Kamelot have released the final single ahead of their new album Dark Asylum, due out August 28 via Napalm Records. “Sanctuary” rides a wave of driving riffs and orchestral swells, with frontman Tommy Karevik trading verses with Visions Of Atlantis vocalist Clémentine Delauney and Decessus frontwoman and current Miss World Chile Ignacia Fernández, stacking three distinct voices into one soaring performance. It is a big, theatrical closer that finds the band planting its flag before launching into a victory lap.
Dark Asylum unfolds in a Neo-Victorian-tinged setting, pulling listeners inside RavenHill Asylum, a onetime cathedral repurposed into a place where science, faith and madness collide uneasily. Guitarist and founding member Thomas Youngblood broke down the closing track’s meaning.
“‘Sanctuary’ represents the moment when the darkness of RavenHill is finally left behind. The song is about hope, freedom and finding your way back to yourself after everything you’ve endured. The video takes the story beyond the walls of RavenHill and gives us a glimpse of life after the escape, a new beginning, but one still shaped by the memories and scars of the past. With Tommy, Clémentine and Ignacia bringing three distinct voices to the song, it gives ‘Sanctuary’ an emotional depth that perfectly reflects the journey from darkness into light.”
– Thomas Youngblood
The album pushes Kamelot further into cinematic, atmospheric territory while holding onto the hooks the band built its reputation on. It is populated by a cast of guest voices familiar to fans of the genre: Avantasia mastermind Tobias Sammet, Eluveitie‘s Lea-Sophie Fischer, Delauney, Fernández, Rannveig Sif Sigurðardóttir, Sólveig Sara Leupold and Billy King. Across the record, identity fractures and reality bends as its central figure descends into psychological darkness on a path that ultimately bends toward transformation, and maybe sanctuary. Between the sweep of “Ashen World,” the introspection of “Sanctuary” and the layered mystery of “Ivy, My Dear,” Dark Asylum plays out as a full concept piece.
“‘Dark Asylum’ invites listeners into the hidden chambers of the human mind. A journey where every door reveals a different story, yet all remain deeply connected. At its core, the album explores the duality of human nature: the constant tension between fear and hope, chaos and stillness, destruction and healing. This concept opened the door to a more cinematic and haunting sonic landscape, allowing us to experiment with darker, more eerie musical themes.”
– Tommy Karevik
Longtime Kamelot producer Sascha Paeth returned to helm the record, with Jacob Hansen handling mixing and mastering. The album will land across a sprawling range of formats, including standard gold, solid silver and classic black vinyl, plus certified white-label, white splatter and blood-filled variants that each come with a 24-page booklet. Multiple CD digipak configurations are also planned, including a two-disc edition with an instrumental version of the album, alongside cassette and digital releases.
Formed in Florida in the early 1990s, Kamelot grew into one of the defining names in symphonic and progressive power metal through albums like The Fourth Legacy, Karma, Epica, The Black Halo, Ghost Opera, Silverthorn and The Awakening, building a global following on conceptual storytelling, orchestral arrangements and ambitious live shows.
