Thomas Youngblood (born May 29, 1974) is an American

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

guitarist, songwriter, and founding member of

power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contra ...

band

Kamelot Kamelot is an American power metal band from Tampa, Florida, formed by Thomas Youngblood, in 1987. The Norwegian vocalist Roy Khan joined for the album ''Siége Perilous'', and shared songwriting credit with Youngblood until his departure in Apr ...

Early life

At the age of 12, after the death of his father, Youngblood moved from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

to Florida where he started learning to play guitar at age 15. Shortly after his move he began playing in his first band with school mates from the neighborhood. Through this he met drummer Richard Warner, and they decided to start a band together.

Career

was founded in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

by Youngblood and Richard Warner in 1991. They signed their first contract in 1994 with German label

Noise Records Noise Records is a German heavy metal record label founded in 1983 by German music industry personality Karl-Ulrich Walterbach as an expansion of his company Modern Music Records. It was sold to the Sanctuary Records Group in 2001 and ceased any ...

. Six albums were released through the label. After the release of ''Epica'' in 2003 they started working with SPV/Steamhammer. With them they released ''

The Black Halo ''The Black Halo'' is the highly acclaimed, seventh full-length album by the American power metal band Kamelot. It was released on March 15, 2005, through Steamhammer Records. It is a concept album inspired by Goethe's Faust. Continuing the stor ...

'' (2005) and ''

Ghost Opera ''Ghost Opera'' is the eighth studio album from metal band Kamelot. It was released in 2007 by SPV GmbH/ Steamhammer Records, on June 1 in Germany and followed by releases on June 4 in Europe and June 5 in the United States. It is the first stu ...

'' (2007), after a temporary switch to

Edel Music Edel is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname: * Abraham Edel (1908–2007), North American philosopher and ethicist * Alfred William Edel (c. 1930–2005), American television news presenter * Apoula Edel ...

for the release of ''

Poetry for the Poisoned ''Poetry for the Poisoned'' is the ninth studio album by American power metal band Kamelot. It was released on the earMUSIC label, a subdivision of Edel, on September 10, 2010 in Europe, and four days later in North America by the band's own lab ...

'' (2010), they were back with SPV for another release with ''Silverthorn'' (2012). Currently the band is under contract with

Napalm Records Napalm Records is an Austrian independent record label focused on heavy metal and hard rock. Originally, Napalm focused on black metal bands, such as Abigor and Summoning, and folk metal bands, such as Falkenbach and Vintersorg. The label later ...

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a ...

, ADA/Warner and King Records and released the album ''Haven'' in 2015. Youngblood was the main composer of Kamelot's music from 1994 to 1998, collaborating with singer

Roy Khan Roy Sætre Khantatat ( th, รอย ขันธทัต; born 12 March 1970), commonly known as Roy Khan, is a Norwegian singer and songwriter. He is the lead singer for progressive metal band Conception and the former lead vocalist for symph ...

from 1998 to 2010. When Khan decided to leave the band,

Tommy Karevik Tommy Karevik (born 1 November 1981) is a Swedish metal vocalist, best known as the singer for Seventh Wonder and Kamelot. He also appeared on Ayreon's 2013 album '' The Theory of Everything'', in which he portrayed the main character. He appe ...

(

Seventh Wonder Seventh Wonder is a Swedish progressive metal band from Stockholm, formed in 2000. History Seventh Wonder was formed in 2000 by bass player Andreas Blomqvist, guitarist Johan Liefvendahl and drummer Johnny Sandin after their previous band fel ...

) became the new singer. The new composing/writing team of the band consists of Thomas Youngblood,

Oliver Palotai Oliver Palotai (born 17 March 1974) is a classically trained German musician of Hungarian ancestry, husband of Simone Simons from Epica, best known as a member of the power metal band Kamelot and of Doro Pesch's touring band. Career He made his n ...

(keyboards),

Sascha Paeth Sascha Paeth (born 9 September 1970 in Wolfsburg, West Germany) is a German guitarist, bassist, musical producer, and mixer known for working with heavy metal bands such as Avantasia, Edguy, Angra, Shaaman, Rhapsody of Fire, Kamelot, After ...

(producer) and Tommy Karevik (vocals). During Kamelot live shows Youngblood sings backing vocals and harsh vocals (" March of Mephisto") if needed. The song " Don't You Cry" is dedicated to his father and " Hunter's Season" to his mother. upYoungblood in 2007 Youngblood is the only founding member continuously active in the band since its formation. He is also the CEO of KMI Entertainment, who are responsible for Kamelot's management and booking. With Kamelot, Youngblood played multiple headliner tours during the last 20 years in America, Asia, Australia and Europe and some of the biggest festivals like

Wacken Open Air Wacken Open Air (, abbreviated as W:O:A) is a rock music, rock music festival, held annually since 1990 on the first weekend of August in the village of Wacken, Schleswig-Holstein, Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Almost all styles and su ...

