Roy Khan-VOCALS

Date of Birth: March 12nd, Pisces
Height: 6ft – 183 cm
Eye-color: Brown
Hair-color: Black

Films: Fight Club, Matrix, Lord of the Rings, Gladiator…
Books: Too many to choose from (John Irving, John Steinbeck, a lot of Norwegian authors…)
Actor/Actress: Edward Norton, Robert de Niro.
Sports: Anything (except figure skating)
Food: Hot’n'Spicy.
Drinks: Yes.
Dislikes: Depends on my mood.
Hobbies: Reading, wildlife, working out/sports, hanging out with friends and more music.

EQUIPMENT:
Vocal chords, a variety of keyboards and Sennheiser or EV microphones ++
TKL Cases
Rueblick Picks
Audio Technica Mics

Roy Sætre Khantatat, commonly known as Roy Khan or simply Khan, is the vocalist for the melodic power metal band Kamelot. Before entering the realm of rock vocalists, Khan studied to be an opera vocalist in Norway for three years. Khan possesses a lead broadway-esque voice, similar in some ways to Robert Cuccioli, but smoother. Before Khan joined Kamelot in 1997, he was in the progressive metal band Conception. After Mark Vanderbilt left Kamelot in 1998, the existing members made Roy go skydiving with them to prove himself, and he succeeded. He co-writes all of Kamelot’s songs with the band’s guitarist and founder Thomas Youngblood.

Thomas Youngblood-GUITARS

Date of Birth: May 29th, Gemini
Height: 5′11″ /180cm
Eye-color: Blue-green
Hair-color: Dark brown

Films: Lord of the Rings, Fight Club, too many…
Books: DaVinci Code, Faust, Grisham novels.
Actor/Actress: DeNiro, Portman, Pitt.
Sports: Football, Tennis, Golf.
Food: Italian, Chinese/Thai, Cuban.
Drinks: Water, Wine, Coke, Brewski’s.
Dislikes: Smoking!! Ignorance, Arrogance.
Hobbies: Not much time for hobbies! Computers and Design.

EQUIPMENT:
ESP Horizon II
ESP Eclipse Vintage Black
ESP Custom Eclipse (2)
ESP Viper
ESP Horizon
Peavey Cabinets JSX
Dean Classical Guitars
Ampeg VH-140C Amps
Boss Pedals
TKL Cases
Rueblick Picks
Sennheiser Wireless System
Audio Technica Mics
M-Audio Interfaces and Controllers

Favourite bands: Maiden, Queensryche , Queen and many more.
Favourite musicians: Steve Morse, Strunz and Farrar, Rene Dupere.
Favourite albums: Gladitator Soundtrack, The Rock, Queensryche/Mindcrime, Cirque de Soleil (all), Rising Force/Malmsteen, Saigon Kick.
Favourite cover artworks: Maiden Powerslave/Piece of Mind, Kamelot Black Halo, Rush/Moving Pictures too many!
Favourite album lyrics: Queensryche Mindcrime.

Best tour memory: So far it would be arriving in Japan for the first time, but there are so many from around the world. The Kamelot fans have such a great Karma about them.
Worst tour memory: Not many, even terrible shows have something to learn from.

A Kamelot song which is special for you and why: Don’t You Cry, about my father that passed away when I was very young.

Some words for the fans: I hope our music has touched you in some special way and that through it all you find a message of hope and peace within. We are fortunate to have such incredible fans! Now turn up the volume!!

Glenn Barry-BASS

Date of Birth: November 15th, Scorpio
Height: 6′
Eye-color: Blue
Hair-color: Blonde

Films: The Game, Jacob’s Ladder, The Shining.
Books: Inquirer, Comics, World news, mysteries.
Actor/Actress: Jack Nicholas.
Sports: Football.
Drinks: Heineken, Vodka, Piña Colada.
Dislikes: Long lines, stupid people, Traffic.

EQUIPMENT:
Harke 4-10, 1-15 cabinets
Harke 5000 series amp
ESP basses
Musicman 4 string bass
Ernieball strings (medium)
TKL Cases
Rueblick Picks
Audio Technica Mics

Oliver Palotai-KEYBOARDS

Date of Birth: March 17th, Piscis
Height: 186 cm
Eye-color: Brown
Hair-color: Brown

Films: Ring, Nosferatu, Star Trek, Das Boot.
Books: Lord of the Rings, Terry Pratchett Novels.
Actor/Actress: Robert DeNiro, Sigourney Weaver.
Sports: Diving, Snowboarding, Fitness.
Food: Italian, Vegetarian stuff.
Drinks: Water, Dark Beer.
Dislikes: Tekkno, loud and arrogant people.
Hobbies: Reading, Sleeping.

