Shadow Gallery
Shadow Gallery

1992 was fundamental in the history of technical metal, as it was precisely that year when the progressive album was born, I'm talking about the much-celebrated "Images & Words" by Dream Theater: but are we really sure that record is as perfect and unparalleled as many say??? Perhaps few know that in 1992, the first great work of Shadow Gallery was also released, titled "Shadow Gallery": the album presents itself as very melodic and damn progressive in all its parts, showing us the ease with which these great musicians move between delicate, melody-laden moments and others where technique reigns supreme. Inspired by bands like Yes, Genesis, and the like, they offer us a fantastic album composed of 7 songs all lasting over 5 minutes, with peaks of 17 (splendid) minutes.

The album opens with a gem of rare beauty: "The Dance Of Fools," a song that starts quite fast in an emotional crescendo, then calms down and becomes sweet, with a piano accompanying Mike Baker's splendid voice to create a song like few are heard today. In the second half of the song, however, the tones rise again, giving room to Ingles' fantastic guitar solos that don't miss a beat. The lyrics also turn out to be superb, elevating this beautiful track to masterpiece status. "Darktown" is the second song on the album, which shocks the listener, presenting itself as more aggressive and powerful than the previous track (let's remember it is still prog), playing all its beauty on keyboard and guitar solos, as well as on the odd-time drumming on which the song is based. The dreamy flute accompaniment intertwines with the other instruments, creating a backing for the voice, of remarkable beauty. "Mystified" instead comes across as very sad and composed of lower tones: rich with fascinating choirs that so much remind one of "Queen", the track divides itself between acoustically and electrically conducted guitars, where Baker with his electric stands out due to the delicately beautiful solo. The 4th song "Questions At Hand" is the track that deviates the most from the pyrotechnic prog offered, presenting itself almost as a power song and therefore simple, with abundant double bass and lots and lots of speed; the voice is splendid and once again the noble choirs enrich a song that, although infinitely above what you hear today, would risk paling among this musical splendor. A classical guitar arpeggio instead opens "The Final Hour", a song teetering between a ballad and a classic power/prog-oriented piece. Becker is still present with a fine solo at the center of the song, improving an already very beautiful song. Based on similar coordinates is "Say Goodbye To The Morning", which leads us to the suite of '90s prog metal: "The Queen Of The City Of Ice", 17 minutes of splendor, purity, calm, speed, aggressiveness, making you forget for a while everything around you. I honestly can't find better adjectives to describe this masterpiece and I apologize, but please, listen to it and then tell me.

The production is good, even if not the best, which does justice to an album that was very unfortunately overshadowed by the beauty of "I&W", despite the quality of the product reviewed here being equally good, if not better... and not by a little! And now think about it, people, think about it.