Shadow Gallery

let me start by saying I really don't know anything about this band but I did get the chance to listen to this CD and it is quite superb. Fans of Dream Theater and Queensryche should be right at home with this. The musicianship is great and the compositions are solid throughout. I see that at least one reviewer had an issue with Mike Baker's voice but I fail to see what the problem is. I heard much worse in more popular bands, so spare me.
Concept album or not I don't care, all I know is my ears tell me that the band kicks butt and the songs are solid. Get it and hear for yourself.
www.electriceyes.us

"Tyranny" is broken into two sections Act I and Act 2. It is a concept album about a man, war and the weapons of war. I am not exactly sure of the whole story line, but it seems to work. I think this one is an improvement on "Carved In Stone". The sound is big and bombastic with occasional quiet interludes thrown in for good measure. Dream Theater, Queensrcyche, and maybe even "Wall" era Pink Floyd are good comparisons. The guitars are fast and agile, the keys elegant and powerful, the rhythm section booming, and the vocals decent. All in all this is another strong progressive metal album from Shadow Gallery.

Masterpiece comes to mind. Also Solid Masterpiece is appropriate...

Having started with DT eons ago, and like most who were encouraged by the rebirth of quality music in the modern age (if tragically underground), I hungered for more "prog", a genre of music that really can only be pigeonholed as musicians who wield epic emotion but aren't satisfied without pushing envelopes at the same time...which really is simply characterized as the greatest music possible.

This virtousic concept album about apprehension towards corporate greed takes me back to that first Dream Theater or Queensryche album I heard, but at times Shadow Gallery surprises even myself into begging for placement into the forefront of popular music. It's that good.

One of the greatest songs I have ever heard is a keystone to this album: "I Believe." It is a good represenation of what Shadow Gallery produces in their finest moments. Layers of intellectually strewn choruses, virtuosic passages of dueling guitars/keys, and just heart-wrenching emotion. Top quality production and diversity even within itself. The here-then-gone cameo of James laBrie doesn't hurt. One of the most rare finds in humanity is technical proficiency coupled with fantastic expression and personality. I find this review staying very short, because put simply, it's all here.

It's been a while since there's been an album I've been addicted to so much. Every time I put it back on the shelf, I change my mind and listen to it one more time. Whenever I'm not listening to it and I think of it, I must go play it. That reminds me...

If I could I would give it ten stars.One of my top 5 albums of all time.I can't say enough good things.

Okay - when I first heard this CD, I wasn't all that thrilled. It's not my first Shadow Gallery CD - I purchased Carved in Stone before this, and actually like that better, but Tyranny is starting to grow on me and I'm beginning to appreciate some it's merits I didn't notice at first. I'm not a power metal guy - I can't stand hearing speed guitar just to showcase how fast a guitarist can play, or speed druming for the same reason - only relative to the drummer. When I first listened to this CD, I got the impression that's what was unfolding and shelved it. I pulled it again and began to notice the story that unfolds with the lyrics - they're pretty complex and quite well done. Putting the lyrics together with the metal then begins to form the story that is Tyranny - it's almost scary that it's also almost a commentary on our current society and conditions! (but not a political soundoff). I can't accept the criticism of the vocalist I've read from other reviewers here. I find Shadow Gallery's vocals a strong point of the band and deserving of much more recognition and praise that they've received. They are simply exceptional. I still prefer Carved in Stone over Tyranny, but Tyranny has come off the shelf now and is becoming more appealing. It's worthy of a second listen, and maybe more.

INCREDIBLE FOURTH RELEASE FROM THIS OUTSTANDING STUDIO BAND . IT'S A MUST FOR FANS OF DREAM THEATER AND QUEENSRYCHE . ALBUM OF THE YEAR 2001 !
PRODUCED BY LEGENDARY NEAL KERNON. HIGHLY RECOMMANDED!

My liking for Shadow Gallery began with "Carved in Stone", an album that, after many attempts, managed to blend meaty heavy-hitting cuts ("Cliffhanger") with softer, touching pieces ("Alaska"). The album, however, was very flawed. On top of having many forgettable tracks, it had many incontiguous interludes that didn't add to the quality of the album. Even their 20+ minute epic "Ghostship" had several tracks that got in the way of hearing the album start to finish.

So if it weren't for a friend's glowing review of "Legacy", I probably wouldn't have picked it up.

But thank God I did.

"Legacy" is a fantastic album that delivers Shadow Gallery's niche sound with flying colors and avoids the pitfalls that made "Carved in Stone" a difficult listen. In other words, it has only 6 tracks.