Sweden Rock Festival The Sweden Rock Festival is an annual rock/metal festival held in Sweden since 6 June 1992. While having a clear rock/metal focus, the festival is noted for its diversity across these genres, from southern rock bands such as Molly Hatchet to de ...

Sonisphere Festival The Sonisphere Festival was a touring rock music festival which took place across Europe between the months of June and August. The festival was owned by John Jackson and Kilimanjaro Live. It was jointly promoted by K2 and Kilimanjaro Live. It ...

, and

Rock am Ring The (German for "Rock at the Ring") and ("Rock in the Park") festivals are two simultaneous rock music festivals held annually. While ''Rock am Ring'' takes place at the Nürburgring race track, ''Rock im Park'' takes place at the Zeppelinfeld ...

. Youngblood collaborated with Mark Vanderbilt (ex-Kamelot vocalist) in the late 1990s for a project called "Monarque". The song "Arion" was released on the compilation CD "Powerquest – The Awakening".

Consortium Project Consortium Project is a Dutch progressive metal band. The band, formed in 1999, is a super-group project led by Ian Parry. The group, currently signed with Lion Music, has released five albums. The group has featured many notable artists, such as ...

is the brainchild of Ian Parry, vocalist of the Dutch band

Elegy An elegy is a poem of serious reflection, and in English literature usually a lament for the dead. However, according to ''The Oxford Handbook of the Elegy'', "for all of its pervasiveness ... the 'elegy' remains remarkably ill defined: sometime ...

. Youngblood and Ian Parry met when Elegy toured with Kamelot in 1998. When the first album

was recorded, Youngblood was part of it. Other contributions by

Patrick Rondat Patrick Rondat (born 12 October 1960) is a French guitarist. He plays instrumental heavy metal associated with diverse influences such as new-age music, progressive metal, classical music and jazz. He has collaborated on various projects with J ...

Arjen Lucassen Arjen Anthony Lucassen (born 3 April 1960) is a Dutch singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist musician and record producer best known for his long-running progressive metal/rock opera project Ayreon. Lucassen started his career in 1980 as the ...

Stephan Lill Stephan Lill is a German guitarist best known for his work with the Progressive metal band Vanden Plas. Biography Stephan Lill was born on 30 November 1968 in Eitorf, Germany. His interest in music, and especially in playing guitar, was awake ...

and others. Youngblood also contributed on the second album Continuum in Extremis in 2001. He has co-songwriting credits for "Poetic Justice". In 2003, Youngblood was invited to play guitars on the metal opera ''

Days of Rising Doom Aina was a German progressive metal project produced by Sascha Paeth with a number of guest appearances including Glenn Hughes, Michael Kiske and Candice Night. It resulted in the metal opera ''Days of Rising Doom'', which was released in 2003 ...

'' by

supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...

Aina Aina may refer to: * Aina (given name) Places * Aina (Crete), a town of ancient Crete * Aïna River, a river in Cameroon and Gabon * Aina, Iran, a village in Kermanshah Province, Iran Art and entertainment * ''Aina'' (1977 film), a 1977 Pakista ...

, a project of Amanda Sommerville, Sascha Paeth, Robert Hunecke-Rizzo and Michael Rodenberg. In 2003, another collaboration between Ian Parry and Thomas Youngblood came to fruit. They recorded the song "

Flight of Icarus "Flight of Icarus" is a song by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was their eighth single, the first from their fourth studio album, ''Piece of Mind'' (1983), and their first in the United States, where it was one of their few with sub ...

" for the

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

tribute double album '' Slave to the Power''.

Personal life

Youngblood lives in Tampa with his wife Mari, a

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

vocalist. Mari Youngblood made appearances as guest artist on Kamelot's ''Epica'' and ''

'', as well as live appearances in 2007 and on the live DVD ''

One Cold Winter's Night ''One Cold Winter's Night'' is a live album released in 2006 by the symphonic power metal band Kamelot on the SPV label Steamhammer in Germany. It is the second live album and first live DVD from the band, and was released on November 14, 2006. I ...

''. The voice of their daughter Annelise appears in "Soul Society" (''

'') and the

nursery rhyme A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and many other countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes. From t ...

of "Sacrimony" ( ''Silverthorn''). The voice of their son Thomas can be heard as the chorus in "Burns to Embrace" ('' The Shadow Theory'') His main inspirations are varied and range from metal to new age. In addition to playing guitar, Youngblood plays drums, saxophone and keyboard.

