"Legacy" is the only Shadow Gallery album that I own. I had heard of the band a few years back and I was walking through Rasputin Records (www.rasputinmusic.com) and saw this CD. I decided to take a chance and buy it! I am glad I did because I really enjoy listening to this album.
The first song "Cliffhanger" begins very ambient and then piano slowly enters...then guitar slowly enters...drums begin...and then the band bursts into a happy little "oooh". The song has two sections, "Hang On" and "The Crusher". Have you ever noticed that almost every band has a song called "Hold On" or "Hang On"? I was really impressed with the structure of this song. "Hang On" has an excellent melody and "The Crusher" is an instrumental section that is really enjoyable to listen to. Brendt Allman, Carl Cadden-James, Chris Ingles, Joe Nevolo, and Gary Wehrkamp show off their talent here. "Hey baby welcome to my crystal palace..."
Mike Baker has a really moving voice. He has a voice that just makes you want to sing along. "Destination Unknown" is a great song to sing along with! It is sort of ballad like, but Mike's voice take this song to new levels.
"Colors" is my favorite song on the album. When other people have reviewed Shadow Gallery on sites such as Progressive World (www.progressiveworld.net) a few have complained that they thought the music sounded too 80s/cheesy. They sort of use the "wall of sound "effect on "Colors". When the chorus comes in it sounds like you have twenty people in front of you singing it. In my opinion this music is WAY to well thought out to EVER be considered cheesy...
The next two tracks, "Society of the Mind" and "Legacy", are the heaviest on the album. In my opinion "Society of the Mind" is a better song, but that is not saying that "Legacy" is a bad song. The vocals are just more harsh on "Legacy". Musically both songs are very good though! I love the keyboard bit in the middle of "Society of the Mind". I believe it was done by Brendt Allman.
"First Light" is definetely a prog song! The song clocks in at 34 minutes! The song begins with acoustic guitar and soft singing. They then bring in a drum beat that does sound VERY 80s so I can see where the people at Progressive World (www.progressiveworld.net) are coming from. I enjoy that 80s sound! After a fun little riff from Brendt Allman the songs slows and then starts to build again. The "build and release" is a theme that is repeated in many songs in prog. This song has about a million changes...I had trouble keeping up (in a good way)! The song fades away with a nice piano solo.
If you like the 80s sound and you like prog metal than this is a CD that you would enjoy. There are many strong melodies and the playing that Shadow Gallery does is outstanding. These guys know how to put a song together!
Links
The Official Shadow Gallery Website
Shadow Gallery Biography at RollingStone.com