Shadow Gallery
Tyranny

As my first review on this site, I have chosen to review what I consider one of the best albums in the Prog Metal genre of the last millennium: the exceptional "Tyranny" by Shadow Gallery.

Let's say one thing right away: if there were an award for the most unjustly underrated group in the history of progressive music, it would surely go to our Shadow Gallery. Unjustly because, ladies and gentlemen, this is a group that always offers music of precious quality, incredibly emotional, with a technique that makes many envious yet never falls into self-celebration or cold technicality.

Our group was born in Pennsylvania in prehistoric times (1985) and, against the rules of the music business, has always preferred to focus on quality rather than quantity. Indeed, they released their third album in 1998, thirteen years after a good debut and the excellent "Carved In Stone." Shadow Gallery's style is somewhat unique: it has roots in 70s Prog Rock, branching into a very airy metal that is, in some way, complete and powerful.
In short, they make universal progressive music capable of delighting fans of Dream Theater, Symphony X, Queensryche's Operation Mindcrime, and various Rush, Yes, and other dinosaur-era bands. The music offered in this and other works of the band is truly engaging Prog Metal, appropriately emotional (tear-inducing, indeed), technical, and harmonious, enriched by perfect use of grand choruses and enhanced with fascinating and immediate melodies that are never, ever banal.

Melody, in fact, is the key to interpreting (and in this case, listening to) this album, which I personally consider the band's best. Be careful, though, MELODY, not simplicity aimed at commercialism. The album in question is further enriched by significant contributions such as those of J. LaBrie in the epic "I Believe", D.C. Cooper in the theatrical and dark "New World Order", and Laura Jaeger, who duets with Mike Baker (the band's solo singer) in the moving and intense "Spoken Words".
The group offers a performance that calling remarkable is an understatement: Mike Baker's incredibly versatile and flexible voice creates chilling solutions and melodic lines, Joe Nevolo and Carl Cadden James' rhythm section is solid, powerful, and incredibly dynamic, and Brendt Allman's guitar duets in a whirlwind of sweetness, passion, and speed with the piano and keyboards of Chris Ingles and Gary Wehrkamp, and together they all create the stunning choruses that enrich every track of this MASTERPIECE.

I remember that when "Tyranny" was released, many reviewers in the specialized press considered it a step back for the band and a fall in style and ideas, but often, as we know, masterpieces are understood and recognized over time. I'm pleased to see that the same reviewers from that time now acknowledge the stunning beauty of this album that manages to perfectly unite hard and intricate parts with melodies and ideas of incredible emotional power.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.