The album begins with "Cliffhanger Part 2: Hang on / The Crusher", one of those rare (if not completely exceptional) conceptual tracks that is better than the original. Though it borrows explicit riffs from its predecessor, it one-ups it by adding completely new progressive metal riffs and solos, the likes of which would make Andromeda (or even Dream Theater) envious. With its soaring and diverse time signatures, the album starts off with a spectacular 13-minute punch.

From there, the album slows down with "Destination Unknown", a mournful, piano-led track that winds its way through layered voices and lulling melodies. Without a defined structure, the song feels like musical stream of consciousness, but always relying on that soft piano to guide it. "Colors" has that gospel-influenced pop that made previous songs like "Alaska" and "Don't Ever Cry, Just Remember" such memorable pieces but with a chorus that explodes with melody like the others couldn't.

"Society of the Mind" and the album's title track speed things back up. The two are on the metal side of progressive rock, delivering powerful guitar/keyboard duets with layered vocals and harmonized guitars to aid in the mix. A lot is packed into each of their 5-minute durations, most likely to keep them from getting lost in the shadow of -

- "First Light", the album's epic. Though registering as a 30+ minute track, the song is really only a little over 22, with a Vangelis-inspired synth finale finishing the track after about 3-4 minutes of silence. Despite the awkward 3-minute gap, "First Light" is majestic. The song begins with the obligatory 3-minute atmospheric intro (See: Dream Theater's "Octavarium"), and then leads into a single guitar. From there singer Brendt Allman joins the mix with his delicate voice, trailing with him distorted guitars, drums, and elaborate riffs that will eventually divide the song into recognizable sections. The brilliant part about "First Light" is that it's not like DT's "A Change of Seasons", that explores tens of melodies and countless instrumental passages before closing with the same melody that started it. Instead, it explores two or three separate melodies, incorporating vocals in each one, before closing with the same guitar with which it started.

"Legacy" is a very tight album. It has independent tracks that retain their own quality, like people in a group of friends, sandwiched between two epics that showcase a band's multiple talents. I'm shocked that such an amazing album has gone by relatively unnoticed in the metal community.

So this is me, trying to bring it to light.

See also: Andromeda - Extension of the Wish, Dream Theater - Octavarium

I have every Shadow Gallery album, but I must say when I recieved this one I thought booooooooooooooooooring...and it just sorta collected dust in my room for a few months. But in the meantime, I was listening to some other Shadow Gallery stuff and I really started liking Carved in Stone. Cliffhanger was well, a really great song, most people I bet agree. Cliffhanger 2, being the first song on this album, interested me, so thats how I gave this album another chance.

The tracks that stood out to me the most were Colors, Cliffhanger pt. 2, and Society of the Mind. Of course it would be impossible not to mention First Light, I mean after all, its what, 40 minutes long? Or 35? But that track didn't interest me as much, it had some weird spaces, like at some point it had maybe 10 minutes of near silence.

But overall, this album sounds pretty similar to Carved in Stone, not so much like Tyranny or Room V, I guess (or at least not much like Room V) but hey, its SHadow Gallery, check it out.

Well, I'm not into prog...I love Toto...I used to love Dream Theater ("Images" & "Awake"...)...I do love Queensryche music from 80's and early 90's...There's something of each band I mentionated inside this album...but they're not similar enough to be called a clone! The very first band that came to my mind was Dream Theater...and believe it or not I do think Shadow Gallery's "Legacy" has nothing to envy to "Images And Words" (which by the way is a full 5/5 to me). The only weak song is "Colors"...it's not that bad...but it's insipid in the album context! "Cliffhanger" is a great opener with the second half of the song played as a never boring prog instrumental by fantastic musicians. "Destination Unknown" is a gem and "Society Of The Mind" simply crushing. A particolar mention goes to "First Light": I do not like too long songs, I'd say I usually hate "suites"...but this song's got something special even if its incredible length (34.38)!!! When I listened to it back in 2001 I was living a period on my own, thinking about my life, etc...I must admit this song caught the time, the feeling it creates was/is magic! You must associate lyrics to music to feel it, and I suppose this was the feeling S.G. intented to give to ppl. Words and music really go together! On the other hand I apologize with S.G. fans saying I don't like Mike Baker style very much. He didn't transmit any emotion in "Tyranny" (which is a very goog cd by the way) and the same stands for "Room V" (damn...such a long wait for such a week album!). If you do think the same YOU MUST KNOW that vocals lines and melodies in this occasion are great. Baker's interpretation's really amazing! He filled the gap...even if for only one album...sob!
In the end: give a chance to "Legacy"...it's a great album!!!

This album gets beat up on by prog fans a little too much. IMO it's just as good as anything Dream Theatre put out during this time period.

