Shadow Gallery - Tyranny (1998)

I first stumbled upon Shadow Gallery when I saw them mentioned on a Dream Theater message board. Their songs Destination Unknown from their Legacy album and I Believe from their concept album Tyranny came highly recommended.

Upon first listen-- WOW! Honestly these guys blew me away. I could hear elements of Alice Cooper, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Dream Theater, and even some hints of Queen with their elaborate church choir-esque harmony vocals not to mention the Yngwie Malmsteen meets Brian May guitar stylings of Brendt Allman and Gary Wehrkamp.

Tyranny is a concept album that starts to tell the story about the military industrial complex. The story continues on 2005's Room V. But this is really the album that made fans sit up and take notice.

Where Dream Theater is easily more technically proficient, there's something arguably more organic about Shadow Gallery's style. The way the vocals dance around the elaborate instrumentals. The way their heavy metal guitar work dances around the tight vocal harmonies really sets Shadow Gallery apart.

Unlike some of their contemporaries, Shadow Gallery is strictly a studio band. Since their inception in the early 90s they have been strictly a studio band which is likely the predominant reason why they aren't as well known as some of their contemporaries like Queensryche, Fates Warning, or Dream Theater. It's a shame as those who haven't yet experienced their unique sound are truly missing out.

There are some truly transcendent moments on Tyranny. The vocal harmonies that come in at about 5 minutes into the song on I Believe NEVER, and I do mean NEVER fail to give me chills. Mike Baker's vocals were in top form from start to finish. I Believe is easily the most upbeat song on the album as it expresses that no matter what there's always a hope for positive change. There's even a mention of Jesus's prophecy of a better world that lifts the spirits of the main character sung by Michael Baker. Dream Theater's James LaBrie steps in for guest vocals as he sings the part of the main character's father. It's a brief snippet early in the song but LaBrie's vocals are unmistakable.

What makes the album work is that it's not a full-on heavy metal onslaught. There's a serious amount of musical diversity including neo-classical influences as well as the trademark metal stylings that one would expect. Some songs waltz back and forth between melodic soft rock to driving crunchy metal.

If you're not familiar with Shadow Gallery and want to give them a try this is an excellent album to start with as it shows the true breadth of their musicianship much moreso than their first 2 albums (their self-titled debut and Carved in Stone).

On a sad post-script, lead vocalist Mike Baker, died of a heart attack on October 29, 2008.

Related Links
Shadow Gallery (official website)
Shadow Gallery (wikipedia)
Tyranny (official website, includes samples of all songs)
Tyranny (wikipedia)
Brendt Allman (wikipedia)
Gary Wehrkamp (wikipedia)
Mike Baker (wikipedia)

Shadow Gallery - Legacy (2001)

When discussing progressive metal, it becomes near impossible not to mention Dream Theater. They set the bar of excellence for an entire genre-- they are the definitive band for that entire genre.

Unfortunately, as a result, many excellent bands oft get overlooked. Among those bands is Shadow Gallery.

What sets Shadow Gallery apart are there church choir-esque vocal harmonies. Where Dream Theater is so heavily focused on musical technique, Shadow Gallery's focus is firmly planted within the realm of harmony-- and it's not just with the vocals (although their vocal harmonies are generally the first thing new listeners notice when first "discovering" this band)-- instrumentally their harmonies tend to be significantly tighter than just about any other metal band (progressive or otherwise) that I've ever heard.

Incidentally it was on the recommendation of a Dream Theater fan that I decided to check out Shadow Gallery. I was not led astray. There was something almost angelic about their harmonies. But when you juxtapose the crunchiness of their guitars with their tight harmonies their music is transcendent.

I realize that one of the complaints many critics have of various forms of progressive rock is that it's overly indulgent and pretentious-- who needs 10, 20, 30 minute songs. Shadow Gallery are gross offenders of that stereotype-- Legacy only has 6 songs on it, 2 of which are over 7 minutes, 1 clocks in at over 15, but the most egregious offender is the 6th and final track, First Light clocking in at 34 minutes 18 seconds (including a 5+ minute "dramatic pause").

First Light is ALMOST a brilliant piece of musicianship which is marred by the aforementioned dramatic pause. Up until the start of that "pause" this is easily one of my favorite CDs... But that "pause" serves no purpose and is a glaring blemish on this otherwise exceptional album-- imagine if you will, a beautiful readhead, perfect in every way except she has a giant mole smack dab in the middle of her forehead with a hair growing out of it. This album is that beautiful redhead and that mole is that wholly unnecessary "pause."

Colors, Legacy, and ESPECIALLY Destination Unknown are some of the most exceptionally crafted songs I've ever heard. The harmonies are spot-on, and while progressive music is notorious for sacrificing emotion for technique-- these songs still manage to evoke some level of emotion in a genre typically not known for doing so.

If you can look past that mole, this beauty has a really great personality.