ROOM V

At last! Shadow Gallery have kept us waiting quite a long time for the their next release. Its been 4 years since the great Legacy. But most prog metal fan know that its always worth waiting for a new album, because these people always take their time to create quality music. The most interesting thing with "Room V" is that its the 2nd part of the concept album Tyranny form 1998. Will it match the greatness of that release?

The structure of this album is similar to that of Tyranny. 2 more acts, 14 more songs, the same storyline. I will not write anything about the story here, but I have to mention that there is no clear end. Lets hope there's another album planed! An Album like this!

The intro, Manhunt gives us quite a nice jump right on the start. Sounds quite familiar to Stiletto in the Sand, only a bit more aggressive and hectic, with great melodic and technical work by the band. One may notice the piano theme from Christmas Day somewhere near the end. 5/5

After the musical pyrotechnics of Manhunt We get one probably the highlight of this album. Comfort Me is an awesome ballad with Laura Jaeger, the same singer that performed on Tyranny! This one sends shivers down the spine. A Worthy successor of Spoken Words. All the instruments play here equally, making it more" full". Great flute, awesome guitar solos by Allman/Wehrkampf, and of course, the emotional vocals of Mike Baker & Laura Jaeger. 5/5

Along with The Andromeda Strain comes back the metal edge. The main riff is very aggressive, with Mike sounding fierce. The chorus is still infectious, though. And we have all the typical prog metal elements here, like speedy but always catchy guitar & keyboard soloing + lost of time changes. It gets quite interesting after a while when the track mellows leaving place for a nice Jazzy guitar solo. Track such as these show why Shadow Gallery are filed under progressive metal. 4/5

Once again we get another beautiful ballad. Vow has a sort of happy, maybe even euphoric feeling to it. Its about a Wedding, so Some may find it cheesy. Mike's vocals are very dreamy here, bu the song looses some of its laziness during the chorus & Middle section. The track becomes more symphonic with each minute. Again awesome guitar work! 4/5

The 3rd Act is closed with three small pieces. The 1st two are instrumental titled Birth of a Daughter and Death of a Mother. Very hard, aggressive, sometimes majestic and at the end, full of sorow... These tracks show how a band can show emotions without the voice or words... both 5/5 But what about the tiny 3rd track, Lamentia? Only one minute long, it reminds me of Broken form Tyranny. Surprising how much emotion can someone put into one minute of music... Mike Baker never sounded sadder. The perfect end of Act III. 5/5

And another instrumental. Quite a lot of them on this album. 7 Years opens act IV and is the longest piece of music without vocals here. Interesting, mesmerizing, with nice flute by Cadden-James. It gives a feeling of safety and warmth. 4/5

The Feeling of safety fades away with the sound of broken glass and a scream. Dark is only 1 minute long, but its enough to rub away the happy feeling of 7 years. 4/5

Here come the longer, more progressive tracks. Torn is a track that was originally made for James LaBrie's solo album. It about a father that is searching for his kidnapped daughter. Its got an interesting sad guitar riff accompanied with some nice flute, occasional heavy riffs & the sad voice of Baker. The chorus (one of them;) & the middle part are very symphonic, so the song looses a bit of the sadness, but its still very moody. Ow, and as always I have to mention the guitar solos... 5/5

The Archer of Ben Salem is an aggressive tune in the vain of The Andromeda Strain. While listening to this one it occurred to me how versatile Mike Baker is. If someone thinks he sound wimpy most of the time, they should give this song a listen. The middle section has a Dream Theater touch to it, But its still impossible to mix the bands up. DT has a more electronic sound lacking the symphonic aura that SG has. Powerful Symphonic progressive metal 5/5

Encrypted is very moody with powerful, majestic symphonic breaks. It has some great drum work by Joe Nevolo. Interesting guitar parts, Erie synths & a dreamy guitar solos make this song another strong argument for getting this album as quickly as possible. 5/5

The title track blasts us with a powerful riff. This is a typical upbeat melodic song by Shadow Gallery. It has a great infectious chorus in the vain of Mystery or War for Sale!. The only problem is that the Story has taken a rather cheesy turn and the lyrics sound a bit funny... Its got some nice prog metal noodling right form the middle to the end. After that it slowly fades away with the sound of thunder and... 5/5

...Rain. Its the grand finale. Nothing like the soft Christmas Day, though. The overblown symphonic metal aura shall haunt us till the end, I see. Mike Baker does some wailing here, of course, on purpose. The song sound quite confused & desperate. When You look at the lyrics, You will know what I mean. Its the most Symphonic and longest song on the album. It leaves a lot o things unclear... It leaves you begging for more... And that what a album closer should do. 5/5

SG did it. They created another genius album based on the same story. Its very hard to say if it beat Tyranny. Room V is more metal, while Tyranny more mellow. I'd say bot are unique. Two unique albums by a unique band.