There isn't a lot in Australias 'red centre' for your average music buff unless your into country music. So when I found a street stall in Alice Springs selling hard rock and metal as varied as death metal to Slayer to stuff like Nightwish and Bad Company I was pretty happy.

This is one of the albums I picked up cheap (A$10) and it ain't half bad. To a certain point you can tell what your getting before you even slip it into your stereo. The cover art shows you it's a mid 90's style of Euro tinged metal. The actual results when you push play are all that with a dose of prog thrown in for good measure. Track one (of 20) goes for over eight minutes and the feel of the thing right down to some of the vocal stylings of Mike Baker reminded me of Queensryche except the guitar solos are probably more 'metal' than the 'Ryche boys have bothered with in ages.

The length of some tracks is counterbalanced by the brevity of others such as the second track which is instrumental and clocks in at just 40 seconds. Quite why they've broken the music down like this I'm not sure. Only eight tracks are named, those being numbers 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11 and 13. The rest are anonymous and often in reality contained within the final named track which goes for over 20 minutes. I suppose this breaking up of tunes into smaller chunks does provide some punctuation in the art.

The musicianship is fine and the prog touches enhance rather than detract more often than not and at over 70 minutes the band certainly put in the work. And this is also evident when you read the insert and you do realise what a labour of love this album was and the fact it sounds so clean and crisp is really due to a victory of passion and effort over what must have been a very limited budget.

All up an album with too much ambition for the band to pull off fully but one for the fans of 90's Euro styled product who don't want that high pitched squealing vocal style but who do enjoy some prog influences and high minded conception and deliver. A solid three star album.

When I first re-discovered that there was still new progressive rock being made back in the mid 90's, Shadow Gallery was one of the first new bands that I got into. The band recorded on the Magna Carta label and typical of most of their bands seemed to take a very large influence from Dream Theater, and Queensryche. I thought this album was really awesome back at the time, but over the years I have discovered many more progressive metal bands and Shadow Gallery is not as unique as I once thought them to be. Still this is a strong album for the most part. There is plenty of shredding guitar to be found and lots of soaring keyboard work. All of these guys are very good musicians and the vocals are very similar to Queensrcyhe although not at quite the same level of Geoff Tate. The highlight of the album is the 20 minute closing track "Ghostship" that puts on display all of the band's strengths. The opening track "Cliffhanger" is another barn burner as well. The one problem a lot of people have with this band is their refusal to play live. I honestly think that had they been willing to tour they might have been able to tap into the Dream Theater crowd at the time of this release and gotten a lot bigger than they did. The band still managed to become one of Magna Carta's top selling artists.

well i've just discovered this band and this is one great masterpiece i have in my collection this band makes your ears melt when listening to .one of the most talented bands in america i've ever come across. just buy it and it will grow on you after a few listens

At the age of 16 when i first started listeing metal (Iron Maiden, Manowar, then Blind Guardian and so on) there was this friend of mine (owned about 1000 cds at that time!!!) who had a music show. At some point he first plays a song called "Crystalline Dream" and then "Don't ever Cry Just Remember" by a band called Shadow Gallery. At once they drew my attention and despite the fact that this band is supposed to be progressive, the above songs don't need to be listened to a hundred times to that you can "feel" them.

Next day I get the cd and about ten years after and while Shadow Galler have come up with one more jewell (Tyrrany) and two more good albums (not a match for "C.I.S" and "Tyrrany") I write this review. Keep in mind that this cd had melted in my cd player 10 years before and now at the age of 27 I still listen to it with the same enthousiasm.

The cd is flawlless, there is no mediocre moment in the whole record. There are a lot of keyboards within the whole record which I believe adds the most to the whole album as it gives a warm and lyrical feeling to the songs. There are two ballads (Don't ever Cry, Just Remember and Alaska) while the rest of the songs move mostly in mid tempo and secondly a bit faster (see Dream Theater)

My question is this. All these years I hear that Dream Theater are the best, Dream Theater this, Dream Theater that. Don't get me wrong, I like Dream Theater a lot, have most of their albums and believe that it is a great band. Yet many times I fest a bit "tired" by trying to listen to their albums and fest that they lacked something...
Well what I wanted to hear in progressive metal I found it in Shadow Gallery. It seems to me that this album spoke to my heart and every single melody, every solo and tune that existed made sense. I didn't have to try hard to "understand" the songs or listen to the strange riffs that change all the time and are suposedly sound like progressive metal.
All I had to do is listen to music...So how come after all these years everybody talks about Dream Theater and not Shadow Gallery? I never understood that. Maybe because their last two albums weren't that much.

