" are in anything, you can guarantee that some young people will manipulate the letters so that there is some sort of emphasis on it. The TP is just icing on the cake.
• Compass: Can you say 'generic'? Does anyone in Vancouver even carry a compass? Maybe the woodsy hippie folks, but certainly not the hipsters or anyone who has GPS or access to a phone with a data plan. The fact that translink's description for this option includes "signage for the world over" just made this name that less personal. How can Vancouverites relate to it when it could just as easily be the name of a fare card in Nepal?
• Starfish: Wait, wait, hold up. "The Starfish is a simple, colourful and striking icon of the Pacific West Coast" Every time I read this sentence, I can just feel a look of bewilderment and confusion cross my face. Since when has the starfish been an icon of the west coast?! Not that Wikipedia's the most reliable source in the world, but I quote: "There are 2,000 living species of starfish that occur in all the world's oceans, including the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian as well as in the Arctic and the Southern Ocean (i.e., Antarctic) regions." When I think of starfish, my mind jumps to Hawaii or some sort of tropical paradise with tons of colourful fish. I think that 'Seagull Card' would be more apt than 'Starfish Card'. The only starfish you can find in Vancouver are in tanks at the Aquarium.

Aug
26 Atlanta , GA Masquerade
27 Springfield , VA Jaxx
28 Philly, PA Trocadero
30 NYC, NY Grammercy Theater
31 Worcester, MA Palladium
Sept
2 Montreal,QC Club Soda
3 Quebec City,QC The Imperial
4 Toronto,ON MOD Club
6 Cleveland ,OH Peabodys
7 Detroit ,MI Blondies
8 Chicago,IL Bottom Lounge
9 Minneapolis,MN Station 4
12 Seattle ,WA El Corazon
13 Portland,OR Peters Room
15 LA ,CA House of Blues
16 Tempe , AZ Clubhouse
17 SLC,UT The Complex
18 Denver ,CO Bluebird Theater
20 Dallas,TX Trees
21 Houston,TX Scout Bar
23 Orlando,FL Club Firestone

One other year has left my life
One year bygone so soon
These were the days I sacrificed
These days were lived for you

Some came with winter in white

Some days were blown away

Some came with sultry summer nights

Some with October rain

2010 is officially over now! It's been a long, stressful year. Of course, being a Vancouverite, the Olympics were one of the big highlights, but 2010 also marked the end of my first year of university and featured my first trip to Europe. But that is all in the past now; it's time to look ahead. Here are some resolutions of mine for the new year:

• pass all of my courses in term 2
• get back into a regular exercise routine
• minimize hunger complaints, no matter how much they amuse certain crazy people
• get a new webpage up and running
• work on & finish some creative endeavours
• minimize being anti-social
• have a real jam session -- hell, I don't care if we improvise on 4 chords
• don't let my room become the absolute shitstorm of papers and textbooks that it was this past term
• return work uniform (it's been... 2 months now. Oi.)
• clean my desk
• read The Iliad and The Odyssey (they are sitting here staring at me)

Oh how I long for utter silence

But who am I to know

When rain will turn to snow

If life brings another day

My next exam isn't until Saturday so I have a few days off where I can alternate between slacking off and actually trying to study. This means that I sit here and try to think of TV shows I can stream online. So far I've come up with like... nothing. I can't think of anything for me to do on the internet, yet there's nothing (I deem) worth watching. Blah.

Random thoughts of the day:

• Website design: I want to make a new website and exercise my Photoshop and HTML skills a little. Something to dedicate my winter break time to.
• Anyone want to jam? For some reason today I remembered that my brother had a little jam session with a friend or two of his a few months ago and I realized that with the talented group of musicians I hang out with (none of whom are in Music, sadly) potentially we could have a jam session. If need be, I'm sure I could recruit my brother to play drums or at least teach someone to play (2-minute rock beat!). I've got a keyboard, drums, and electric guitar all amped up so I'm sure we could work something out. I've also got my acoustic guitar and flute. And there are arrangements going through my mind right now, but it'd be hard to find something everyone can play. If everyone was game for improvisation, that'd be sweet, but would mean knowing your instrument fairly well. ... ANYWAY, it's just something to think about.
• I need to start planning a video game party. Guitar Hero + misc. Wii games. And moar people have to sing this time. :( It can't just be me on all the guy songs and A.N. on the girl songs (yes, that's something I noticed last time we played). Maybe I should move the coffee table closer to the TV. Someone remind me.
• Flavors.me looks really interesting, in terms of having a personal website again. It would be like a central hub with all the feeds and streams. However, it doesn't look like it supports multiple pages or a file manager/editor. I would love love love to have a website with feeds like that, but I don't like how Flavors.me boxes it up so much. I like customization on a code level. Note to self: Look into learning to code IFrames.
• Does this make Canada the geekiest country around or what?
  

  Canadian ratings

  The Big Bang Theory started off quietly in Canada, but managed to garner major success later on in further seasons. The season 4 premiere garnered an estimated 3.1 million viewers across Canada (representing roughly 31 million American viewers in comparison). This is the largest audience for a sitcom since the series finale of Friends. The Big Bang Theory has pulled ahead and has now become the most watched show in Canada.

  (From Wikipedia) I guess all those ads on the sides of buses paid off.
  

And just a song that I like. :) The female vocals are kind of suck and very wannabe-Kylie Minogue-esque, but the male vocals are just pure yay. And this cover totally kicks the original's butt. Seriously, Nick Cave is monotone. And tone deaf.

Firstly...
I SURVIVED THE DAY OF RECKONING (aka today)!! :D

My two math midterms weren't really that bad, either. No, I didn't "own them" -- I don't think that I'll ever be able to own/pwn/kick the ass of a math exam ever again in this lifetime -- but they weren't overly difficult. I actually worked on every single question after only staring blankly at them for about 10 seconds each. Trust me, that is indeed an improvement. I feel pretty good today, especially compared to the mess that I was last night. Not going to go into it, but it was something along the lines of a mini-meltdown, though I'm all better now~ I think I needed it after being downright robotic these past few weeks.

Today has been humanizing. I'm extremely relieved to be done with my midterms, have my paper and assignment handed in, and just being so close to the end.

It's snowing, oh Jesus, yay it's snowing! Real snow! That's sticking to things!

So after working on my CPSC project, I bussed home and was kidnapped by my parents who were driving by on the way to getting some more free Olympic mascot plushies. Today's freebie was a MukMuk plush. It seems like every week this little Olympic warehouse (8410 Ontario Street, srsly check it out!) place is giving out free plushies to each and every visitor. And if your Olympics a-hankering cannot be satisfied by mere freebie plushies, then they've got loads of discounted Olympic merchandise. I'm thinking they'd make great Christmas gifts. :) No pix of MukMuk tonight. I'm too dead tired right now.

After snarfing down dinner, I met up with B4BYme and we bussed to the mall to watch Megamind. It was a fun movie with enough references to go over the heads of most little kiddies that I could be entertained properly, though I admit that I looked at the line-up for Harry Potter and internally went "hnnnnnnngh DO WANT". In time, dear self, in time...

And the only thing else I'm going to say about today is: stupid drunk kids on the freaking bus. Their behaviour just -- ughhh! I'm incensed and disgusted. Yes, it's good that they took transit as opposed to driving drunk, but I don't understand being THAT drunk in public, forcing your talkative self on other people.

Oh là-là là-là, j'ai beaucoup de faim. ;(

Hmm that reminds me... Why can't Europeans pronounce words ending with a short 'a' sound? IDK all the silly little mispronunciations in Megamind reminded me of how those Brits pronounced vanilla as "vaniller". Also, the Russians pronounce Russia "Rusher" and Maria "Mah-rear". I don't intend to poke fun, but my mind is boggled. Especially those damn Brits. Srsly. Vah-nill-AH.

Ah, my dad's nostalgia and sadness over Pat Burns passing is getting to me. R.I.P. Pat Burns. Based on my dad's ravings, he must've been a great coach.

My brother is obsessed with this song. AND I APPROVE. GREATLY. :)

Sometimes I don't get bands. Really. Sometimes they go off and change styles so drastically that I'm turned off. Other times they stick to the same formulaic bullshit. Well, not bullshit, but you know how it is: there's nothing new or innovative or creative about the latest stuff they're pushing out. I understand that it's hard to get that right balance of new and old within the ultimate balance of "do *I/WE* like it" versus "will the fans like it". For the most part, the bands I listen to keep their signature sound, but they do add new elements and somehow keep their songwriting fresh. BUT EVEN THEN. THERE ARE THINGS I DO NOT GET. Like, Kamelot, my numero uno band in the whole wide world. I just do not get one BIG BOTHERSOME thing...

