Symphonic metal titans Kamelot have pulled off one of the more unexpected pairings of the year. The band’s new single, “Ashen World“, features a guest vocal turn from Ignacia Fernández, the Decessus frontwoman who made global headlines last year as the first-ever death metal vocalist to be crowned Miss World Chile. The track is lifted from Kamelot‘s forthcoming album, Dark Asylum, due out August 28 via Napalm Records, and arrives with an accompanying music video showcasing the collaboration.
For anyone unfamiliar with Fernández, her story is a genuine one-of-a-kind. As we reported at the time, the 27-year-old model and founder of progressive death metal band Decessus took the Miss World Chile 2025 crown in November after a viral semi-final performance in which she delivered extreme metal vocals while wearing a ball gown — a gamble that stunned the room before earning a standing ovation. Decessus, formed in 2020, has already shared stages with the likes of Insomnium, Jinjer and Epica, and Fernández has been open about the professional training behind her craft, from vocal coaching to regular check-ins with an ENT specialist and speech therapist.
“I studied for more than two years, very focused,” she told Chilean newspaper Las Últimas Noticias at the time. “I have an ENT [ears, nose and throat] specialist and a speech therapist with whom I constantly make sure that everything is okay. I warm up during the day and before a show I take between 15 and 30 minutes to do several exercises calmly.”
In a statement on social media following her win, Fernández expressed her gratitude and commitment to her new role.
“Couldn’t be more [happy] and grateful,” she wrote. “I take on this beautiful challenge with all the energy and heart put into representing my country in the best way. I promise to give it my all, with passion, labor and purpose. Thank you for the worldwide recognition of my singing, a little piece of my soul that inspires me to keep growing and dreaming big. Let’s go all the way Chile…. for that crown!”
Her appearance on “Ashen World” leans into a very different, more ethereal register than her death metal work, weaving through the song’s darker atmosphere.
Kamelot vocalist Tommy Karevik described the track’s themes:
“It’s a deep dive into the topography of the human mind, exploring its valleys, peaks, and the void in between. It’s about breaking free from the limiting beliefs that hold us captive and creating a new reality that allows us to expand and realize our full potential.”
Founder and guitarist Thomas Youngblood added his own take on where the song sits in the band’s catalog:
“”Ashen World‘ captures that moment of being at the crossroads between darkness and hope, where the journey ahead begins. It’s classic Kamelot at its core. While simultaneously opening new doors to the world of Dark Asylum.”
“Ashen World” serves as an early glimpse into Dark Asylum, the band’s 14th studio album and a full-blown concept record set in a shadowy Neo-Victorian world centered on the fictional RavenHill Asylum — a former cathedral turned institution where science, faith and madness collide. Fernández turns out to be more than a one-song guest, too: she also appears later on the album on the track “Sanctuary“, sharing the spotlight with Visions Of Atlantis vocalist Clémentine Delauney. She joins a stacked roster of guest voices across the record that also includes Avantasia‘s Tobias Sammet and Eluveitie‘s Lea-Sophie Fischer.
The “Ashen World” music video is out now, with Dark Asylum set to arrive August 28.
