'90s Metal Band Announces New Album 11 Years After No. 1 Hit
More than a decade after scoring a No. 1 hard rock album, Kamelot is officially dropping a brand new record.
The symphonic metal veterans announced via Instagram that their 14th studio album, Dark Asylum, will arrive Aug. 28 through Napalm Records.
According to the band, the album is set within a dark Neo-Victorian world centered around RavenHill Asylum, described as a mysterious institution where "science, faith, and madness uneasily coexist."
Kamelot founder and guitarist Thomas Youngblood described the album as "a descent into darkness" that eventually transforms into "a journey of awakening." Meanwhile, frontman Tommy Karevik said the record explores "the duality of human nature" and the struggle to maintain sanity "within a cold and barren world."
The project also reunites the band with longtime producer Sascha Paeth, while Jacob Hansen handled mixing and mastering duties.
Although Kamelot has never scored a mainstream Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit, the band achieved a major milestone in 2015 when its album Haven reached No. 1 on Billboard's Hard Rock Albums chart. That success helped cement Kamelot's reputation as one of the most influential modern symphonic and power metal bands despite operating largely outside mainstream pop audiences.
Originally formed in the 1990s, Kamelot became especially beloved during the era fronted by Norwegian vocalist Roy Khan, whose theatrical vocals and dramatic stage presence helped define the band's signature sound. Khan's abrupt departure in 2011 due to burnout and personal struggles shocked longtime fans, many of whom considered him central to the band's identity.
Replacing such an iconic vocalist seemed nearly impossible at the time, but Karevik, previously known for his work with Seventh Wonder, quickly earned praise for his ability to perform the band's older material while helping push Kamelot into a new creative era.
Over the years, the band has remained one of metal's most consistently cinematic acts, blending orchestral arrangements, gothic imagery and progressive songwriting into a sound that stands apart from many heavier contemporaries.
"I hope that we have been able to make a genre where we have our own sound," Youngblood told Metal Exposure. "It's not just symphonic metal, not just power metal, nor progressive. It's unique in a sense, I hope."
Now, with Dark Asylum officially on the way, Kamelot appears ready to continue that evolution while embracing the darker theatrical themes that helped make the band famous in the first place.
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This story was originally published May 28, 2026 at 8:03 AM.