Shadow Gallery?s self-titled debut album was already a good indication of things to come for this American band as they turned out to be one of the leading groups at the forefront of the new progressive symphonic metal mov... more »ement. Well crafted compositions go hand in hand with melodic and energetic rhythms and, to some extent, even bombastic keyboards and heavy guitar riffs. All this is highlighted by the voice of Mike Baker, who made a name for himself as one of the characters of the very successful Ayreon concept album The Human Equation. With their fifth album, Room V, (the follow up to their highly acclaimed concept album Tyranny) Shadow Gallery prove again that they are indeed worthy of their attained position. Rest assured, this album will convince critics and fans alike!« less
Shadow Gallery?s self-titled debut album was already a good indication of things to come for this American band as they turned out to be one of the leading groups at the forefront of the new progressive symphonic metal movement. Well crafted compositions go hand in hand with melodic and energetic rhythms and, to some extent, even bombastic keyboards and heavy guitar riffs. All this is highlighted by the voice of Mike Baker, who made a name for himself as one of the characters of the very successful Ayreon concept album The Human Equation. With their fifth album, Room V, (the follow up to their highly acclaimed concept album Tyranny) Shadow Gallery prove again that they are indeed worthy of their attained position. Rest assured, this album will convince critics and fans alike!
CD Reviews
A very satisfying prog-rock album
Singslinger | Singapore | 10/20/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I've been listening to prog for 30 years now, starting with King Crimson, Genesis, ELP and Rush in the 70s, to Dream Theater, Opeth, Ice Age and Fates Warning in the 90s. Shadow Gallery have always been up there among the better bands for me, though I was disappointed with their Tyranny album. With Room V though, they've restored my faith in them with a doozy of an album, a real gem. Collected here my friends, is a bunch of stellar prog tunes that will rock you back on your heels. Like Dream Theater, SG manage to seamlessly blend light and shade, soft and loud and happy and menacing. If you liked Carved in Stone but with a slightly harder edge, this one's for you."
Almost perfect!
Judah-Ben | Guatemala | 04/25/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Shadow Gallery has matured its style so much since its debut album. Its compositional and performance abilities have improved despite, or perhaps because of, its lack of live performances. Its distinctiveness, however, remains unchanged. No matter where you live in, no matter where you are, Shadow Gallery can be recognized from miles away. Room V has a great storyline, awesome vocal and instrumental melodies, wonderful harmonies, and sensational guest performances by A.A. Lucassen and Laura Jaeger. The highlight guest performance, however is James LaBrie's intervention on composing one of the songs, maybe the best one of the entire CD, "Torn". His experience in singing gave him the authority to share the vocal melody compositional credit, and his liberty from the Portnoy/Petrucci bondage seasoned the whole album in a way no other artist could've done.
The only "but" in this release is the departure of Chris Ingles as a full-time band member. The lack of sweetness in piano playing and energetic keyboard interpretation is sorely evident. Thankfully, he still collaborated in writing some of the songs.
A great progressive rock CD, not tainted by the excessive heavy-metal influence that has reached bands like Dream Theater and other great prog bands."
Had missed this until now-my loss
Brent E. Johnson | Naches, WA | 03/21/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Ok, I come in late on another review, but I have to way in. This is a great progressive rock album that strays in to prog metal territory at times. It is creative, inventive and a great listen. They seem to stay away from most prog formulas and just play their brand of music. They will go from hard to soft fast to slow and end somewhere in between. In one song. As most of you know the album is telling a story started on the last album and the music does a good job of conveying the emotion as well as adding to the overall sense of the story.
One reviewer said the lyrics were uninspired. I wonder what album they are listening to. And these are not power rock ballads as another said. (although you are entitled to your wrong opinion. ;) )This is SG's brand of power prog rock. I want to add I was reminded of Alan Parsons at times, and even a couple of the guitar solos reminded me of Gilmours Dark Side work. But mostly they have crafted a solid album that is interesting and a worthy addition to any music library."
Stands Test Of Time
M. Centanni | 10/08/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Before I get started, I¡¦d like to mention that a new Shadow gallery album is on the way, and its called 'Digital Ghosts' on Nov. 3rd in the states and Oct. 23rd everywhere else.
