Shadow Gallery Tribute thread

After hearing the sad, sad news of the death of Mike Baker (R.I.P), the least I could do is to create an appreciation thread about this magnificent, unique progressive metal band, one of the few that escaped the I-sound-like-DT complex and went on to create their own style and sound.

One of the first bands that introduced me to prog-metal and shook my music background (at the age of 15 then) with the brilliant release of 'Carved in Stone' in 1995 and 'Tyranny' three years later. Five studio albums, none of their releases falls into the 'uninteresting' category. The biggest complaint of the fans is that we never had the chance to see them live (yet)...

Recommended albums for new listeners:

Carved in Stone
Tyranny (probably their most complete release)
Room V

One of my favorite Prog Metal acts. Really adventurous and unique band!

Yes sad news, my fav remains Carved in stone

Ohh my...can't believe it. I had just gotten Room V last week...and I did enjoyed it quite much. Tyranny is still my favorite by far.

Edited by burritounit - November 01 2008 at 17:49

The T wrote:   The great thing about SG was the combination of superlative technique with amazing melodies.      Shadow Gallery 1/2 Carved in Stone Tyranny Legacy Room V

As you mentioned, the strong point of SG is (I hope not was...) their melodies... Brilliant, one-of-a-kind harmonies, vocals of high quality, full of passion.

My rating of their albums would be similar to yours, still a bit higher for some of them...

Hold your hands up high, lift them toward the sky...

BTW, my SG album order is:

Debut:
Carved in Stone:
Tyranny:
Legacy:1/2 (the album have some damn  cheesy tracks)
Room V:

CCVP wrote: BTW, my SG album order is: Debut: Carved in Stone: Tyranny: Legacy:1/2 (the album have some damn  cheesy tracks) Room V:

The end of the 80s was the period I discovered hard rock and metal - and not long after I discovered Rush, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Slayer and Queensryche, Dream Theater's debut album came out. This album, together with Rush's 2112 were my favourite albums for a very long time, and combined with various numbers 3-5 - until Shadow Gallery's debut album landed in my lap. From 1992 up until 1998 - when I lost interest in recorded music (just before Tyranny was released) until shortly before I joined PA - these three albums took turns in being my #1 album. Carved in Stone, Images and Words and Marillion's Fugazi (!) had become the battlers for position 3-6 by then.
Nowadays, I don't keep such lists anymore, but if I look at how things stand, Rush, Marillion and Shadow Gallery have survived the battle. In case of Shadow Gallery, that is mainly due to the use of the flute in the instrumental intro to Darktown (they should've used it more often) and the fabulously layered melodies composed mostly by Carl Cadden James that carried straight into the (multi-)vocal lines. I must admit that it had been a while since I last played any of their albums, but over the weekend I played the first three in response to Mike's departure - and nothing but good memories came back. I have to still get really familiar with everything since Tyranny, which is probably why my favourite tracks so far remain Darktown, and Crystalline Dream. For vocal melodies, and fond memories of Mike, I'd add Queen of the City of Ice to that.

The occasion is far from glorious, but I'll be rediscovering this great band in the coming weeks.

Rest In Peace, Mike. You truly were a great singer. I just wonder how they can continue without such talent. RIP


Edited by J-Man - October 30 2009 at 11:03

Good Jeff! Mine: