I feel like starting this new week off with a dose of power metal. With the Reach the Beach Relay coming up at the end of the week, I’ve been craving some epic, motivating, victorious sounds. As such, let’s welcome in Kamelot, a band I don’t believe we have ever really covered. In all fairness, when it comes to power metal, there are other interpretations of the genre I prefer. Given my limited interest in the genre to begin with, it’s no surprise they don’t come up often. But, in scouring for inspiration for this week’s ‘Visions of Hell’, I happened across their new music video for “Liar Liar (Wasteland Monarchy)”, and it’s certainly worth looking at in more detail.
Perhaps fueled by my recent binge watching of the ‘Mad Max’ series, which is a result of the recent release of ‘Fury Road’ on Blu ray/DVD, I’ve been entranced by the concepts of global desiccation. Also, knowing my stance on humanity’s role in destroying our planet, I think it is somewhat relatable subject matter. That’s the first thing that drew my attention to the music video. The second thing was Alyssa White-Gluz, who does a guest spot on this song and video. Given her recent emergence in fronting Arch Enemy, I was inherently curious with what she would bring to the table with a power metal band. Well, the curiosity was justified. This is an interesting piece to say the least.

Looking first at the music, it starts the way we would expect it to. It’s power metal. The Florida-based five-piece, fronted by Tommy Karevik, certainly bring the thunder in the form of keyboard melodies, galloping percussion, dynamic guitar play, and echoing clean vocals. There isn’t that much particularly interesting about the music until Alyssa joins the party. She uses her classic growls that we have grown familiar with in Arch Enemy, and interestingly, it complements the music rather well. But then she busts out her rather gorgeous clean voice and it is awesome (partly because of its unexpectedness, I’ll admit). All told, her element helps move the song along in a positive way.

The video itself is completely over-the-top in all the right ways. A city laid to waste surrounds the band as they perform this track. The costumes are bold, if not excessive (and curiously intricate given the wasteland setting), but Alyssa’s look tops them all, with something that would make the likes of Shagrath proud. And as the actual story unfolds, you begin to understand that this is some form of uprising in this ruin against an apparently corrupt kingdom. And just as it appears our heroes have come out victorious, the scene fades away.

It’s a great video for a classic power metal sound, and a story that plays out like a movie. Needless to say, it’s five minutes that are very entertaining, so I encourage you to give it a watch. I would also like to close by saying that I have really grown to appreciate music videos that take these forms. It makes all those videos of bands simply playing their songs on a cliff or in a desert or something way less interesting.

“Ein Bier… bitte.”
– Corey