The very first RockpicsReviews interview is with the great guiter player of Kamelot Thomas Youngblood. We talked with Thomas about the release of the a.o. the DVD, the tour and the forthcomings album “Ghost Opera”

RR: How do you look back on “the Black Halo” tour?  

TY: Great. The shows,  the level of sales that we had, it kinda flow by since it came out, but it’s over two years ago, and now we’re ready for the new album, and a new period.

RR: Highlights?? 

TY: The shows in were always very special, also the show we did here in Helmond about a year ago, it really stood out, was very special, there was something magical that night. There were some fans that came in from the Middle East , we brought them on stage. My wife and daughter were here, so that was very special.

RR: Would you ever have expected that “the Black Halo” would be your best album so far?

TY: No, you just do what you can, writing the album, bringing it out. The record company did their jobs, the magazines did their jobs, and so it turned out very good.

RR: I must congratulate you with the DVD. It looks great, the lay-out, the design, the whole package looks fantastic! And it is such fun to have finally something of you guys to watch instead of listen. 

TY: Thank you.

RR: You must have paid and given so much attention to this DVD and the making of it.

TY: Yeah, we’ve given this a lot of energy, time, and money, to make it to the standard that we feel,  it turned out really good, You always want to do a great job, and we’re very happy when it finally came out.

RR: Who had the idea to make this DVD some sort of a play?

TY: It is an idea of the whole band, we wanted to do some theatrical. We actually want to do  it every show, but we can’t do that right now, maybe in the future it is possible to do it this way. 

RR: Why did you choose for Oslo to record the DVD?
TY: We’ve been thinking about several different venues, first was Sao Paulo, here in Holland or Oslo possibly, but in the end Oslo was the best choice, because the production company was right there  in Gothenburg, so we had a lot more control, so eventually it turned out to be Oslo.

RR: How was the recording of the DVD for you?

TY: I didn’t think about it that much, I just played as I always do, I was just excited about it, that it finally happened. It was a very great feeling. My wife also played on the DVD, she has a theatrical performance, it just happened and I didn’t really worry about it.
 

RR: Was it difficult to let the fans onto your house, I can imagine that you want to keep your home private.

TY: A little bit, yes. We needed some bonus material for the DVD. The idea was to invite them to our mansion and show them around. But yes, it was a bit strange.
 

RR: Why is the song “On the Coldest Winter Night” not on this DVD?

TY: We never played this song live, so that’s why it’s not on the DVD. 
 

RR: Can you tell me all about “Ghost Opera”, and how do you feel about this album?

TY: Laughs, well “Ghost Opera” will be our next album, it contains 11 songs. You can compare this new album a bit with the “Black Halo”, a bit darker bit  it has some of the same aspects. And, well, just wait and see. We’ll play a few songs of the new album live tonight and all the fans get a free single titled: “Ghost Opera” when they leave.
 

RR: Are there ballads on this album?

TY: Yes, there are a few ballads on the album.

RR: How do you always make such touching songs?

TY: It is a part of the personality of the band, creating songs like that. And such songs are mostly created at special moments or at special places.
 

RR: How do you get the inspiration to write new songs? Are they always based on personal experiences and views, or are there songs that are “made up”?

TY: They are not always based on personal experiences, but a lot of them are.
 

RR: Have you any idea how important your songs can be to people?

TY: Sometimes yes, we receive email from fans and they write what  the songs mean to them etc, and that they are inspired by our songs and that is great to hear  that of course. So we don’t always know but we’ll hear it every know and then.
 

RR: The band has such a characteristic sound, one and unique in it’s kind. That is very special nowadays, what do you think is the reason for that?

TY: I have no idea really, we just play the music we like and we want.
 

RR: Thanks a lot for you time and good luck during the rest of the European tour, but also in , and the States.

TY: Thank you, we are really looking forward to tonight’s gig and the rest of the tour and of course the releases of the album. And we’ll be back with a “Ghost Opera” European tour in September/October.