Moreover, I believe that if you like progressive metal and bands like Dream Theater, Sympony X but with a more "lyrical" and "romantic" touch and less technical riffs you will definitely like "Carved In Stone" and "Tyrrany" (which sounds more mature and evolving".

If you want to listen to something now that a decade later will make you happy and privileged to having listened to this kind of music then get this album. There but a few metal albums from the 650 that I have that stay in my cd player still...!!

-----Lastly I have to mention that this album together with tyrrany have a sence of optimism that overwhellms you when listening to it. It's not a happy kind of feeling like Helloween for example...but its close. Its a feelling that makes you feel whole, complete and gives you great energy for the rest of the day...Well at least this is how i feel-------

I suppose if you're expecting hard-edge Progressive Metal, this is not for you. The production does lean more toward Progressive than Metal. So Metallica fans should be disappointed, Yes fans should be impressed. I am personally amazed with the creative genius here.

Start with the musically well-crafted "Cliffhanger." Then "Crystalline Dream" turns it up another notch. We get a more mellow message in "Don't Ever Cry, Just Remember." Then "Warcry" holds bold warnings. "Celtic Princes" is a nice piano and guitar piece. "Deeper Than Life" pounds it out hardest of all for 4½ minutes. "Alaska" is just pleasant. Not a weak entry in the bunch.

Most of the songs to this point are bridged with very nice interludes. Add my appreciation of keyboard rock and we have one of the best-produced albums ever.

And then there's the epic musical journey "Ghost Ship." Start off like a cross between Dream Theater and Meat Loaf. Then bring a Queensrÿche sound. Then the style is Pink Floyd. Abruptly, they bring an Ozzy Osbourne style. And just when you think they're rocking you hard, they break into a full gallop a-la Metallica. Then they find a way to bridge that into a piano solo much like Beethoven. They conclude with a sound very much like Yes. All of it is bridged wonderfully together into an amazing composition.

But wait! There's the postlude (code named TG95.) In my mind, this 'hidden track' sort of ties into "Ghost Ship". So after all that, we get a beautiful Yanni sound for 5 minutes or so.

We have here a must for Progressive Rock fans who want to stretch just a little bit. I'm sure glad I did.

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.

This was my first intro to Shadow Gallery and frankly I was blown away. I had seen this CD periodically while perusing my local Best Buy and it was percolating up my on my "buy list" as I've been expanding my search for tasty prog. I'm not sure why, but I was expecting a darker, heavier sound, without any experience with their music. But I was pleasantly surprised as I like a more melodic prog, whether it's rock or metal.

Favorites are: Comfort Me, Andromeda Strain, Vow (slower, but an interesting theme), Torn, Archer of Ben Salem, Encrypted and Rain. The instrumentals are also top notch.

Unlike some of the reviews I've read, I like Mike Baker's voice - everyone has their preferences I guess. I really like the female vocals on Comfort Me as well.

If you're looking for some new music - great musicianship, great melodies, try Shadow Gallery.

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.

Being a fan of SG since Carved in Stone, I could not wait for this to come out. Fans will not be disappointed in this latest offering. Great lyrics, (some of the best so far, thanks Carl!) awesome music, a fantastic follow up to Tyranny. The best song on the CD is "The Archer of Ben Salem" hands down. The middle part shreds pretty well, and a fine compliment to lead vocalist Mike Baker is Carl Cadden James, what a voice. Keep up the good work guys.

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.

That is how I felt when I first heard this album. I have to admit, this was my first introduction to Carl Cadden-James, Gary Wehrkamp and Shadow Gallery and I can safely say that I was not dissapointed at all. This is a gem of Progressive Rock/Metal and music in general.

There is one way to describe this album, beautiful. Listening to "Comfort Me" for the first time is like nothing you have experienced yet. Sure it is kind of weird when you can actually talk about DNA in a song, but everything just blends together so perfectly.

Buy this album if you are a fan of Prog Rock/Metal. You won't be in the least dissapointed.

Long time fans of Progressive Rock/Metal are most likely familiar with Shadow Gallery, a musical ensemble, known as a purveyor of high quality Progressive Rock music, though not in high quantities. Shadow Gallery was formed thirteen years ago, yet their latest album, Room V is only their fifth studio album. It is a concept album which picks up from a previous concept album, Tyranny, a story about a man and woman fighting against the diabolical government, who practices hegemony on third world countries. (Hmmp sounds like us.)

What's Hot
Kudos for the instrumentals. That's where you can really hear what fantastic musicians these guys are. "Manhunt," "Birth of a Daughter" and "Death of a Mother" are all excellent fast paced numbers with great guitars, keyboards (fantastic on death of a Mother) and percussion.

