Shadow Gallery
Digital Ghosts

SHADOW GALLERY "Digital Ghosts" - (inside out - 2009)

Genre: prog-metal

The Shadow Gallery, champions of the most refined melodic progressive metal, are back with yet another masterpiece, exactly one year after the death of their singer Michael Baker.

"Digital Ghosts" continues the path set by the previous albums "Tyranny" and "Room V" without overturning the style, improving its dynamic balance if possible: the reflective parts and the more "intense" ones are perfectly balanced within each track; there are the typical choirs, instrumental digressions, never exaggerated, never out of context, remarkable guitar and keyboard solos; it is really them, with those refined and never mundane melodies.

The new singer is perfectly integrated into the role, and the extraordinary thing is that he doesn't resemble the late Baker at all, but rather more closely recalls the vocal timbre of Geoff Tate from Queensryche.

The gem of this album is "Haunted", a track capable of combining the typical symphonism of the Shadow Gallery with a melancholic atmosphere. Choirs and keyboards are protagonists in the first part and elegantly support Brian's voice; in the second, heavier part of the track, he proves to be extremely versatile, naturally transitioning from sweet and calm tones to more "aggressive" ones. After a brief instrumental session, the song "explodes" into a more airy Brian/band duet, yet always tinged with moving melancholy, which represents the emotional peak of the album. The final minutes are less gloomy, without losing that veil of "sadness" that is somewhat felt throughout the album.

Final note on the bonus tracks featuring Mike's voice: "Two Shadows" and "World of Fantasy", are two exciting ballads characterized by beautiful interweavings of acoustic guitar and flutes that could melt the hardest of hearts....

Without a doubt, the best prog-metal release of the year.

Yos - 7/11/2009