(View photos here - http://www.wheresmything.com/Kamelot2011)

It’s been three years since KAMELOT last toured North America, and when they made a stop in New York City during their Poetry for the Poisoned tour, they played for a full house at the Gramercy Theater -
proving that their recent change in membership hasn’t affected their popularity  much, if at all.

   With long-time vocalist Roy Khan’s departure earlier this year, Kamelot was faced with the daunting task of finding a replacement for the tour.  Enter legendary Italian power metal vocalist Fabio Lione, best known as frontman for Rhapsody of Fire.  Different stylistically from Khan, Fabio seemed an unusual choice for Kamelot, but from the moment he took the stage for their opening song “Rule the World,” it was easy to see why Thomas Youngblood and company chose him for the job: his voice is clean, clear and controlled, and he’s an excellent
performer.  Whether he gets the gig as Khan’s permanent replacement or
not remains to be seen, but in a live setting, Fabio is stellar.

  While the set list didn’t contain many surprises, Kamelot’s performance this night was, as always, top-notch and energetic.
Mainstays like “Forever,” “March of Mephisto” and “Karma” were granted
the warmest reception, of course, but the audience was no less enthusiastic for newer tracks like “The Great Pandemonium” and
“Hunter’s Season.” Another highlight for many was a guest appearance by Epica’s Simone Simons on “The Haunting” from 2005’s The Black Halo.

   Opening acts The Agonist, Blackguard and Alestorm made for a musically diverse evening.  Canada’s The Agonist provided a good dose of female-fronted metal with singer Alissa White-Gluz switching between
death metal-style and clean vocals, while fellow Canadians Blackguard put on their usual heavy, turbo-charged show.  Scotland’s Alestorm, who describe themselves as “true Scottish pirate metal,” then whipped
the crowd into a keytar-fueled folk metal frenzy with songs like “Wenches & Mead,” “Nancy the Tavern Wench” and “Rum.”  A strange  lead-in for a band like Kamelot, but a fun set nonetheless.