Ghost Opera
Ghost Opera is the eighth studio album by American power 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, and the last with bassist Glenn Barry. The album spawned four music videos for the songs "Ghost Opera", "The Human Stain", "Rule the World" and "Love You to Death".[8]
Ghost Opera | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | June 1, 2007 | |||
Recorded | May 2006–January 2007 | |||
Studio | Gate Studios, Wolfsburg, Germany | |||
Genre | Power metal, heavy metal, progressive metal,[1] symphonic metal[2] | |||
Length | 43:59 (Original Album) 47:59 (Limited Edition) 47:31 (Japanese Release) 58:00 (The Second Coming disk 2) | |||
Label | SPV/Steamhammer | |||
Producer | Sascha Paeth and Miro[3] | |||
Kamelot chronology | ||||
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Reissue cover | ||||
![]() The Second Coming reissue cover (2008) | ||||
Singles from Ghost Opera | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Goetia Media | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Metal Crypt | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Metal Symphony | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Metal Temple | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Metal Zone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
On Billboard 200, the album peaked at number 18 on Top Heatseekers and number 48 on Independent Albums.[9]
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.[10] The album was released on vinyl in the spring of 2009, along with The Black Halo.[11][12][13]
Track listing
All songs written by Kamelot.[14]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Solitaire" | 1:00 |
2. | "Rule the World" | 3:40 |
3. | "Ghost Opera" | 4:06 |
4. | "The Human Stain" | 4:01 |
5. | "Blücher" | 4:04 |
6. | "Love You to Death" | 5:13 |
7. | "Up Through the Ashes" | 4:59 |
8. | "Mourning Star" | 4:37 |
9. | "Silence of the Darkness" | 3:43 |
10. | "Anthem" | 4:25 |
11. | "Eden Echo" | 4:13 |
Total length: | 43:59 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
12. | "The Pendulous Fall" | 3:59 |
Total length: | 47:58 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
12. | "Season's End" | 3:32 |
Total length: | 47:31 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Solitaire" (live) | 1:10 |
2. | "Ghost Opera" (live) | 4:06 |
3. | "The Human Stain" (live) | 4:15 |
4. | "Mourning Star" (live) | 4:31 |
5. | "When the Lights are Down" (live) | 4:03 |
6. | "Abandoned" (live) | 4:16 |
7. | "The Haunting (Somewhere in Time)" (live, feat. Simone Simons) | 4:34 |
8. | "Memento Mori" (live) | 9:08 |
9. | "Epilogue" (live) | 2:28 |
10. | "March of Mephisto" (live) | 4:50 |
11. | "Season's End" (Japanese Edition bonus track) | 3:32 |
12. | "The Pendulous Fall" (Limited Edition bonus track) | 3:59 |
13. | "Epilogue" (The Black Halo Japanese bonus track) | 2:46 |
14. | "Rule the World" (remix) | 4:22 |
Total length: | 58:00 |
Limited edition CD + DVD and 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 the same show, as well as three bonus tracks from Ghost Opera and The Black Halo and a remix of "Rule the World".
Charts
Chart (2007) | Peak position |
---|---|
Dutch Albums Chart[15] | 51 |
Finnish Albums Chart[16] | 35 |
French Albums Chart[17] | 83 |
German Albums Chart[18][19] | 61 |
Greek International Albums Chart[20] | 23 |
Japanese Albums Chart[21] | 34 |
Norwegian Albums Chart[22] | 25 |
Swedish Albums Chart[23] | 29 |
Swiss Albums Chart[24] | 88 |
UK (Rock & Metal Chart)[25] | 24 |
US Billboard Independent Albums[26] | 48 |
US Billboard Top Heatseekers[27] | 18 |
Chart (2008) | Peak position |
---|---|
Greek Albums Chart[28] | 38 |
Personnel
Credits for Ghost Opera adapted from liner notes.[14]
Kamelot
- Roy Khan – vocals, keyboards
- Thomas Youngblood – guitars
- Glenn Barry – bass
- Casey Grillo – drums, percussion
- Oliver Palotai – keyboards
Additional personnel
- Miro – orchestrations, keyboards, engineering[3]
- Simone Simons – female vocals on "Blücher"[3]
- Amanda Somerville – female vocals on "Mourning Star", "Love You to Death", "Season's End" and "Ghost Opera"[3]
- Sascha Paeth – additional guitars, engineering
Ghost Opera Choir
- Cinzia Rizzo, Robert Hunecke-Rizzo, Thomas Rettke
Personnel
- Olaf Reitmeier – engineering
- Simon Oberender – engineering
- Bredo Myrvang – recording
- Mattias Norén – artwork, layout
- Elin Strigå – photo editing
- Alexandra V Bach – artwork
- Liliana Sanches – photography
References
- "Metal Temple review". metalstorm.net. 2007-06-21. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
- Allmusic review
- Roy Khan (June 2007). "Lords of Metal - Kamelot". Lords of Metal (Interview). No. 71. Interviewed by Patrick Verhoeven.
- "Goetia Media review". goetiamedia.com. 2007-06-22. Retrieved 2013-02-10.
- "The Metal Crypt review". metalcrypt.com. 2007-05-16. Retrieved 2013-02-10.
- "Metal Symphony review". metalsymphony.com. 2008-07-14. Retrieved 2013-02-10.
- "METALZONE review". metalzone.biz. 2007-05-22. Retrieved 2013-02-10.
- Kamelot.com Archived 2008-04-09 at the Wayback Machine From a quick update with Thomas Youngblood, 14th March 2008
- Billboard.com - Artist Chart History - Kamelot
- Silvia Deurwaarder (May 2007). "Interview". Reflections of Darkness.
Roy Khan and Thomas Youngblood
- "Official site news article". December 13, 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-12-17. Retrieved 2013-09-10.
- "Blabbermouth.net article dated December 13, 2008". Roadrunnerrecords.com. Archived from the original on April 14, 2009. Retrieved 2011-12-03.
- bravewords.com (December 13, 2008). "Updated: KAMELOT - Ghost Opera And The Black Halo To Be Issued On Vinyl In 2009". Bravewords.com. Retrieved 2013-09-10.
- (2007). "Ghost Opera liner notes". In Ghost Opera [CD booklet]. Steamhammer.
- "Kamelot - Ghost Opera". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2007-06-09.
- Steffen Hung. "Kamelot - Ghost Opera". finnishcharts.com. Retrieved 2007-06-08.
- Steffen Hung. "Kamelot - Ghost Opera". lescharts.com. Retrieved 2007-06-09.
- "Kamelot - Ghost Opera". charts.de. Archived from the original on 2014-07-07. Retrieved 2007-06-13.
- "Kamelot Longplay" (in German). PHONONET GmbH. Archived from the original on 2016-01-11. Retrieved 2015-05-23.
- "Kamelot - Ghost Opera". kamelot.com. Archived from the original on 2008-07-30. Retrieved 2013-09-10.
- キャメロット - ゴースト・オペラ (in Japanese). Oricon.co.jp. Retrieved 2013-09-10.
- Steffen Hung. "Kamelot - Ghost Opera". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 2007-06-09.
- Steffen Hung. "Kamelot - Ghost Opera". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2007-06-07.
- Steffen Hung. "Kamelot - Ghost Opera". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
- "Kamelot - Ghost Opera". blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 2007-06-13.
- "Kamelot, Billboard Independent Albums". Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2015-05-23.
- "Kamelot, Billboard Heatseekers Albums". Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2015-05-23.
- "Kamelot - Ghost Opera (The Second Coming)". blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 2013-04-08.