If anyone can tell me WHY Kamelot would split this song into four separate tracks (other than to get moar Last.fm scrobbles), PLEASE TELL ME. Because this song is fantastic as a 9-minute long track (even if the way the person who put them together in the following clip isn't the greatest because in iTunes it DOESN'T HICCUP AT ALL). =______= THAT RIFF. IN THE FIRST PART. WHEN THE GUITAR FIRST COMES IN. UNICORNS. THAT IS LIKE. MY THEME MUSIC. And the second part is just like wow super lovely ballad. Then parts three and four get all BADASS. Bädåss. (Which if pronounced "properly" sounds nothing like "badass" BUT LOOK AT HOW BADASS IT LOOKS NAO.)

THERE WAS A TIME WHEN I WAS YOUNG, A BOY WITH BOLD AMBITIONSSSSS. [...] THERE WAS A TIME WHEN I COULD WATCH MYSELF WITHOUT... BEING... DISGRAAAAAAAAAAACED.

Though, to be honest, the badassocity of parts three and four do not compare with this muthaphuckin' MASTAH OF BADASS (that kind of reminds me of March of Mephisto):

WAAAAAAAAAAAKE MEEEEEE, REVOLVE IN MAH WOUNDZ, LAY DOWN YOUR ENEMYYYYYYYYYYY.


Buuuuuuuuuuut Martin found an interview with Kamelot where they mention hitting maybe possibly Vancouver in their second round of North American touring and hooooooooly yessssssss. THEY'D BETTER COME, GODDAMMIT. IF THEY COME, THEY WILL BE FORGIVEN FOR SPLITTING "Poetry for the Poisoned" INTO FOUR DIFFERENT TRACKS. FOR SRS.

I don't even know where I was going with this post, I just wanted to post something to procrastinate from studying for Math. Yes, I am a bad person. Quite bad. Qvite. :P

So I have some video spam that I'm not expecting anyone to watch, but it's kind of here for my own reference, really.
JUST ONE. JUST ONE MOAR DAY OF WORK, though I have a weekend off before that. THAT IS GOING TO BE ONE FREAKING HELLISH SHIFT, I CAN TELL YOU THAT RIIIIIIIIIGHT NOW.
Sometimes I think that I should just quit, but then where else am I going to get work pretty much only for the summer with little to no strings attached for the other 8-10 months of the year?
Yeah, nowhere, that's where.
I'm starting to miss Europe. And you know who to blame for that? Fobs.
I honestly find European accents that much more endearing than the Fob one. Yeah, I'm a hater, and yeah, HATERS GONNA HATE. If I could do a co-op exchange thing to Europe, I really wouldn't mind it. Maybe not London because of the craziness of the Tube and dirtiness and TOO MANY PEOPLE, but maybe like Finland or something since Nokia IS Finnish and all we do is write programs and design apps and stuffs like that in Computer Science, anyway.

But yeah, this song is my latest obsession. I think that the chorus' silliness somehow eclipsed the awesomeness and epicness of Kamelot's new album (though I'm still listening to Poetry for the Poisoned nonstop on my iPod). And I am just in the mood for silliness.

OH BABY LET ME STAAAAAAY YOUR ALLEY CAAAAAAAAAAAAT. <3 And this is Kamelot's newest video. A little strange, but darrrrrrk. And it's overly grandiose and blah blah blah, but that's okay. I like over the top. xD So if lead singers getting into character with black lipstick and long fake nails creeps you out, DO NOT WATCH.

If my stalker still reads this, I *do* recommend that she at least give these two songs a listen (or two) since they contain MALE VOCALS. And the singer in the first video is kind of a cutie. :3

LAWL no, not really a leak of faith.
BUT IT LEAKED. THE NEW KAMELOT ALBUM LEAKED.
And I know no one cares, but I must do this as this is most definitely part of my duty as a Kamelot fangirl. If you ever doubt that, then you are obviously not looking in the right place (you may have to go back a page or two as I DO HAVE A LIFE OUTSIDE OF THAT PLACE. Kinda).