Didn't like the ethereal sounding beginning but some super guitar work turned Seven Years into a winner. Another instrumental!

Despite Mike Baker's melancholy, sugar-coated vocal, "Torn" is a pretty good song. Still at eight minutes, it's a little overdone.

Hey, I like Baker's singing on "The Archer of Ben Salem." Like the song too, especially the organ/guitar playing!

The last three quarters of "Room V" is excellent. Fantastic musicianship!

What's Not
The only thing that keeps "Comfort" from being two and a half stars is the excellent keyboards and the lady singer. Sugar coated vocals by Mike Baker. 3 ½ stars.

The eight minute plus ballad, "Vow" is so boring it makes me want to throw something against the wall. Yes, it has a pleasant melody, but Mike Baker's vocal are sweet enough to make you nauseous . 2 stars. Give me the Mike Baker of Human Equation's "Loser?"

Another unnecessarily long song, "Encrypted" is average at best.

Nine minute "Rain," is a pretty good song but it could be better. A little less band harmonizing, a little less redundancy, a little shorter and you've got a five star song instead of four.

Conclusion

I like to think of Shadow Gallery's music as mellow progressive rock. There is nothing radical about their music but it's always very melodious and pleasant, with musicianship second to none. One of the problems I find with their music is, because I gravitate to a little heavier strain of music, I tend to tire of their music, quickly. Room V is like that. It has an impressive sound but with limited staying power. If you haven't heard it for awhile it sounds great. If I play it three or four times, I put it away for another two or three months because I'm ready for something a little more upbeat. Yes, there are some riotously upbeat songs or sections of songs on Room V and they are excellent but three overlong tedious songs trump the shorter faster songs. Still I won't deny Room V is a good album. I'll just skip the boring parts. Final rating 4.15 stars.

This is the sequel to the intriguing story started in "Tyranny" but already started before in the mind of the band's lyricist and excellent bassist/backing singer/flautist Carl Cadden-James (some elements of the story could be found already in "Carved in Stone"). But it's by no mean a clone of "Tyranny". Beside similar musical references, this one contains maybe more instrumental parts and more varied atmospheres, a few references to Led Zeppelin's best works (Kashmir, for instance), more references to Pink Floyd and still the usual influences from the best Queen, Kansas, Iron Maiden or Rainbow and Yngwie Malmsteen, plus classical music. But in the end, it is their own and unique style! Although the band is composed only of virtuosos and excellent singers (Mike Baker being the perfect lead vocalist with the golden voice), the main focus in their music is melody and emotion before the instrumental prowesses - but lovers of great instrumental parts will find many varied and complex ones here!). Shadow Gallery represents the perfect balance between powerful guitar riffs, and symphonic rock with the best vocal works that can be heard today in any style ! Their incredible multi-layered vocal harmonies are matchless in the rock world and this album just proves this again. Incredible guitar and keyboard solos, tasteful piano and multi-layered guitar harmonies, unusual synthesizer textures, etc. They are fantastic arrangers. You can love them for their mellow side or their heavier side (both are equally represented) but one thing is sure : they've got a great sense of melody, harmony and counterpoint in everything they create and they also put their whole *heart* into their music. Beautiful melodies, a great sense of drama, very exciting and very accessible progressive structures throughout those 75+ minutes of music.
Shadow Gallery's albums are long in the making but always done in the best way possible, this fifth one was well worth the wait... The production on this one is their best, never too heavy, just organic, deep, clear, emotional. So those who haven't checked them yet but who love the aforementioned styles and references in music, it's very unlikely that you'll be disappointed.
By the way, this is a limited edition for Europe only, with an extra CD full of unreleased stuff (5 tracks, 38 minutes, including a 24-mn-long Pink Floyd medley that is just unique !) and a video documentary as well ! A must-have !

Having listened to their albums and live recordings a zillion times, I'm always looking for fresh interpretations of Pink Floyd. A good tribute pays homage to the parent while simultaneously making the material fit a new environment. Most tributes phonographically copy the original band or fall embarrassingly short in the attempt. Both types are dull. "The Moon Revisited " falls into the first category. This "Dark Side Of The Moon" tribute would easily earn an 'A' as a final exam at the end of band camp's Pink Floyd week. Outside of that, it has little value. That written, there is nothing wrong with this recording. The musicians perform well and the production is excellent. Unlike the Easy Star All-Stars that did a reggae tribute of the same album, this is just straight rock. The esteemed Australian Pink Floyd Show also plays literal versions, but it's a live experience. The Aussies appreciate the futility of making such an audio recording. The listener is better off passing this one by and enjoying the original.