I don't know what happened after the magnificent 'Epica,' but somehow Kamelot forgot how to be quite as fun, talented and interesting as they had been in previous years. 'The Black Halo' is a fairly solid album, but as a sequel to 'Epica,' based around the second part of Goethe's 'Faust,' it leaves much to be desired. Every song sounds more or less the same, and absent are the cheesy, cheery melodies and choruses that made Kamelot so distinctive, if irritating on occasion.

The album opens impressively enough with 'March of Mephisto,' wasting no time on a separate introductory track by incorporating it into the song itself, and aside from questionable use of death metal style growling in the chorus, this is a reasonable opener that sets an appropriately dark tone. Unfortunately, the album fails to pick up hereafter, plodding onwards with tedious riffs and a seemingly bored vocal performance from the formerly exuberant Roy S. Khan, only really picking up towards the end with some enjoyable guitar solos in the title track and an upbeat chorus in the finale.

1. March of Mephisto
2. When the Lights Are Down
3. The Haunting (Somewhere in Time)
4. Soul Society
5. Interlude I: Dei Gratia
6. Abandoned
7. This Pain
8. Moonlight
9. Interlude II: Un Assassinio Molto Silenzioso
10. The Black Halo
11. Nothing Ever Dies
12. Memento Mori
13. Interlude III: Midnight / Twelve Tolls for a New Day
14. Serenade