Okay. So. Duty first:

Artist: Kamelot
Album: Poetry For The Poisoned
Year: 2010
Country: USA
Genre: Melodic Power Metal
Bitrate: 320 kbps
Size: 123.5 Mb

Track listing:

1. The Great Pandmonium
   
2. If Tomorrow Came
   
3. Dear Editor
   
4. The Zodiac
   
5. Hunter's Season
   
6. House On A Hill
   
7. Necropolis
   
8. My Train of Thoughts
   
9. Seal of Woven Years
   
10. Poetry for the Poisoned, Pt. I: Incubus
    
11. Poetry for the Poisoned, Pt. II: So Long
    
12. Poetry for the Poisoned, Pt. III: All Is Over
    
13. Poetry for the Poisoned, Pt. IV: Dissection
    
14. Once Upon A Time
    

Download: HERE, HERE, or HERE.
Okay and now I'm just going to ramble a bit about it because this has been the highlight of my day plus all the lulziness that happens here. Lulziness will be recapped at the end of this post. BUT RAMBLES FIRST. The first thing I have to say about Poetry for the Poisoned is that it is a GROWER. My first listen resulted in me liking tracks 1, 5, 10, and 11. But I gave the album another listen and holy shit I love it. I may not totally love every song, but I have to say that the choruses are really catchy in most of them and the guitarwork is incredible. Another part of my fangirldom is the fact that I must spread the gospel word of Kamelot to everyone. So here are my basic basic recommendations, though I still think the entire album's worth a listen *is biased*:

• Hunter's Season: I LOVED THIS SONG WHEN I FIRST HEARD THE 10 SECOND SAMPLES. <333333 Of all of the songs on this album, I think that this one owns my heart, first and foremost. It is really sad (it was written about the guitarist's mom passing away ;___;) but overall the song is mid-to-uptempo and they use those quick 16th or 32nd (too tired to figure it all out) double kick drums that I love. And THAT GUITAR SOLO. HOLY YES.
• The Zodiac: It's creepy (Dear Editor is the intro, but it's not necessary if you're not into overly dramatic and creepy backstory) and the vocals are aggressive. The band uses a guest vocalist and he really only adds to the creepiness of the story of the Zodiac Killer. Srsly. Look up the Zodiac Killer on Wikipedia. Kamelot does their research well.
• The Great Pandemonium: To me, this song is a combination of March of Mephisto and Rule the World. Rumour has it that it's related to Paradise Lost and the whole Pandemonium bit which we never reached in Lit, but that work fascinates me still, regardless. There are some harsh vocals from a guest vocalist so if you're not into that sort of thing, then I suggest not listening to this right away, though the duality at the end is just AWESOME.
• Poetry for the Poisoned, Pt. I: Incubus: The riff in this song has just been stuck in my head since I first heard the sample of it. It's the beginning of a 4-part epic song about vampires. No, they don't sparkle. And in fact, Kamelot wanted to do a concept album on vampires, but they said that they didn't want to cash in on the Twitlight hype, so they just kept the concept confined to these 4 tracks. The only bit about this part of PftP that I'm kind of mehhhhhh about is the little spoken word definition of an incubus towards the end. But this transitions SO WELL into...
• Poetry for the Poisoned, Pt. II: So Long: THIS SONG. HOLY. ARGH. SO BEAUTIFUL. It features another guest vocalist who pops in their songs from time to time and her part is a nice contrast (even if her voice is a teensy shrieky when she hits those really high notes). This is currently on repeat one right now. I just. I can't even. I have to post bits of the lyrics: "A minute more 'til the light of day is here/Lay down/I know you must be nearly there/A bloody kiss and the vision of a dream/For the last of your days in the sun/In the white light I am calm yet peculiarly cold/Silent slumber and wide awake/Love have mercy on my soouuuuuulllll/SO LOOOOOOOOONG, YOUR SORROW BE GONE."

And if I find these songs up on YouTube I WILL DEFINITELY POST LINKS. I'm just too tired now. And I can't stay up 'til 3am like I did yesterday. Stupid online friends in stupid time zones.
LULZINESS ONLINE:
"I ONLY CALL YOU A N00B BECAUSE I ~*CARE*~"
---
"No. An album must be approved or discarded on first listen. This is the age of the Internet, we shouldn't have to wait to enjoy things anymore. And where is my flying car?!"
"Mr. Weasley stole my flying car (THAT PUPPY-KILLING BASTARD) and let his good for nothing son fly it into a goddamn tree with that messy-haired Potter brat."
"That sounds awful. Is the car still Rowling at least?"
---
"Dammit, stop copying me! I said bai to her in that way first! >:O"
"im in ur hed, copyin ur baiiis 8D"
"I wish I was in ur hed instead. Then I could be all like "all your bais, are belong to meh >:D", but alas, noooooo. :("
"ALL UR BAIS, BAIS, BAIS, ALL UR BAIS -- R BELONG 2 ME!"
---
"No, in approximately three and a half hours (plus a few minutes) you will be a September n00b instead. :D In fact, you will be even more of a n00b then since you won't even have EXPERIENCED any September 2010 by then, UNLIKE ME."
---
"OF COURSE! If you take the word "incubus" and you switch the first two letters, remove the s, change the n to an l, and then just turn cu into za and bu into rd, you have "lizard"! IT ALL MAKES SENSE NOW."

