Kamelot started in Tampa, Florida, in 1987, when guitarist Thomas Youngblood put together a band that was still spelled Camelot. Wikipedia files them under power, heavy, progressive and symphonic metal, and many of their records combine concept stories, orchestral arrangements and guest singers. This guide follows Kamelot from the Florida demos to an international five-piece and fourteen studio albums, most of them sung by Roy Khan or Tommy Karevik.

The short version

Youngblood founded the band in 1987 and renamed it Kamelot in 1991. After a deal with Noise Records, the debut “Eternity” appeared in 1995 with Mark Vanderbilt singing. In 1998 the Norwegian Roy Khan, formerly of Conception, took over the microphone, and his years produced the two-part Faust story of “Epica” (2003) and “The Black Halo” (2005). Khan’s departure was announced in April 2011, and the Swedish singer Tommy Karevik became the new frontman in 2012, first heard on “Silverthorn”. Youngblood is the only member who has played on every album, up to “Dark Asylum”, released in August 2026.

Tampa, 1987: from Camelot to Kamelot

The first line-up was Youngblood on guitar, Richard Warner on drums, Rob Beck on vocals and Dirk Van Tilborg on bass and keyboards. In 1991 Mark Vanderbilt replaced Beck, Van Tilborg left and the name changed to Kamelot; Glenn Barry took over the bass in 1992 and David Pavlicko joined on keyboards. That line-up recorded “Eternity” (1995) and “Dominion” (1997) at Morrisound Studios in Tampa, both released by Noise Records. In his AllMusic biography, Thom Jurek notes that the band built its following by touring Europe.

Casey Grillo replaced Warner on drums in 1997 and Roy Khan replaced Vanderbilt, and “Siége Perilous” (1998), named after the Round Table seat kept for the Grail knight, was their first album together. Jurek credits this line-up with laying the foundations for everything that followed. On “The Fourth Legacy” (1999), according to Wikipedia, Khan was credited as a writer on every track for the first time, making him Youngblood’s main writing partner. “Karma” (2001) closes with a three-part piece about Elizabeth Báthory, and it gave the band its first entry on the official German albums chart, at No. 85.

The Faust albums and the second singer

“Epica” (2003) was Kamelot’s first concept album, the first half of a rock opera based on Goethe’s “Faust” and centred on a scholar called Ariel who strikes a pact with Mephisto. “The Black Halo” (2005) completed the story with guests including Shagrath of Dimmu Borgir as Mephisto and Simone Simons of Epica. Reviewing it for AllMusic, Eduardo Rivadavia suggests it may be the band’s finest album and recommends it strongly. Keyboardist Oliver Palotai became the fifth official member in October 2005, and “Ghost Opera” (2007) and “Poetry for the Poisoned” (2010) followed; the latter includes a four-part title suite and guests such as Jon Oliva and Gus G.

Khan’s departure was announced in April 2011, and he later returned to Conception. Tommy Karevik, the singer of Seventh Wonder, toured with Kamelot as a guest in 2011 and was announced as lead vocalist on 22 June 2012. His first album, “Silverthorn” (2012), was the band’s third concept record, a 19th-century family drama built around a girl called Jolee. “Haven” (2015), the first album for Napalm Records, brought in Alissa White-Gluz and Charlotte Wessels as guests and reached No. 14 in Germany.

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Album by album

Fourteen studio albums, from “Eternity” (1995) to “Dark Asylum” (2026): two with Mark Vanderbilt, seven with Roy Khan and five with Tommy Karevik. Tap any title for its guide.

The players

Thomas Youngblood, founder and guitarist, is the constant. Mark Vanderbilt sang on the first two records and Roy Khan on the next seven, from “Siége Perilous” (1998) to “Poetry for the Poisoned” (2010). Tommy Karevik has been the lead singer since 2012. Glenn Barry played bass from 1992 until December 2009, when Sean Tibbetts, a member back in 1991, returned to the role.

Casey Grillo was the drummer from 1997 to February 2018, and “Haven” was his last studio album with the band. Johan Nunez played on “The Shadow Theory” (2018), his only Kamelot studio album, and Alex Landenburg, who had covered the drum stool on tour, became a full member in April 2019. The current line-up of Youngblood, Karevik, Palotai, Tibbetts and Landenburg recorded both “The Awakening” (2023) and “Dark Asylum” (2026), with guest singers including Tobias Sammet and Clémentine Delauney.

Where to start

Start with “The Black Halo” (2005), the second half of the Faust story and the album Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic ranks as a contender for the band’s best. Then go back to “Epica” (2003) for the first half; Wikipedia records that Loudwire and Metal Hammer both placed it in their lists of the top power metal albums.

For the Karevik era, try “Haven” (2015). Thom Jurek’s AllMusic review hears “lushly textured power metal with prog alliterations” and praises how well Karevik fits the band. If you want the most recent sound, “The Awakening” (2023) reached No. 9 on the official German albums chart, the band’s highest placing there, and “Dark Asylum” (2026) entered at No. 19.

Why they matter

Kamelot matter to the progressive story through their concept albums and orchestral scale. Reviewing “Silverthorn” for AllMusic, James Christopher Monger places it alongside recent work by Nightwish, Avantasia and the Dutch band Epica, and Jurek’s biography describes a sound that mixes symphonic and classical metal with gothic and doom metal and progressive rock. Their singers also link them to the wider scene: Roy Khan came from the Norwegian band Conception, and Tommy Karevik sang the lead role on Ayreon’s “The Theory of Everything” (2013).

AllMusic now describes them as a band from the United States, Germany and Sweden. In 2025 the first three albums were remastered for the box set “Ascension (1995-1998)”. I cover the American side of this story, from progressive rock to progressive metal, in my book Beyond the Atlantic.

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