Discography

Kamelot

Studio albums

* ''Eternity'' (1995/

) CD * ''Dominion'' (1997/

) CD *''

Siége Perilous ''Siége Perilous'' is the third studio album released by the power metal band Kamelot. It was released on August 4, 1998, through Noise Records. It is the first album with Roy Khan on vocals and Casey Grillo on drums, and is the final album to ...

'' (1998/

) CD *''

The Fourth Legacy ''The Fourth Legacy'' is the fourth full-length album by power metal band Kamelot. It was released in 1999 by Noise Records/Modern Music. It is the first album to credit vocalist Roy Khan as a writer on all tracks, establishing him as the main so ...

'' (1999/

) CD * ''Karma'' (2001/

) CD (German Album Charts #85) * ''Epica'' (2003/

) CD (Finnish Album Charts #28) *''

'' (2005/ SPV/Steamhammer) CD, Vinyl (Swedish Album Charts #24) *''

'' (2007/ SPV/Steamhammer) CD, Vinyl (Norwegian Album Charts #25) *''

'' (2010/

) CD, Vinyl (Billboard Top 200 Charts #74) * ''Silverthorn'' (2012/ SPV/Steamhammer) CD, Vinyl (Billboard Top 200 Charts #79) * ''Haven'' (2015/

) CD, Vinyl (Billboard Top 200 Charts #75) *'' The Shadow Theory'' (2018/

) CD, Vinyl (German Album Charts #13)

Live albums

*''

The Expedition ''The Expedition'' is the live album by the American metal band Kamelot, released in October 2000 through Noise Records. The last three tracks are rare studio recordings: "We Three Kings" (instrumental) and "One Day" are additional material fro ...

'' (2000) CD *''

'' (2006) CD *'' I Am the Empire – Live from the 013'' (2020) CD, Vinyl

DVDs

*''

'' (2006) DVD *'' I Am the Empire – Live from the 013'' (2020) DVD, Blu-ray

Guest appearances

*Power Quest: The Awakening Compilation – guitars and writing credits on "Arion" by Monarque (KMI Entertainment) * Ian Parry's Consortium Project I (1999/

Mascot Label Group Mascot Label Group is an independently-owned record label. Founded in 1989 in The Netherlands under the name Mascot Records, the company was renamed Mascot-Provogue in 1999 and since 2010 has been known as the Mascot Label Group. The company is ba ...

) – guitars on "Change Breeds Contempt” * Ian Parry's Consortium Project II – Continuum in Extremis (2001/

Inside Out Music Inside Out Music is a German independent record label originally based in Kleve, North Rhine-Westphalia, and dedicated to the publication of progressive rock, progressive metal and related styles. In 2009, it formed a partnership with Century Med ...

) – guitars and writing credits on "Poetic Justice” *

– ''Days of Rising Doom'' (2003/

The End Records The End Records is a record label in Manhattan that specializes in rock, heavy metal, indie, and electronic music. Early years (1998–2005) The End Records was founded by Andreas Katsambas in Pasadena, California, with the goal of helping ...

) – guitars on "Lalae Amêr” * ''Slave to the Power'' (2003/

MeteorCity MeteorCity Records is an American record label founded in 1997 by Jadd Shickler and Aaron Emmel in Albuquerque, New Mexico. With the release of its compilation album ''Welcome to MeteorCity'' showcasing young unsigned Kyuss-like bands, MeteorCit ...

) – guitars on "Flight of Icarus"

Publications

*Overnight Success – Columnist for Headbangers Lifestyle (October 29, 2015)

TV appearances

*MTV's

Headbangers Ball ''Headbangers Ball'' is a music television program that consisted of heavy metal music videos airing on MTV and its global affiliates. The show began on MTV on April 18, 1987, playing heavy metal music videos from both well-known and more obs ...

– Host (October 16, 2010) *

Metal Evolution ''Metal Evolution'' is a 2011 documentary series directed by anthropologist and filmmaker Sam Dunn and director, producer and music supervisor Scot McFadyen about heavy metal subgenres, with new episodes airing every Friday at 10 pm EST on Mu ...

– Episode: Power Metal (Documentary, 2012)

References

External links

*
Kamelot website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Youngblood, Thomas American heavy metal guitarists Living people Musicians from Richmond, Virginia Lead guitarists Record producers from Virginia People from Tampa, Florida 1974 births Kamelot members 21st-century American guitarists Record producers from Florida