SHADOW GALLERY
Room V
Inside Out Music 2005
www.shadowgallery.com

What’s the 4-1-1?
The Pennsylvania band has put together their 5th album of melodic progressive rock. The conceptual theme of this release, according to guitarist Gary Wehrkamp, is a direct sequel to their 1998 album Tyranny. The story of two humans looking for a new identity picks up 8 hours after the end of the story on that first album.

Genre
Progressive hard rock / prog-metal

The Good
I found that the music on the album is rather spectacular. It stays focused on providing a background and driving force behind the completed songs, and it never seems to stray over into egotistical meandering that can sometimes happen with progressive music. I really enjoyed four of the instrumental pieces: “Manhunt,” “Birth Of A Daughter,” “Death Of A Mother” and “Seven Years.”
Two of the songs with Mike Baker on vocals, “The Archer of Ben Salem” and the title track are examples of the band really combining their obvious technical chops to give a full bodied song that sweeps the listener up and takes them on a heck of a ride across the band’s musical landscape.

The Bad
What stood out most to me, a fan of progressive metal, is how rather ponderous and pedantic a lot of the vocal work seemed. Perhaps this isn’t the album that should serve as an introduction for those who haven’t heard the band before. This was the case with me. I enjoyed the music throughout the disc, but save for the two vocal tracks mentioned above, every time Baker’s vocals filtered through the music, it was just irritating the heck out of me.

There’s a fine line between the good and bad in progressive rock and metal. In regards to the music, it’s when you become more interested in showing how well you play your instrument rather than coming up with music that fits inside the structure of a song. If the singing has the listener wanting to yell at the vocalist to shut up, vocally you’ve made a big mistake.

The Verdict
The rating for the album would be pretty high if it was based just on the music. Sadly that’s not the case. The vocals really detract from the listening experience save for the two cited examples. I realize I may be asked to turn in my membership card in the Progressive Music fan club for this review, but I was simply relieved when the album was over so I wouldn’t have to keep listening anymore.

Did You Know?
Guitarist Brendt Allman, bassist Carl Cadden-James and guitarist Gary Wehrkamp worked with Dream Theater vocalist James Labrie on his first two solo albums under the moniker Mullmuzzler.

Rating: out of 5

-- Jay Roberts