Ghost Opera: The Second Coming

Usually for a rock album to be reissued as an expanded version (with added videos, live cuts, and unreleased tracks), the album in question would have been originally released some time before, and reached classic stature among rock fans. Which makes the arrival of Kamelot's 2008 release, Ghost Opera: The Second Coming, a bit puzzling. Released less than a year after Ghost Opera, this double-disc version presents the original album, as well as a second disc of the group recorded live in Belgrade, Serbia (plus two videos and four extra studio tracks). While there's no denying that the original Ghost Opera album was a solid release within the prog/medieval metal genre, it's not like it sparked a musical revolution or spawned a zillion copy bands or anything that resembles the mark of a classic rock album. And with the renditions of the songs on the live disc not sounding all that different than if the band was playing in a studio (a problem with many prog metal bands), only die-hard Kamelot fans will feel the need to plunk down more clams for an album that they basically already own.