I had to revisit this album after I heard a new album was coming out with a new singer. I didn¡'t like the album the first couple listens, but it slowly grew on me. And today I can say that it is my favorite Shadow Gallery Album. Continuing the story of Tyranny, and the legacy of the album, must have been incredibly tough. But as always, these virtuosos just get better and better as time goes on. Gary Wehrkamp has become one of my favorite keyboardists of all time. Up there with Kevin Moore, Jordan Rudess, and Jens Johanssen. Brendt is a master of the guitar, this guy is blazing fast. The songwriting by all the members involved is spectacular. Avoiding corniness where it would seem almost impossible to in the story. Lets do a song by song review here:
Manhunt: A two minute epic passage way into the next song. Continuing off Tyranny¡¦s Christmas day song. You can hear hints of the melody in there. Fast paced, and a great way to start an album.
Comfort Me: probably my favorite song on the album. The two from Tyranny meet and fall in love in this song. The duet with Laura is astounding. Mike baker¡¦s (R.I.P.) moves the listener with his special warm vocal delivery of the song. The song is slower based with awesome guitar solos and flutes º An instant likable track!
The Andromeda Strain: This song is fast, heavily layered vocals and some excellent guitar parts and keyboard solos. This song will stick in your head and I promise it¡¦ll be so good that it is. The instrumental in the middle, with the awesome baseline, is one of the coolest free play modes. This is pure shadow Gallery right here. Instrumentals exceeding the speed of light while being extremely melodic.
Vow: Talk about the absolutely perfect love song. I played this for my gf and she cried. Baker will make you cry¡Kwell maybe¡Kbut he will grab your heart and make you want to grab your loved one and sing this song to them. The vocal layers here are expertly done, most memorable solo done on this album in this writer¡¦s opinion.
Birth Of A daughter: The music speak the words here, an instrumental track that carry you to next scene at blinding speeds, awesome guitar work, and leading up to another track that is a lot sadder.
Death Of A mother: Music speaks here¡Kyou can feel the tension growing in the story here, more insane soloing and a keyboard at 1:00 minute that is so awesome that I¡¦ve been trying to get my good friend whos amazing at the keyboard play¡Khe says it¡¦s too hard though haha
Lamentia: This track is only a minute long¡Kbut it will pull your heart strings. The keyboards and mike baker¡¦s voice deliver an epic emotion of loss in this song. Something that once you hear you¡¦ll never forget. Makes me think of Mike baker¡Ksweet song.
Seven years: Another amazing instrumental track. The music taking you to the next scene
Dark: A leadup to Torn. Main character¡¦s daughter stolen
Torn: At 8 minutes this song is one piece of art. I love this song. A bit more midpaced, this song is chocked full of chill inducing lyrics. Guitar solos that will knock you to the floor. My second favorite song on the album
The Archer of Ben Salem: Carl Cadden does some vocals on this track with baker with a special solo by Arjen of Ayreon. The main character is on a mission to find out why his daughter was stolen from him, heaviest track on the album. Instrumentals are my favorite parts of the song next to Baker¡¦s voice in the beginning of the song.
Encrypted: Another amazing track. The chorus stands out a lot on this song. A lot of intense bluesy soloing here. The ending sticks in your head, some very strange echoeing experimenting done in here. Very cool
Room V: Another fast paced song, plenty of classic shadow gallery here. A lot of the plot is unveiled here. Don¡¦t skip over this song.
Rain: WOW!!!!! Words can not describe this song. Go listen to it.
Overall all, this album was amazing. The new Album I have very high hopes for. It¡¦ll be hard topping this masterpieces but haha that¡¦s what they do, they top everything they do as the progress.
"
Great Musicians, Strange Approach
R. Kallet | San Francisco, CA | 03/03/2008
(2 out of 5 stars)
"Sometimes you get fooled by the sample audio files on Amazon and this is one of those times. The musicians are top notch prog-rockers. That being said, I find their approach off-putting. The first cut in particular starts great and morphs into a sugary pop love song duet that makes you want to puke! What were they thinking? There are some good cuts. However, their music is nowhere near that of IQ, Spock's Beard or any of the other prog rock bands."
Track Listings (14) - Disc #1