Shadow Gallery appreciation

[Random Axe]

Almost exactly like with Dreamscape, I decided to play some of them today to see if a decade or so away made a difference with me.

It did.

I'd always liked Carved in Stone but never loved it and Tyranny for whatever stupid reason never stuck with me. Now I'm on the office today listening to them back to back and wondering why I didn't get into this sooner. Lots of subtle layers I never paid attention to on these. I always considered Mike a good vocalist but I thought his delivery was a little too dramatic. Now I'm digging that aspect.

[prog_powermetal99]

Almost exactly like with Dreamscape, I decided to play some of them today to see if a decade or so away made a difference with me.

It did.

I'd always liked Carved in Stone but never loved it and Tyranny for whatever stupid reason never stuck with me. Now I'm on the office today listening to them back to back and wondering why I didn't get into this sooner. Lots of subtle layers I never paid attention to on these. I always considered Mike a good vocalist but I thought his delivery was a little too dramatic. Now I'm digging that aspect.

Ughhh another band that appears to have broken up...Will it ever end? But yea, they are one of my favorites!!! The great thing about Shadow Gallery is that they sound absolutely like nobody else!! So many bands you can put the CD on and sound like this or that band, but Shadow Gallery is a unique band that will always stand on it's own. Even with Mike Baker gone, the music still sounds like Shadow Gallery. I miss Mike to death! The new singer is an okay singer, but there will never be another Mike Baker... Tyranny is my absolute favorite followed closely by Carved in Stone....They started to lose me on the last CD that they recorded with Mike Baker. It was just missing that magic that they had with their earlier stuff.

[Kez]

When I first heard Carved in Stone way back in 95, I had the same initial feeling about the "drama" in Mike's vocals. It took me a little while to digest his presentation. But over the years, I grew to appreciate how special his voice was and how it really fit the uniqueness of the music. Shadow Gallery will always hold a very special place for me, as they were one of the early bands that forced me to expand my musical outlook.

[LarryD]

Claus and I were just talking about SG and "Tyranny" in particular as being one of the greatest emotional prog discs ever. Seeing them at PP (even without Mike) was a dream come true for me and they delivered in spades despite their singer being gone. The new singer did a great job, more so than I thought he did on disc.

I had a tough time with subsequent discs after Tyranny as it was such a special disc, I knew it would be hard to follow. "The Room" is their best ( to me ) following Tyranny and at least captures some of the magic of Tyranny being a follow up to the story and all. I usually play these twp back to back to keep that story flowing, something I normally don't do.

This band is indeed special - one of the most special bands I've ever come across........if they are gone, I do thank them for showing us that there is prog beyond DReam Theater and can still embrace that level of talent at the same time. I miss Mike, I and I will certainly miss this band if its over......

[Hearing Aid Man]

Funny I knew this was going to be a band I love from the debut. Not sure how many here started with them from that one? Back in the day My friend was in the military and came home from Korea and said I have a CD you're going to like an he was right. Back then some CD's were difficult to find and this was one of them. I offered to buy it from him and he finally sold it when I said $50 for it. I really enjoy all 6 releases from SG. Not a let down in the bunch IMO. Great band!

[introclaus]

I enjoy the self-titled (Shadow Gallery) debut album tremendously, and especially the epic "The Queen of the City of Ice", but I think the production is a bit "weaker", and perhaps the lack of Gary Wehrman's input has something to do with it not quite reaching the heights of the next 3 albums for me.

My introduction to them was with Carved in Stone, and probably for that reason I've got a lot of "emotional attachment" to that specific disc, but I think the 1-2-3 punch of CiS, Tyranny and Legacy, is unmatched in the classic prog metal genre. This is where I think the band took it to a new level and just became a top act within the genre.

Tyranny is the highlight of their career to me (as well as many others), with an amazing storyline, the symphonic strength of it, the amazing vocals by not only Mike but also guests DC Cooper and James LaBrie, and obviously the coolest prog metal opening instrumental ever written ("Stiletto in the Sand"). The songwriting on this album is out of this world! Like I told Larry the other day, I doubt that a better "classic style" prog metal disc exist (I'd even rank it above "Images & Words").

Legacy, however, is their pinnacle as musicians. They reached new levels of technicality here, and showed themselves to be just as talented as anyone else in the genre. I know it's not as universally loved as certain other of their discs, but I keep going back to this one as the one to beat in terms of sheer performance.

Room V honestly never clicked with me. I very rarely go back to it, as it just seemed ... forced ? It's like the label said "make us a follow up to the storyline from Tyranny", and that's what they did, without the heart in it.

Digital Ghosts is actually a great album. Yes, it's not Mike singing (and it was a huge loss to the community, the band, and of course his family, that he passed away), but Brian Ashland does a wonderful job, and live he was spot on at ProgPower a few years later. The guest performances by Ralf (Primal Fear) and Matt (Suspyre) are decent as well, but makes it feel a little bit like the band didn't quite trust Brian to do the job on his own.

My ranking would be:
1. Tyranny
2. Legacy
3. Carved in Stone
4. Shadow Gallery
5. Digital Ghosts
6. Room V
(with 4/5 interchangeable depending on my mood any given day)

[johnhead]

Love SG and Tyranny is their pinnacle by far for me. I don't rate it higher than SFAM, but it's def in the same conversation at Remedy Lane, Streets, and Mercy Falls for me.

I think the biggest issue is that when you are mostly a studio band, it's hard to turn it into a career. And that means everyone is doing many things, and consistency becomes a struggle. I love Gary's influence on the JLB solo stuff.

[BC]

I enjoy the self-titled (Shadow Gallery) debut album tremendously, and especially the epic "The Queen of the City of Ice", but I think the production is a bit "weaker", and perhaps the lack of Gary Wehrman's input has something to do with it not quite reaching the heights of the next 3 albums for me.

In terms of production, I believe I read somewhere one of the band members saying that the tracks in Shadow Gallery were basically the demo tracks they submitted to Magna Carta, who then released the album as is. I would love to see this album get a proper remix/remaster by the band so that we get to hear how they wanted it to truly sound.

[Sir Exar Kun]

Been a big SG fan from the debut on...... Had a friend who had mail ordered Magellan's "Magna Carta" (on cassette no less at the time) out of a magazine, and if I recall Shadow Gallery was on the same promo ad, so we ended up ordering that CD shortly afterwards, based on how much we enjoyed Magellan (MidKnight can correct anything I have out of line here). The debut was certainly raw, but in the mid-90s that didn't really matter to us, as finding anything that sounded remotely like this was all but impossible..... yet. To this day, the debut is probably my favorite despite it's sonic shortcoming, as every single song on there is a memorable classic.

"Carved in Stone" felt big budget by comparison, and absolutely picked up right where the debut left off. Plus, at that point we had a couple of chains around Detroit (Media Play, Harmony House) that had picked up Magna Carta releases, so by this point we were starting to blind-buy anything on that label (Enchant, Altura, Lemur Voice, a slew of tribute albums, etc etc).

"Tyranny" felt absolutely massive by comparison to the first two, just by virtue of getting some BIG NAME guests to appear..... I do think, like many, this is objectively their high water mark.....

"Legacy" was a disappointment, without question, as it felt somewhat aimless compared to the intensity of "Tyranny". It only had a handful of songs (all long ones), but they lacked the big hooks that were so prevalent on all the prior albums. To this day, this is far and away my LEAST listened to of the releases.

"Room V" was more of a return to form, but didn't quite hit the same lofty standards as the first three albums. Same general ballpark, but if the songs on Tyranny were 10 out of 10s, these were maybe 8 out of 10s. Plus, but this point there were a slew of top tier prog albums coming out, so the bar had been raised SIGNIFICANTLY by this point.

"Digital Ghosts" is a really good album in its own right, but always felt to me like something the band had to get out right away, and was meant to be a precursor to something bigger, that never quite materialized. The songs are all there, and Brian does a decent job on it, but again..... Mike Baker had HUGE shoes to fill, so virtually anyone is going to come up a bit short against that mark.

My best SG memory is always going to be getting to see their debut live show in Tannersville PA, with Suspyre opening. My usual concert buddies had moved far away at this point, and I had two YOUNG children so I had zero expectation of getting to see this..... But my wife knew how important this was for me, and planned a long weekend vacation to eastern PA for the family so we could go do fun things with the kids over the weekend, and I could go see this show..... And it was AMAZING. The band was tight as hell and played all the songs I hoped to see, but the atmosphere absolutely made it magical..... Outdoor stage in the mountains of eastern PA, with the sun dropping behind the mountains as they started playing..... Just a BEAUTIFUL show all around. It was also so cool to see their families packed right around the stage, finally seeing something they had spent YEARS crafting come to full fruition.

I sincerely hope we haven't seen the last of Shadow Gallery, but I guess only time will tell.

[Mark]

My best SG memory is always going to be getting to see their debut live show in Tannersville PA, with Suspyre opening.

I can only imagine what it must have been like to get to see this, as well as being able to say forever that you were there. Arrrgh!
I saw SG one time at one of their last (for now) shows. It was after Mike died, when they played ROSfest in PA. They were awesome then although I'll never know what it was like to see them with Mike. I still regret not getting a T-shirt from that show. When I survey my closet nowadays, there's a glaring gap that makes me wonder how I dropped the ball on that one.

[Sir Exar Kun]

I saw SG one time at one of their last (for now) shows. It was after Mike died, when they played ROSfest in PA. They were awesome then although I'll never know what it was like to see them with Mike. I still regret not getting a T-shirt from that show. When I survey my closet nowadays, there's a glaring gap that makes me wonder how I dropped the ball on that one.

Alas, no one will as they never played live with Mike. Apparently (or so I recall) he had SEVERE stagefright.

[Sparky]

I'll still throw in for Legacy - Neil Kernon's dry mix combined with the instrumental whirlwind at the 2nd half of Cliffhanger Pt. 2? GTFO. If that doesn't pin you against the wall, I don't know what would...

Also, Mike Baker is missed. RIP

[AllMediaReviews]

Been a big SG fan from the debut on...... Had a friend who had mail ordered Magellan's "Magna Carta" (on cassette no less at the time) out of a magazine, and if I recall Shadow Gallery was on the same promo ad, so we ended up ordering that CD shortly afterwards, based on how much we enjoyed Magellan (MidKnight can correct anything I have out of line here). The debut was certainly raw, but in the mid-90s that didn't really matter to us, as finding anything that sounded remotely like this was all but impossible..... yet. To this day, the debut is probably my favorite despite it's sonic shortcoming, as every single song on there is a memorable classic.

I feel more or less the same. The main issue though is the fact it has a Drum Machine.

I would love to have them take the original master tapes and have Joe Nevolo record actual drums on all of the tracks and have the album remixed.
Much like Gavin Harrison did with a few of the early Porcupine Tree albums.

I also think their Pink Floyd Medley "Floydian Memories" is a remarkable achievement, and can honestly say is my favorite piece of music they ever recorded.

Beyond the S/T record, which I actually acquired a copy on Vinyl a few years ago which I showed on video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbMIm1TgQOk

I consider Carved in Stone, Tyranny and Room V all about equal. CiS would probably be my go-to.

Legacy I remember listening to maybe 2 or 3 times and getting bored by. I still own a copy I got from my volunteering at KFAI radio in 2001, and it was probably 2001 when I last listened to it; per I may enjoy it more now, than I did back then.

Digital Ghosts..I really couldn't get past the absence of Mike Baker and the fact like many other bands (Zero Hour comes to mind), their new singer sounded a bit too much like Geoff Tate or even Midnight, and the fact he wasn't those guys bugged me a little much, that I just didn't bother listening to maybe more than twice.

I sincerely hope they are not done, although if they continue with the new singer, I dunno how much interest I would have in their music. Maybe with a different singer? I dunno. Sadly the Mark Zonder/Gary Wehrkamp project "Zonder/Wehrkamp" from a couple of years ago really bored me to tears. From memory, it was rather New Agey, and just didn't hold my attention much. It might work as a soundtrack or something. I do wonder if what they originally talked about doing "Alfa-Dog" which came up maybe 10 or more years ago, I wondered if I would have gone for. Maybe it would have sounded as the Zonder/Wehrkamp album did? I dunno, or it may have been more rock-oriented at that point. I just recall it never happened, and Mark Zonder ended up doing Slavior only at that point. Another band that sadly didn't do much for me.

[Digital Man]

Shadow Gallery is my favorite prog metal band. There is just something really special about them. I don't have a lot to add in my opinions of the albums match most of what was posted. The only thing I want to add is that one time on Facebook someone said that SG was done and one of them (I think Carl) replied something like "no we're not". I suspect the reason for such a big wait has to at least partly be due to Gary's studio the band uses as well as Gary's attached house burned down. No idea if they lost any recordings or anything but that had to have had a big impact on anything they may have been doing. So I'm holding out hope that there may be something coming in the future.

[prog_powermetal99]

Shadow Gallery is my favorite prog metal band. There is just something really special about them. I don't have a lot to add in my opinions of the albums match most of what was posted. The only thing I want to add is that one time on Facebook someone said that SG was done and one of them (I think Carl) replied something like "no we're not". I suspect the reason for such a big wait has to at least partly be due to Gary's studio the band uses as well as Gary's attached house burned down. No idea if they lost any recordings or anything but that had to have had a big impact on anything they may have been doing. So I'm holding out hope that there may be something coming in the future.

If memory serves me correctly Guy, I THINK it was you that picked up a copy of Tyranny for me at the first progpower I missed(although I've missed them all since then lol) Anyway, I'll always remember that first spin through the disc and being blown away.....

And yea that was so horrible about Gary's house. Between that and Mike, the band has definitely fallen on hard times, that's for sure!

[Digital Man]

Shadow Gallery is my favorite prog metal band. There is just something really special about them. I don't have a lot to add in my opinions of the albums match most of what was posted. The only thing I want to add is that one time on Facebook someone said that SG was done and one of them (I think Carl) replied something like "no we're not". I suspect the reason for such a big wait has to at least partly be due to Gary's studio the band uses as well as Gary's attached house burned down. No idea if they lost any recordings or anything but that had to have had a big impact on anything they may have been doing. So I'm holding out hope that there may be something coming in the future.

If memory serves me correctly Guy, I THINK it was you that picked up a copy of Tyranny for me at the first progpower I missed(although I've missed them all since then lol) Anyway, I'll always remember that first spin through the disc and being blown away.....

And yea that was so horrible about Gary's house. Between that and Mike, the band has definitely fallen on hard times, that's for sure!

I do remember that I bought Tyranny at Powermad and listened to it for the first time on the plane home while reading the lyrics. I was absolutely floored. I may very well have picked up a copy for you too, can't remember.