So I get a few days off from work before going into hardcore ticket-selling mode.

Today, work was good. It was quiet and I got some tips from people for being extra nice (DO NOT READ INTO THAT :D). Or maybe I'm just a sucker for cute little blond kids.

So! Everyone else who lives in the Last.fm Kamelot shoutbox is asleep (damn Europeans & East Coast folks!) so I have no one else to fangirl with, er, to. With? And that means that I'm going to be fangirling on this blog. There are some samples of Kamelot's upcoming album online now from some Japanese site! :D I am like ridiculously happy about it. And I know no one else cares, but I don't care that you don't care! I am excited!

And I finally told my parents about the Epica concert I'm going to December 3rd. They seem okay with it, especially after I told them who I'm going with, though I neglected to tell them the venue and which band it is exactly I'm going to be seeing...

But whatevs. I have another driving lesson tomorrow and I'm feeling totally exhausted.
And this guy wants to JUST buy my old Physics solutions manual and he's been such a pain in the ass.

LONG POST IS LONG.
As my stalker voiced interest in the Kamelot song I posted a while back, this will be a post dedicated to Kamelot (pronounced: KAH-meh-lot, like Camelot of Arthurian legend) and will include some of their songs.

So the basics.
Kamelot...
- is an American symphonic power metal band with progressive influences (whew) with a Norwegian singer and German keyboardist. They're still based in America, though.
- has released 8 studio albums, 3 live albums, 1 live DVD (WHICH I NEED TO GET MY HANDS ON, LIKE A REAL COPY, LIKE, RIGHT NOW), 6 music videos, and 1 re-issue
- has not come to Vancouver, BC. YET. They've been to Ontario & Quebec, but western Canada has not been graced by their presence. YET.
Enough with the basics.

The albums.
I don't even want to listen to the old albums with their old, insanely cheesy singer, so I'm just going to rank the ones I have heard (and ADORE).

1. The Black Halo - my #1 album of all time!!!!
   
2. Epica
   
3. Ghost Opera
   
4. Karma
5. The Fourth Legacy
   
6. Siege Perilous
   

And I can't even rank their live albums because they are THAT GOOD live. I swear. Their live versions rival and sometimes surpass the studio versions.

The songs.
These are my absolute favourite Kamelot songs and generally, these are the ones I recommend to people. WARNING: I love Kamelot. Srsly. This list already will be a narrowed down list. If you want to see all the Kamelot tracks I love, click here.

"When The Lights Are Down"
This is my #1 song. Ever. Turn up the volume and get immersed in the epic layering of vocal lines and insanely fast guitarwork.
 
"The Haunting (Somewhere In Time)"
This is my very first Kamelot song. I love the lyrics (which probably can only be understood if you follow the story) and the vocal harmonies. I think that this is one of their most accessible songs. NOT THEIR BEST, BUT GOOD.
 
"The Black Halo"
If you set this song as your alarm clock for waking up at 7 in the morning, you will have a heart attack. Or at least, it will feel like one. I love that this sweet little Italian interlude leads into this beast of a track. The guitars and strings work so damn well together. Again, love the lyrics. AND THAT CHOIR WORK.

"Wander"
Lovely little ballad. Work that vibrato!
 
"Abandoned"
Another absolutely stunning power ballad. Definitely great for showing off the singer's range and that last repeat of the chorus is epic. The piano intro is so pretty ;_;
 
"March Of Mephisto"
If you don't like death grunts/growls/that sort of business, I might suggest laying off this song for a bit. I admit, it took me a while to get into this song, but it's a great energizer and now I love it. :)  
"The Human Stain"
I love pretending to play this song. I go from air bass to air guitar to air keyboard to air drums + singing. Probably my fave track from Ghost Opera.

Other kickass Kamelot songs which I won't embed because your scrollbar will be 1 pixel high...
- Forever
- The Edge Of Paradise
- Center of the Universe
- EdenEcho
- Memento Mori
- Ghost Opera
Okay that's enough. For now. ;D

I really shouldn't be doing anything other than studying Math.
BUT I CAN'T HELP IT. I'm weak.

I found this clip again. I swear, this live version is even better than the studio version -- which is pretty freaking amazing already.

And that, boys and girls, is why you learn your scales and arpeggios -- so you can pwn the crap out of solos.
And that vibrato is to die for. <3