EQUIPMENT:
Keyboards: Yamaha Motif Series
Guitars: Fame and Gibson
TKL Cases
Rueblick Picks
Audio Technica Mics

Favourite bands: Opeth, Led Zeppelin.
Favourite musicians: Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Johann Sebastian Bach, Richie Kotzen, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Jimi Hendrix.
Favourite albums: Well Tempered Piano, Rubalcaba – The Trio, Kind Of Blue.
Favourite cover artworks: Axis: Bold as love.
Favourite album lyrics: Skid Row: Slave to the Grind.

Best tour memory: My very first tour ever (with Doro) – also the one of worst ones!
Worst tour memory: “House of Blues”/ Los Angeles with Uli Jon Roth. Everything went wrong that could go wrong.

A Kamelot song which is special for you and why: “Lost & Damned” – I really like the piano parts in there. Quite unusual for a Metal Song.

Some words for the fans: Joining Kamelot means a lot of responsibility for this incredible music and the fans dedicated to it! I hope I can fulfill the expectations.

Casey Grillo-DRUMS

Date of Birth: October 16th, Libra
Height: 5′-10″
Eye-color: Green
Hair-color: Brown

Films: Seven, Porky’s.
Books: Modern Drummer Mag.
Actor/Actress: Jack Nicholson, Linda Hamilton.
Sports: Water skiing.
Food: Italian.
Drinks: Heineken.
Dislikes: Smoking.
Hobbies: Recording, Composing.

EQUIPMENT:
ddrum Drums
Stagg cymbals
Vic Firth sticks
DW pedals
TKL Cases
Rueblick Picks
Audio Technica Mics
Beatnik rhythmic analyzers

Thomas Youngblood and drummer Richard Warner founded Kamelot in Tampa, Florida back in 1992. In 1994 the band signed a deal with Noise Records, and the release of the debut Eternity followed in August of the next year. The press praised the album as one of most promising debuts of all time.

In 1996 the successor Dominion hit the stores, an opus that was even more diverse and varied than the debut.

Then in 1997, drummer Warner as well as singer Mark Vanderbilt had to be replaced. Kamelot found more than just mere substitutes in Casey Grillo and former Conception singer Khan, who had already joined the band during the production of the third album, Siége Perilous. The new line-up undertook an extensive tour of Europe during the fall of the same year, only to return to the Gate Studio in Wolfsburg twelve months later to produce their fourth studio effort, The Fourth Legacy.

The summer of 2000 brought the New Allegiance Tour through Germany, Austria, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Greece and Spain, during which the recordings for Kamelot’s first live album The Expedition were made. Only a few months later the band presented their fifth album entitled Karma, which took Khan, Youngblood, Grillo and Barry on yet another European tour.

Epica arrived in 2003 and combined all the fortes of the previous productions with new ideas and majestic sounds, followed by another tour as headliners in Europe, Japan, Mexico and the US, as well many top festival appearances. The Black Halo added another exciting and epic chapter to the band’s brilliant history.

The continuation of their Faustus adaptation about the battle between good and evil that began on the predecessor album, Epica, again combined Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s opus with the band’s own experiences and views. Kamelot’s video ‘The Haunting’ and ‘March of Mephisto’ became huge hits on YouTube and prompted the band to launch their own YouTube channel, aptly titled KamTV. KamTV’s initial launch hurled the band into YouTube’s top 10 music channels and #1 Metal Channel, transcending all genres. With the release of The Black Halo, Kamelot started on a headliner tour in Europe, North America, Japan and Brazil, with countless festivals around the globe.

Following the hugely successful album, Kamelot released their first live DVD, called One Cold Winter’s Night, directed by the well known film company Revolver Films and world-renowned director, Patric Ullaeus. The DVD was heralded by the press and fans alike and set a new standard for DVDs in the genre.

Ghost Opera is the beginning of a new chapter in the career of Kamelot, who still seem a long way from reaching the pinnacle of their popularity.